Gardening Basics

Gardeners in the northern climates need to plan carefully to provide year round interest in their gardens. After the flowers of summer fade and autumn leaves fall, the bare bones of the garden...

Every spring as the weather turns warm and the sun is shining bright in the sky you may decide that you need to landscape your yard. Before landscaping your yard you need to think about how to...

Landscape cloth helps keep weeds out of your garden. Landscape cloth is readily available from most garden and home improvement stores. Choose a strong cloth--if you can tear it, that's a sure...

Garden design can range from simple flower boxes to complex knot gardens. There are three major types of garden: landscape, ornamental and vegetable. Landscape gardens require a lot of upkeep, as...

Gardens delight the eye with a spectrum of flower colors, the textures of rock features or the soothing sounds of fountains. These pockets of nature give gardeners a creative way to express their...

Busy workweeks can limit the amount of time that we can spend doing gardening tasks. Weekend gardening gives us the chance to grow things and improve the landscape and curb appeal of our homes.

With all the sharp angles of houses, curves in the landscape can soften the look of your home. Arches can be built into walls, fences or gates. They can stand alone or herald an entry to another...

Dogs love to be outside for the same reasons we do---fresh air, sunshine, grass between our toes. But your dog's enthusiasm can get her in trouble---trampling and digging flower beds, chewing...

Some people prefer to trek out to their gardens to plant colorful annuals every spring. Others prefer to plant perennials to add seasonal color for many years to come with little maintenance....

All cactus plants are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Succulents are simply plants that have adapted stems or leaves to hold water. Many have evolved into decorative, sculptural...

Whether it is in your garden, the cracks of your sidewalk or throughout a newly planted flower bed, weeds seem to inevitably be unavoidable. Pulling weeds or simply mowing over them is a temporary...

Grasses are some of the thirstiest plants in the garden. Many people, faced with the reality of drought, are removing some or much of their grass and replacing it with rocks. Removing a lawn is...

You work hard to make your property into a great looking landscape with lovely and productive gardens. Wouldn't it be nice to get something back for all that effort you put into that space? ...

Raised bed gardening offers several advantages over traditional gardening. There is no weeding, the soil can be prepared for specific types of plants, and if done correctly, can enhance your...

You've seen them before -- the well designed front yard landscapes that really stand out. They don't look like just a place with some plants, they really catch the eye and look great. There are...

Although we all want lovely landscapes to surround our homes, not everyone has a lot of time to spend caring for and maintaining garden needs. Since there is no such thing as a no-maintenance...

Droughts are impacting many areas of the country this year. If you are in a location where water rationing is being imposed, here are some tips on how to garden with water restrictions so you can...

Part of spring cleaning is cleaning your flower beds before your spring flowers come to life. Get rid of all remnants of winter and get ready to enjoy a flower filled landscape.

Special lighting effects in the garden can make your landscape dazzle. If you use well-designed lighting in your garden, your landscape can turn into a wonderland at night. Although there are...

Just because the economy is in a rut doesn't mean you need to surround your home with a dreary and depressing-looking landscape. There are ways to create a lovely garden that is inexpensive to...

Compared to flowering plants, shrubs are an inexpensive landscape alternative at the local gardening or home improvement store. If you want to fill up your landscape quickly, invest in shrubs and...

As winter weather makes outdoor gardening less feasible in many areas of the country, you can focus on some other fun and useful aspects of gardening. Here are some suggestions on how to work on...

The common garden strawberry, a member of the Fragaria family, is an accessory fruit, and commercial growers offer a variety of strains suited to different growing conditions. Whether you have new...

There are many ways to get ideas for designing your own garden. Here are some.

Tree stumps are very expensive to have removed. If you have one in your landscape that you don't want to have taken out, but consider ugly, here are a few ideas on how you can integrate the stump...

There are some basics of design that are all to often missed by homeowners and even landscapers when laying out or installing a garden. Here are some simple guidelines that can make a radical...

Designing hillside landscaping requires planning. You want to make sure the hillside is stable and remains that way. With proper drainage and planting, you can make any hillside as beautiful and...

Adding steps to your landscape not only lets you move up and down from one part of your property to the next, but it is an opportunity to design in interest and even special effects into your garden.

With the difficulties in the real estate market, if you want to sell your home and get a reasonable return, you have to make your home as attractive as possible to buyers. The landscape around...

Rocks and boulders can be powerful design elements in the landscape design. They also require no maintenance!

No matter what month of the year, trees can offer beauty, comfort and value to your home. But before jumping in and planting a tree you like (and might later regret) you might want to consider...

Landscape fabric is a valuable tool that gardeners can use to control weeds, increase soil moisture and maintain even soil temperatures. It has the added benefits over black plastic because the...

There is nothing more important than making your home and landscape safe. Wildfires are cropping up all over the country. There are things you can do to make sure your landscaping is working...

Looking for a hearty, leafy plant for your landscape? Learn about Japanese boxwood in this free gardening video clip.

Learn how to trim the hedges in your home landscape, in this free gardening video.

Learn how to use compost in your home garden, in this free garden maintenance video clip.

Learn about gardening including tips and topics such as using landscape lighting & water features in your garden, in this free online video lesson.

Most of us don't have the estate-sized space or the budget to hire a landscape architect and garden designer. That doesn't mean that we can't have a lush, beautiful space to extend our living...

Getting your ideas out of your head and into the dirt is sometimes a challenge, and needs to be coaxed out in layers.

Spring may not be here yet, but preparing your landscape and tools now will allow you to spend more time outside this year!

Have you ever seen nice sharp edges on planting beds right after mowing? It's a beautiful thing. Properly edged landscape beds not only sharpen the look of your landscape but make maintaining your...

Are you struggling with an old outdated landscape that adds little to the appeal of your home? In todays economy, updating your curb appeal might be the one thing that may quickly help you sell...

For many of us, most things associated with the landscape, i.e. mowing, mulching or pulling weeds will never be something we look forward to or something we would ever think of planning for....

It sounds crazy, doesn't it? If it was really possible to cut your landscape budget in half, wouldn't everyone do it? I suppose they would, if they knew how. The trade-off for your money is...

Landscape designers work with you and your family to define how to best use your garden space. They go far beyond deciding which plants work best where; they actually design a garden that is an...

Beautifying your home can be made simple by selecting some landscape plants. Whether your home is in a sunny area or shady area, you can select landscape plants to create a warm and inviting...

Blending a house into the surrounding scenery is a small part of the field of landscape design. Even if you're not an expert landscape architect, however, you can still learn how to blend your...

Landscape plants can help create a wonderful environment outside your house. They can create havens of peacefulness, wonderful palettes of color, whatever your heart desires. However, there's a...

Maintaining your landscape in North Texas in September is perhaps easier than in the warmer months, but there are still some tasks that need to be done. Frost will be an issue that must be...

Your yard might look great now, but come December, you can lose all of that landscaping that looked so great during the warmer months. Of course, there are a few things you can do to protect your...