If your hedges usually look a little lopsided when you finish trimming, try this. Tie a string to a branch on one side of the hedge, and run it to the other side. Step back and eyeball it to make sure it looks straight, and then use it as a guide while you trim.

Heirlooms grow from seeds handed down over generations. While there’s no exact age cutoff, the consensus is that seed lines must be at least 50 to qualify as heirloom. True heirlooms are open-pollinated. They produce seeds that resemble the parent plant, which gives them a vine-ripe sweetness rarely found at the ones purchase at the grocery store.

To eliminate powdery mildew from houseplants fill a spray bottle with a solution of one part mouthwash and three parts water and spritz on the plant once a week. The antimicrobial compounds in mouthwash safely destroy the fungus without harming the plant.

Things to know. An orange tree can produce both flower blossoms and mature fruit at the same time, sometimes causing a ripe orange to turn slightly green. The chlorophyll produced to feed the blossoms can tinge nearby oranges green, while also making them sweeter.