It has been a brutal summer. Extreme heat and drought dominated our weather in July and August, and we've never before seen so many summer days with temperatures over 100 degrees.

Garden columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions each week. To send a question, email Gill [email protected].

Some things are exactly what they appear to be. Many things aren’t. But sometimes, paradoxically, both are true at the same time.?

Like many empty nesters, Lisa Everett and her husband looked up one day at their large, fully furnished home where they’d raised their two sons and more than a few dogs, and decided they wante…