Landscaping How To & DIY

Improve the value of your home by discovering our landscaping step-by-step tips & ideas.

S22 E15: Lee Gilliam helps a homeowner reclaim a yard overrun with invasive species
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How to Manage Invasive Plants

Landscape contractor Lee Gilliam helps a homeowner reclaim a piece of his yard that’s overrun with invasive and aggressive species.
S22 E3: Lee Gilliam and Jenn Nawada help a homeowner with a sloped front yard
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How to Landscape a Sloping Yard

Lee Gilliam, the newest member of the Ask This Old House family, teams up with landscaping contractor Jenn Nawada to help a homeowner whose yard has been going downhill.
S21 E26, Nathan Gilbert works with a portable sawmill
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How to Clear a Fallen Tree with a Portable Sawmill

Carpenter Nathan Gilbert’s Christmas tree farm suffered some damage from a fallen red oak. Rather than get rid of it, he’s going to turn it into usable slabs of wood for his projects.
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How to Build a Stone Water Fountain

Landscape contractor Jenn Nawada and mason Mark McCullough team up to build a simple stone water feature that makes a big impact.
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5 Gorgeous Rock Landscaping Ideas

Consider the various ways of using rocks in your landscape design—and the many benefits.
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How to Grow Hebe Shrubs

These vibrant, versatile bushes can bring color and beauty to your garden all year long. Here’s what you need to know about planting, pruning, and propagating hebe shrubs.
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How To Kill a Tree Stump

From home remedies to professional solutions, here’s everything you need to know about getting rid of a tree stump in your yard.
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How to Install Outdoor Landscape Lighting

Heath Eastman demonstrates how to install landscape lighting along a garden path. Adding landscape lighting to a walkway or path can improve the look and experience of the area.
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How to Anchor Hardscaping with Plants | This Old House: Live

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Jenn Nawada helps out a friend with some plantings that work well with a winding, brick walkway.
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How to Build a Raised Garden Bed | This Old House: Live

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Jenn Nawada demonstrates how to build a raised garden bed in her backyard as part of This Old House: Live—an initiative providing daily programming and opportunities to connect with our experts during these challenging times.
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How to Plant a Cherry Tree

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Jenn Nawada travels to Washington D.C. to help a homeowner select and plant a cherry tree for his house.
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How to Upgrade to a Smart Irrigation System

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Jenn Nawada shares DIY Smarts tips when she travels to Orlando to upgrade an irrigation system.
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How to Grow Grasses on the Prairie

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada partners with an ecologist in Cheyenne, Wyoming to learn about different types of prairie grasses and how to care for them
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How to Create a Vertical Garden for Small Spaces

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada installs a vertical garden to maximize space for a homeowner
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Build It | Fire Pit Cover

Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva works with host Kevin O’Connor to build a cover that can turn a store bought fire pit into a table when not in use.
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Pruning a Crabapple Tree

Ask This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner prune his crabapple tree
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How to Create a Desert Landscape

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada heads to Phoenix to recreate the desert in a homeowner’s front yard
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How to Prune Trees Using the Three Cut Method

Roger Cook explains the correct way to cut branches off a tree without harming it
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How to Revitalize a Landscape for Free

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada updates a landscape by moving around, dividing, and pruning the current plants in the yard.
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Pruning an Overgrown Hedge

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook saves a neglected, unkempt hedge.
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How to Dispose of Fall Leaves

You found the rake—now do the right thing
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How to Install a Water Feature that Reuses Rainwater

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada installs a water feature that collects and reuses rainwater.
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How to Plant a Living Privacy Screen

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner plant a living privacy screen.
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Create a Dog-Friendly Landscape Plan

Dogscaping 101. Here's everything you need to know before you get started planning your yard
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How to Create a Drainage Swale

The plant-populated channels can redirect storm water to specific locations
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How to Maintain Fruit Trees

Pay attention to these four key areas and your trees will remain at a manageable height while producing abundant fruit. Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery, one of the largest growers of fruit trees in the country, helps gardeners get the most out of their trees by focusing on this checklist
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How to Transform Your Landscape Using Existing Plants

Ask This Old House landscape designer Jenn Nawada uses a homeowner’s existing plants and a few additions to transform the look of a house’s foundation
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Ask This Old House: Roger Cook’s Greatest Hits

Over the years, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook has shown countless homeowners how to care for their trees
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How to Build a Pondless Waterfall

Jenn Nawada, landscape designer for Ask This Old House, helps install a pondless waterfall in a backyard.
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A Suburban Lot Turns into Magical Garden Rooms

Here's how an ordinary suburban lot became a nature playground for kid and adults alike—with ideas anyone can use
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How to Prune in Early Spring

Prune these specimens in the late winter or early spring for thicker foliage later on.
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How to Install a Water-Saving Drip-Irrigation System

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner install a drip-irrigation system
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How to Plant a Large Shade Tree

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner select and plant a deciduous shade tree.