David's Landscaping Blog

Do you dread the thought of raking the leaves that will soon be strewn all over your landscape? If you have a lot of trees, raking leaves can certainly ... Read More

Flagstone is often the material of choice when building patios. It is attractive, durable and easy to install all at the same time! To find out more, read ... Read More

You must plan carefully first before planting shrub or perennial beds, including rock gardens. This planning means engaging in a juggling act of sorts.... The first ball you toss up ... Read More

Life is full of coincidences. I was reminded of that again when I pulled up one of my wildflower photos this morning to use as entry #5 in this ... Read More

Jerry Baker's book, Plants Are Like People was such a big hit that he wrote a sequel, Plants Are Still Like People. The premise is simple enough: I think ... Read More

The fall foliage of oak trees is not as spectacular as that of maple trees. But long after your maples have lost their leaves, oaks will still be going ... Read More

If you live on a corner lot, attaining a little privacy is a challenge. Your exposure in all directions makes it difficult for you to design an outdoor living ... Read More

If you've read the recent entry in this landscaping blog entitled, Mulch to Consider, you realize how much goes into determining the proper mulch for your landscaping needs. But ... Read More

Pruning, weed control, budgeting for landscape plants and tree selection are the topics discussed by Steve Jones in this Plant Man column. Read Plant Man's tips to ensure success ... Read More

Lattice screens are effective for hiding elements on your landscape that you'd just as soon not put on display. Perhaps it's an unsightly HVAC unit, a garbage storage area, or ... Read More

Learn about two types of ash trees grown for their fall foliage: American mountain ash trees and white ash trees. In addition to fall foliage, the American mountain ash trees ... Read More

If you've held off until fall for planting trees, you were smart! The summer heat saps the strength out of saplings. Fall and spring are the best times ... Read More

Depending on where you live, you may be seeing it already: Bittersweet's berries are ripening. Its berries are displaying a pleasing golden husk, while its leaves are turning a ... Read More

HandymanUSA discusses the tools, the supplies and the brick layout patterns you need to know about in this guide to building brick walkways. Find out how to build your ... Read More

A low-maintenance, water-wise, yet still attractive landscape plan for a sunny area calls for the use of drought-tolerant plants. This article describes several perennials suitable for such a landscape plan, ... Read More

Building retaining walls means fighting nature, since water naturally erodes dirt on hillsides. But that doesn't mean your retaining walls can't look natural. Instead of using the interlocking ... Read More

Steve Jones discusses the virtues of container gardens in this Plant Man column. Learn the ins and outs of a popular landscape design alternative. Plant Man lists the ... Read More

Are groundhogs (woodchucks) bedeviling your plants? Groundhogs are among the worst landscape and garden pests. Save your harvest and your fall plants from these and other rodent pests ... Read More

Need to find a landscaping contractor in your area? Here's a Web site that gives you access to landscaping contractors in 3 easy steps. Use the drop-down ... Read More

In the wake of Hurricane Isabel, there may be trees down on the ground in your yard. If not, there are probably at least tree limbs strewn all over ... Read More

So you've decided you like the look of ornamental grasses in landscape design? But you're uncertain about the growing requirements of the various types of ornamental grasses? Perhaps your yard ... Read More

Using concrete as a surface for patios is practical -- too practical, for some. To spice up bare concrete with home accents, incorporate inlay designs. This article details many concrete ... Read More

Landscaping enthusiasts and nature-lovers often take great pride in being able to identify plants on and around their landscapes. Here's your chance to test your knowledge! See if ... Read More

Mulch is mulch, isn't it? It's just something to spread around beneath plants, to suppress weeds, right? Wrong. There's much to consider when choosing between mulches for ... Read More

"Garden railroading is the art of combining a model railroad and a beautiful garden to create a railway-like atmosphere," says the Garden Railways Magazine Web site. Read the rest ... Read More

Trees don't hold a monopoly over providing attractive fall foliage. Shrubs and vines can be used to complement the fall foliage produced by the trees in your landscaping. ... Read More

Sumac trees are sometimes despised as being little better than weeds. But fall foliage lovers know better! Sumac trees put on one of the landscape's showiest fall foliage ... Read More

Are you looking for ideas to design that "master plan" for your landscape? This landscape design link provides online resources that will allow you to explore everything from ... Read More

Hurricanes can bring costly damage to yards and homes. As we watch Isabel's progress, let's look at a checklist of 10 reminders for hurricane preparedness for the yard. ... Read More

In this Plant Man column Steve Jones talks about attracting wildlife to the landscape. Not surprisingly, he touches on installing birdhouses. You may be a bit surprised to ... Read More

The Arizona Cooperative Extension supplies us with this fine piece on the basic of pruning. Learn how to get off to a good start with hedges by selecting the ... Read More

Rabbits are cute -- when they're not chewing up the plants on your landscape! Find out your options for controlling this most prolific of garden pests, whose prowess in ... Read More

It may be common knowledge that soil pH is raised by applying lime. But fewer homeowners know how to lower soil pH. Find out how in this soil ... Read More

Landscaping enthusiasts and nature-lovers often take great pride in being able to identify plants on and around their landscapes. Here's your chance to test your knowledge! See if ... Read More

If you've lived in the same home for a long time, without tinkering much with the landscape design, perhaps you'd like a change. But you need some ideas to ... Read More

Arboretums and botanical gardens are fun places to visit. But as Steve Jones relates in this Plant Man article, you can come away with more than just inspiration from ... Read More

Understanding soil pH without a Ph.D. What do landscape designers mean when they say that the requirements for a particular plant include a neutral pH? Without delving deeply ... Read More

Do you have large trees with weak limbs hanging over your house? Perhaps recent storms have made you aware of the potential for property damage caused by falling trees ... Read More

The Big E is just a week away! The Big E (Eastern States Exposition) is a fair held annually in West Springfield, MA. This year the dates for ... Read More

In this article on old garden roses the author provides a list of rose varieties, then proceeds to suggest uses for them. For instance, he mentions the use of ... Read More

You've decided to remove a tree from your landscape. So you lace up your Paul Bunyan steel-toed boots and saunter out there to cut it down. You even ... Read More

Do you know people who are convinced that Western civilization itself is imperilled, whenever our lawns are anything less than immaculate? Then you may appreciate this satire on lawn ... Read More

An overview of fall planting considerations, compliments of the Plant Man, Steve Jones. Steve elaborates on four considerations in this column: budget, growing conditions, ease of care and scale. ... Read More

An introduction to landscape stone, stressing its many uses. Even the category of stone walls can be broken down into many sub-categories. Meant to be thought-provoking, not a ... Read More