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Herb Container

By Chloe Evans

If you love the idea of adding beautiful landscape features to your yard but don’t know where to start, container gardening is an easy way to make a statement and limit costs! To make it even easier, we asked the host of Southern Gardening, Dr. Eddie Smith, to curate a variety of container gardening combos for you to choose from. 

When following the thriller, spiller, and filler combination rules, container gardening can be achieved by anyone. For clarity, a thriller grabs attention with color and/or height. A spiller adds length to the...


Hummingbird next to red flowers.

Bird of the Month: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

March 28, 2023

Everyone loves Ruby-throated hummingbirds! I have fond memories of watching these hummingbirds visit the many feeders my grandparents put out each year. You probably have a similar story! Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures, with their bold-colored feathers and fast-fluttering wings.

Canned goods at a farmers market.

What to Know About Selling at a Farmers Market

March 24, 2023

Have you considered becoming a vendor at your local farmers market? It’s important to do some research, check regulations, and make a plan before you begin a business or begin selling your products at one.

These tips can help you create a plan for selling at farmers markets and other similar venues.

A woman stands in a kitchen and holds a jar of red wine vinaigrette.

The Food Factor: Red Wine Vinaigrette

March 21, 2023

If you like vinaigrette on your salad or as a marinade, give this homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette a try.

Frayed Daffodils

Don’t Touch the Daffodils!

March 17, 2023

For a few short weeks, daffodils grace the planet with their beauty and remind us of warm weather right around the corner.

A woman stands outside

4 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

March 14, 2023

National Nutrition Month is a time to sharpen your focus on your lifestyle, with an emphasis on your eating and physical activity habits. Learn what this campaign is about and get tips to help you improve your lifestyle from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Blue phlox.

What are Native Plants?

March 10, 2023

Native plants are talked about quite a lot in the gardening world. Everyone talks about what great plants they are to have in your landscape, but what exactly are they? 

A woman stirs a pot of soup.

The Food Factor: Italian Tortellini Soup

March 7, 2023

Try this hearty soup that is great to add to your menu rotation during the colder months of the year.

Orange milkweed.

March Landscape Tasks

March 3, 2023

I woke up to a dusting of yellow pollen on my car this week, the true sign that spring is on its way! Several flowers are blooming, making the world a little more vibrant after a cold, gray winter.

A blue jay on a branch.

Bird of the Month: Blue Jay

February 28, 2023

Blue jays are easy to recognize by both their noisy call and bold blue feathers. Also known as jaybirds, blue jays are members of the crow family and native to the United States.

Bradford pear tree blooms

The Fishy Truth about Bradford Pear Trees

February 24, 2023

If you have Bradford pear trees on your property, you are quite familiar with the odor they release. How could such a beautiful tree smell like rotting fish? The odor isn’t the only thing that makes this tree undesirable.  

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About Extension for Real Life

Extension for Real Life is a product of the MSU Extension Service’s Office of Agricultural Communications.

That’s a long way of saying we are professional communicators who get to talk about food, families, 4-H, flowers, and farming for a living.

Blog content is created by a core team of communicators, including Susan Collins-Smith, Ellen Graves, Natasha Haynes, Qula Madkin, Michaela Parker, and Jonathan Parrish. But we get by with a lot of help from our friends in Ag Comm and Extension!

You can reach us at 662-325-2262 or extreallife@msstate.edu