Environment Blog Posts

If there’s one thing all Mississippians can agree on, it’s that the summer sun can be brutal. I enjoy spending time on my back patio, but it’s hard to enjoy without shade. I’ve noticed several restaurants, parks, and pools have installed shade sails to provide shade to visitors. Why not install one in your own back yard? 

If you’ve noticed spiderwebs in your pecan trees, chances are they’re not spiders. They’re fall webworms.

Whew. It’s hot outside! Just a trip to the mailbox makes me break into a sweat. As you’re outside working in your lawn and garden, remember to stay hydrated and come inside if you start feeling overheated Here are four tasks to complete in your yard for the month of August: 

What are pollinators and why are they important? Bats, bees, beetles, birds, butterflies, and other mammals play a vital role in our environment. These creatures help move pollen from one flower to another, which helps fertilize plants so they can reproduce.

Do you have ash trees or white fringe trees in your home landscape? If you do and you love them, you should be on the lookout for the emerald ash borer.

A moss pathway is an easy way to add a special touch of elegance, enchantment, and royalty to your landscape. A pathway covered with bright green moss seems like something a king or queen would have in their landscape, right? 

And just like that, we’re over halfway through the year. How is that possible? I have spent more time at my home over the past few months than I have in a long time!

With many summer attractions closed or limited due to COVID-19, people are heading into the great outdoors. As you’re exploring nature, you don’t want to have a run-in with the dreaded poison ivy.  

Oh, deer! White-tailed deer can be quite the nuisance in the garden. It’s disheartening to see deer ate the flowers in your back yard for a snack. 

It’s starting to get hot out there, y’all! Don’t let the Mississippi heat deter you from taking good care of your garden and landscape.

This is the time of year to start a good fire ant management plan that can reduce the number of beds in your yard by 80 to 90 percent.

With all the rain we’ve had this year, mosquitoes have plenty of places to breed. But you can take some easy steps to keep their numbers down.

If you’re looking for an easy garden project this summer, look no further! Sedums, commonly referred to as succulents, are popular because they are relatively easy to care for. 

No, that’s not a murder hornet. But you may have seen one of these four look-alikes that do live in Mississippi.

With so many Mississippians staying at home more than usual, it’s the perfect time to start planning your summer landscape. 

Hummingbirds are now out in full force. The arrival of these tiny acrobats marks the beginning of spring, and people love to put out feeders for them.

With some spare time on your hands, now is a great time to think about ways to spruce up your landscape over the next year.

Everyone’s normal routine is being flipped upside down. Employees are working from home, kids are out of school, and social gatherings are postponed. Boredom and stress are setting in. Gardening to the rescue! 

If you’ve got crape myrtles, you should be on the lookout for Crape Myrtle Bark Scale. This invasive pest can turn easy-to-care for shrubs and trees into high-maintenance plants covered in a black, sooty mold.

While the insects won’t kill the tree outright, the tree will eventually produce fewer and smaller blooms if the insects are allowed to reproduce year after year.

I can remember watching the birds at my grandparents’ house growing up. We would sit on the porch swing with a bird identification book in hand, and watch the birds fly up to the bird feeders and bird bath in the yard.