Gardening With Sal

What to Do and What to Worry About 🌿 Garden Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | January 30, 2026 Unfortunately, this is something that happens quite often and it can lead to much frustration.  Everyone is delighted about how easy it is to train a cat to use an indoor litter box. They gravitate towards them naturally. A nice new flower or vegetable bed, filled with fresh, soft soil is just as attractive and a magnet to cats—especially feral cats. 

Invasive Series – Part 1 📝 Opinion  | By Guy Saldiveri | Updated January 27, 2026 Native, Non-Native, Aggressive, and Invasive This is by far the most divisive hot-button, third-rail topic anyone can bring up in the gardening world. It certainly won’t win me any brownie points for bringing it up here. 

Invasive Series – Part 2 📝 Opinion  | By Guy Saldiveri | January 27, 2026 Author’s Note: If this article challenges your perspective, take it as an invitation to look closer at the plants around you. Nature is complicated, adaptable, and rarely as black‑and‑white as we make it. 

 Invasive Series - Part 3 📝 Opinion  | By Guy Saldiveri | January 27, 2026 Our ecosystem is dynamic, living, and constantly changing.  Assigning a single point in time to justify whether a species should be considered native or non-native, to me, is just unacceptable. 

Cinder blocks: A great choice for a raised bed 🔨  How‑To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri |  Updated February 19, 2026 I've tried various setups for my gardens: in-ground, wooden boxes, and various raised-bed configurations.  Most have performed admirably, but when it comes to ease of setup, overall cost, and functional longevity, only one material really shines—cinder blocks!  

An Explanation of What This Weird Stuff Really Is 🌿 Plant Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | January 24, 2026 | Updated: February 21, 2026 We’ve all seen it, and we’ve all wondered—what is it, and where did it come from? More importantly, what is it doing on my tree or shrub?

The Quiet Magic Behind Every Garden 📝  Opinion | By Guy Saldiveri | January 23, 2026   And to think, I started out looking to debunk the need for the birds and the bees, only to end up making the case for keeping them around—go figure.

Vegetables taste great, but they won’t land you on the cover of Southern Living 📝 Opinion | by Guy Saldiveri | January 22, 2026 Why does it seem like the bulk of gardeners, even more experienced ones, just want to talk about the "pretty flowers"?

A Brush Pile or Stumpery Can Support Birds, Bugs, and Critters   🌿 Garden Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | January 20, 2026 When it comes to upkeep in my yard, I’ll admit it — I fall squarely into the “I like it manicured” camp. I grow a bit of everything: natives, non-natives, edibles, ornamentals, and the occasional plant that just shows up and dares me to move it.

A Practical Look at USDA Zones, Heat Zones, and Frost Dates  🔨 How‑To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri | January 20, 202 6 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive at a location.

A humorous Look At the "How" but Not the "Why" 😂 Garden Humor | by Guy Saldiveri | January 18, 2026 I've come across many interesting things in online forums.  One of the most intriguing is how differently people answer what seems like a fairly straightforward question.

What to Use, and How to Use It   🌿 Garden Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | January 15, 2026 Most online forums are filled with new gardeners with limited experience who ask a lot of questions. Many of the questions are about mulch. Specifically, which kind to use, how much to apply, and whether they should work it in or just layer it on top.

There’s a Right Way, and a Wrong Way 🔨 How‑To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri | Updated May 21, 2026 Have you ever pruned a branch from a tree, only to be left with a ragged edge about three feet of torn bark? Trust me, you aren't the first and you won't be the last.

Was that pepper hot, or did I just swallow a blowtorch? 🌿 Plant Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | January 12, 2026 Here’s a fun one for all of you who grow—and especially eat—peppers. Did you know that capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers “hot,” isn’t actually hot at all?

Why Some Seeds Need a Little Winter First   🔨 How‑To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri | January 12, 2026 Stratification and scarification: a lot of gardeners have heard these words, but many don’t really understand what they mean or why they matter. I sure didn’t at first.

A full guide for beginning to intermediate gardeners. 🛠️ How‑To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri | January 12, 2026 A Walk Around My Yard

Soil is complicated... or is it? 🔨 How To Garden Guide | by Guy Saldiveri | Updated: February 22, 2026 This is another one of those gardening topics that just seems to drive wedges between people faster than that native/non-native debate. Everyone has their own ideas, their own mixes, and most of all their own confusion. Let's see if we can clear up a little of that right now.

Welcome to my blog. Here you will find a wide variety of information: gardening guides, how-to instructional guides, general garden talk, opinionated essays and lots of good natured humor. Feel free to poke around and see what I have planted. If you like something and it helps you out, leave me a quick message letting me know. At the same time, if something ruffles your leaves, let me know that as well.  I'm here to help out if I can. We may not always agree, but I'm always open to kickin’ back with a cup of coffee and seeing if we can't get it ironed out. Happy Gardening 🌱