We've got a humongous fire ant mound in my front yard, in the lush grass lining the sidewalk. When my beagle wuffles the grass (we think she can sense them moving around), they get all over her nose and bite her. And it's the worst when you're not paying attention and walk through the hill ... and then they crawl on your feet and legs. Eww!

A guy at the hardware center told my mom to sprinkle grits on top of the colony. The theory is that the ants would take the uncooked grains back to the larvae and the queen, and because the ants couldn't digest the grain the colony would die out.

My husband is generally a natural solution kind of guy, but when it comes to invasive insects he's not above applying direct insecticides. But with a dog and a child, we're a bit squirrelly with this option.

So back to the grits ... my son and I sprinkled a good cup of them across the top of the fire ant colony in the front yard this afternoon. It

If you drive through downtown Raleigh, you’ll notice a grand new Oak tree swaying in the breeze. Literally.

The Cree Shimmer Wall, which bedazzles the new Raleigh Convention Center, is a spectacular merger of nature, art and architecture. And it is simply beautiful.

I spoke to Thomas H. Sayre, the principal sculptor of Clearscapes, a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Raleigh. I’m sure you’ll easily recognize another of his sculptures from 1999, Gyre, the series of earth-cast rings created on site at the NC Museum of Art.

Already an amazing site with natural lighting provided by Mother Nature, it will shimmer like thousands of tiny stars when the Raleigh Convention Center opens on September 5. Clouds

There are certain iconic plants that flash through my mind when I think about living here in the south. Enormous, sweeping oak trees lining long, winding driveways. The waxy green leaves and huge white blooms of magnolias. Vibrant pink and white blooms on azaleas. And the curly, sage gray chainlike stems of Spanish moss.

Spanish moss grows rampantly along North Carolina's coast, particularly in one of our favorite vacation spots, Oak Island. When I did a bit of investigation, I was a bit surprised at what I learned. I supposed I always assumed Spanish moss was a lichen, like orchids. Not true, according to Wikipedia.

It's "not biologically related to either mosses or lichens. Instead, it is a flowering plant in the family Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) that grows hanging from tree branches in full sun or partial shade."It ranges from the southeastern US to South America, "growing wherever

Just because we've moved into August, with its trademark high temperatures, doesn't mean that it's time to throw out your spring and summer plants. If they've still got a bit of season left in them, leave them where there are. I was delighted to talk with Logan Bristow—of Logan's One Stop Garden Shop—earlier this week about the the best tips for planning your fall gardens. He's got some great advice.

1. What's your best bet for fall color, either flowers or unusual leaves and textures?
Most of the spring/summer annuals will last until the first frost (usually October 15) if they are taken proper care of during the summer months—that includes watering, "deadheading," and fertilizing using a water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks. Many folks give up on spring/summer annuals too easy, but they just take work. The popular summer flowering crape myrtle also has some fall

Okay, sometimes I worry about my mother going off the deep end. Take, for instance, the conversation and friendship she struck up this morning while watching my son at skateboard camp. 

"Hair clippings keep the rabbits and other pests out of my garden," her new friend said. 

Then, they agreed that my mom would gladly accept the clippings from the new friend's children. I know ... ewww! But, then again, that's not entirely weird for us—weird things happen to us all the time. Which is probably why I'm intrigued to find out if the clippings will keep the rabbits out of mom's garden, diverting their attention away from treating the bed of hosta like their personal salad bar. 

• Do you think there's any truth to using human hair clippings in the garden to keep away the pests?
• Have you ever tried it?