According to “How Game Animals See and Smell,” a booklet by Kurt von Besser, many finishes on camouflage clothes contain UV brighteners to make the clothing more appealing to our eyes. We then use laundry detergents that contain brighteners to keep clothing looking its best. Unfortunately, wild animals can detect the brighteners in dim light given their keen vision. To gain an edge in the fields and woods, here is what to look for in a detergent, as well as the best way to launder hunting clothes and game bags....

Ready to turn your bedroom into the sanctuary that you deserve? Here’s how to create a space that makes the best use of what you have—and that meets your most ambitious design expectations. Map Out Your Dimensions Before you can plan what goes where, you need to know precisely what you’re working with. Use a tape measurer to map out the dimensions of your room, making sure to account for doors, closets, and windows....

Not necessarily. It’s true that basements’ qualities factor into the musty smells—being fully or partially below-grade, less light, less fresh air. But not all basements need to become musty. Plus, basements that are already musty can often be turned around with a few simple, inexpensive methods. What Causes a Basement’s Musty Smell You know it instantly. It’s unique and unmistakable: basement smell. You’ll never walk into a garage or even a bathroom and mistake its smell for that of a basement....

The squash bug can be identified by several characteristics. It is just over 1/2 inch long and has a squat, wide body with grayish-brown coloring and brownish-orange stripes along the edges of its back and on its underside. It has wings and can fly, but it is most commonly found scurrying along plants, and it can move quickly in evasion. When crushed, it emits an unpleasant odor, much like its near lookalike, the stink bug....

Beaked hazelnut is monoecious, meaning the male and female flowers both occur on the same plant. Flowering occurs in the spring in the form of small, inconspicuous female blooms and yellow male catkins. Beaked hazelnut typically bears fruit (the hazelnut) by the fall months. These nuts are edible for humans and animals and are enjoyed by a host of wildlife including birds, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and foxes, among others!...

Blood flower is usually planted by seeds sown directly in the garden or started indoors eight to 10 weeks before the last frost. It is a fast-growing plant that blooms about four months after the seeds sprout. Like other milkweeds, blood flower has a sap that is toxic to people and pets. If protection of monarch butterfly populations is important to you, there are special pruning techniques you can use if you’re intent on growing blood flower in your garden....

Best planted in the spring, this plant grows at a medium rate, eventually forming ovate-shaped green leaves that are two to five inches in size. The plant’s bell-shaped flowers hang in clusters; the fruits are drupes with four wings, starting out green but changing to white and eventually a papery brown as they mature and dry out. When it comes to caring for the Carolina silverbell, it has few requirements beyond a slightly acidic soil pH level; accomplish that (and provide it with enough sunlight) and you’re almost guaranteed to have a happy plant that will enliven your landscape for years to come....

The vine produces glossy dark green leaves that are oval-shaped and grow in clusters of five. The dangling flowers boast three petals and emerge in the spring (March to May), sometimes followed by fruits that resemble eggplants late in the summer. The fruit chocolate vines produce is edible, but not very palatable—if you choose to harvest it, you may recognize they resemble kiwi, with tiny black seeds embedded in the pulp....

To encourage more flowers to bloom, deadhead the spent blooms throughout its growing season. If allowed to go to seed, these plants will readily reseed themselves, producing plenty of flowers the following year. To prevent this, simply trim away spent blooms before they go to seed. Cockscomb is resistant to pests and most diseases, though fungal diseases can be an issue. Light Full sun will encourage plentiful growth of cockscomb....

The best time to plant a Colorado blue spruce tree depends on your climate. You can plant spruce year-round in mild climates, but if you live in an area with harsh winters and frosts, it’s best to plant this tree during the late winter or early spring (late February through April), when it’s dormant. If you plant blue spruce in the early fall, there’s a chance it will become susceptible to winter injury and die-back....

Although this variety might be a little slower to grow than other basil plants, it’s dark leaves, intense sweet-spicy flavor and pretty pinkish flowers, which appear mid to late summer, make it worth the effort. The foliage has a much stronger smell than more common green basil varieties, and this adds to their garden appeal as well. The buds, as well as the leaves, are edible. But, even if you don’t plan to harvest this basil, it looks lovely to look at when grown in containers outdoors or in a well-lit spot indoors....

Its uniquely-shaped flowers form a “V.” They are called Dutchman’s breeches or britches for looking like a pair of old-fashioned Dutch pants drying upside-down on a clothesline. It also boasts feathery foliage that is fern-like in appearance. All parts of Dutchman’s breeches are toxic to humans and animals. In the wild, they are often found in rocky, sloping areas of moist, shaded woodland. Once they’ve bloomed in early spring, the stems and leaves will drop to the ground, and the plant will go dormant until the following year....

Orange trees are notable for white blooms that appear in summer followed by their famous fruit. Although the fruit is delicious, the plan, itself, is known to be toxic to pets. When to Plant These trees can be planted at any time of year in warm climates, like southern Florida where they represent a major food crop. For cooler climates with significant seasonal variations, they grow better when planted in spring or summer which allows them to acclimate before cooler weather arrives....

In warm climates, it is grown as an evergreen perennial that adds a pop of gorgeous purple color to your garden year after year. In cooler climates, Tradescantia pallida is grown as an annual. It is also widely commercialized as a houseplant. Like other species of the Tradescantia genus, purple heart is toxic to humans and toxic to pets, causing contact dermatitis. Gardeners should be aware that purple heart flowers are known to form dense groundcover, which can prevent the germination and establishment of other plants....