Gardening Maintenance

Our gardening maintenance tips can help you keep your home cost efficient, safe & cozy.

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Fall Fertilizing: Essential Tips to Make Your Yard Grow

Read this guide to learn why autumn is the best time of year to fertilize your yard.
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Building Garden Beds with Local Girl Scouts

Landscape contractor Jenn Nawada and carpenter Nathan Gilbert help a troop of Girl Scouts restore their raised bed gardens with fresh wood, some replanting, and Tom Silva’s one-of-a-kind planter.
Frogs in Your Yard, How To, Remove, Home

How to Get Rid of Frogs in Your Yard

Frogs can be an adorable addition to your yard or garden—or they can be a headache. As a homeowner, you’ll have to decide if you want to keep frogs away or not. Here are some tips on what to do if frogs are hopping around your property. 
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Simple Guide To Outdoor Tool Maintenance

Identify the most helpful outdoor tools and learn how to maintain them year-round with help from This Old House's landscaping experts.
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Is it OK to Reuse Potting Soil? Here’s What You Should Know

Potting soil can get expensive if you need to change it year after year, but is it possible to reuse it? This guide will show you how to prolong the life of this essential growing medium for container gardening.
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How to Care for Ornamental Grass

These types of grasses can add beauty and grace to your lawn or garden, but it is critical to know how to care for them. Here are some factors to consider when selecting ornamental grass.
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End-of-Summer Yard and Garden Cleanup Tips

Give your lawn and garden the care they need by removing debris, dividing crowded perennials, and adding mulch—so plants can come back stronger.
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All About Mulch: Types, Benefits, and Application Tips

Discover everything you need to know about mulch, from the different types available to the benefits it offers your garden.
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Epsom Salt in the Garden: Benefits, Uses, and Precautions

Does Epsom salt really help your plants? Explore the potential benefits, risks, and how to use Epsom salt in your garden effectively.
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How to Keep Window Box Arrangements Fresh Throughout Winter

Help keep your outdoor winter arrangements in great shape with these pointers from This Old House landscape contractor Jenn Nawada.
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Pro Tips to Get Your House Ready for Warmer Weather

Spring is here, so it’s time to prime the house and garden for the warm-weather months ahead. Read on for tips on how to get everything ready for the summer.
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How To Clean Up and Expand a Garden

An overgrown garden can look disheveled and unkempt. Here's how to transform yours into a beautiful outdoor oasis.
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How to Get Squirrel-Proof Bulb Plantings 

Few sights can make your heart sink like watching the spring-flowering bulbs you just planted become food for four-legged foragers. Read these tips to keep squirrels from eating your freshly planted bulbs.
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A Guide to Nellie Stevens Holly

Nellie Stevens holly is an adaptable shrub that can survive under a wide range of conditions, from sun to shade, acidic soil to alkaline soil, and water to no water. Read this guide to learn how you can grow and maintain this evergreen, low-maintenance shrub.
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Everything You Need to Know to Choose the Right Mulch

Mulch is a an often overlooked but useful garden tool. Use our guide to navigate the options and find the best topdressing for your plant bed.
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A Guide to Honeycrisp Apple Trees

Growing a Honeycrisp apple tree is the perfect challenge for a seasoned gardener located in colder states. In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the tree, from growing conditions to ongoing maintenance.
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Christmas Tree Maintenance: How To Keep up With Your Tree

Learn some of the most effective tips for keeping your Christmas tree happy and healthy all season long with our tree maintenance guide.
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Should I Mulch with Pine Needles?

Read to learn the pros and cons of using pine needles as mulch.
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How to Remove Overgrown Foundation Shrubs

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner remove foundation shrubs that have overtaken the front of her house
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Caring for Summer-Blooming Bulbs

Bulbs are pretty easygoing, but here you'll learn tips to help maximize blooms and increase odds that they'll naturalize into more plants.
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Early-Spring Pruning Primer: A Guide to Seasonal Foliage

Read how to prune plants, flowers and other specimens in the late winter or early spring for healthy thicker foliage later on.
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Ask Roger: How to Prune Shrubs

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shows the right way to prune shrubs
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How To Save Seeds and Easily Regrow Your Favorite Plants

Learning how to save seeds enhances your gardening experience and contributes to biodiversity. Read our step-by-step guide to learn how.
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All About Garden Hand Tools

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook shares tips for using his four favorite gardening tools—five if you count his hands
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Save Seeds for Repeat Success With Healthy Plants

Take the guesswork out of rekindling this season's stunning garden by hanging onto seeds now
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Learn the Best Ways to Deal with Storm Water

These landscape drainage solutions prevent puddling and flooding and look good too.