QuickTips Index

How to Force Forsythia Flowers
If you're impatient for spring, then you should learn how to force flowers on forsythia stems. By forcing forsythia flowers to bloom ahead of time, indoors, you can make the winter go faster.

Tips on Fertilizing Lawns
Tips are provided in this resource for fertilizing lawns. A schedule is provided for fertilizing lawns in spring, summer and fall.

Woodland Gardens
Woodland gardens aren't just for the woods. Even a suburban plot in a shaded area near large trees (and their falling leaves) can profit from the concept behind woodland gardens.

Concrete Mixing Tips: Water and Mixing Concrete
Who better to turn to for concrete mixing tips than a retired inspector? An expert on mixing concrete, Ed Adams relates the importance of water in the curing process.

Halloween Yard Safety: Carving Pumpkins
Carving pumpkins for Halloween is fun, and below I provide tips showing you how to carve jack-o'-lanterns. However, carving pumpkins is not without its dangers, and while I wouldn't want to dissuade you from doing it, let me alert you to some yard safety concerns of which you may be unaware.

How to Kill Crabgrass
What's the best way of killing crabgrass (also spelled "crab grass")? Using preemergent herbicides is the best way to get rid of crabgrass, but killing the weed begins with proper identification, to which end I provide pictures to help with your weed control.

Overseeding Lawns With Warm-Season Grasses
Temporary lawn renovation can be achieved during Southern winters through 'overseeding' lawns composed of warm-season grasses with cool-season annual ryegrass. Annual ryegrass will die back in time for your warm-season grasses to take center-stage again in summer, so that your winter lawn renovation won't interfere with your primary turf.

Annual Flowers for Decorating Cemetery Monuments for Memorial Day
Decorating cemetery monuments for Memorial Day is similar to what you do for Veterans' Day, but with an important difference -- the use of annual flowers. In many areas of the U.S., Memorial Day is much warmer, meaning that decorating cemetery monuments allows for the use of annual flowers.

Types of Perennials
Many beginners are overwhelmed by the number of different types of perennials available -- and their names. It's bad enough that one has to study up on the growing requirements of the various types of perennials without having to learn their names, too.

Soil Solarization: An Easy Method for Killing Weeds
Soil solarization is an organic method of killing weeds, before they even sprout! You would use soil solarization as a means of killing weeds (i.e., their seeds) when starting from scratch on a plot of land that you wish to cover with landscape fabric and garden organically.

Landscaping Around Swimming Pools
Ideas for landscaping around swimming pools. Landscaping around swimming pools has a set of design principles unique to it.

Overseeding Lawns
When cool-season grasses take a beating from the summer's heat, overseeding lawns is the answer to rejuvenate them. Overseeding lawns is best done in September for cool-season grasses.

Japanese Knotweed Removal by Herbicide Injection
Japanese knotweed removal is no easy task, so homeowners should be aware of all the options available to them to remove these noxious weeds. An interesting approach to Japanese knotweed removal is by glyphosate herbicide injection, an alternative to using glyphosate as a foliar spray.

Care of Bonsai Trees
Brief introduction to the care of bonsai trees. The care of bonsai trees entails pruning, wiring, fertilizing, repotting and watering properly, providing ideal growing conditions for miniaturization.

Roses - Rose Growing Tips
Rose growing tips. Successful rose growing begins with sun, water and the right soil.