Active Landscaping Posts

How To: Choose the Right Fertilizer for Your Lawn

To keep your lawn healthy, you'll want to fertilize it twice a year: once in fall and once in spring. But what type of fertilizer should you use? The answer, of course, has to do with the type of lawn you have and the sort of results you want to see. For more information on choosing the right fertilizer for your own lawn, watch this home landscaping tutorial.

How To: Drain and clean a hot tub spa

This eleven-part video tutorial discusses how to drain and clean a hot tub spa. It goes over the process step-by-step from turning off the circuit breaker to restarting the spa. It also gives helpful tips on cleaning the tub, working with spa chemicals and avoiding air locks that will make the process a lot more smooth sailing even for a novice spa cleaner.

How To: Use plexiglass to create a "fish tube" for your pond

In this video, learn how to create a brand new way to enjoy your pond. Using plexiglass, create a large, sealed tube that you will then place into your lake or pond. The tube will naturally fill with water and the fish will pop up and visit you inside their new glass window. This way, you will be able to enjoy your fishy friends all the time without falling into the pond water!

How To: Control Running Bamboo

Most bamboo in the United States is running bamboo, because nearly all cold hardy bamboo is the running or invasive type. The tropical bamboos are mostly "clumpers" and stay in a nice, tight clump. Running bamboos spread far and wide and can be very invasive. I grow many kinds of running bamboos and over the past 20 years I've had to learn how to control it's spread.

How To: Choose & Install Garden Lighting

Want to bring some light to your garden and make it look fabulous at night? You may want to consider installing garden lights. As for what sort of lights to install, that depends on your garden and the type of effect you wish to achieve. For detailed instructions on choosing the right garden lights for your home, watch this video guide.

How To: Grow Cold, Hardy Running Bamboo

Bamboo is easy to grow, but there are a few things you should know before starting. There are hundreds of species of bamboo and they can be roughly divided into either running or clumping bamboos. Almost all cold hardy bamboos are runners and almost all tropical bamboos are clumpers. Running bamboos send out root like rhizomes underground and can spread many feet each year. Clumping bamboos slowly expand and stay in a tight clump with canes close together. We grow dozens of cold hardy bamboo ...

How To: Get rid of moles in the yard

Moles can be a problem. You can identify Moles as a problem if when you stick your finger down a hole you can feel a tunnel. There is a safe way to rid your lawn of Moles without harming other pests, insects, pets or family. Castor Oil produces an odor that Moles don't like. Get it in granular or liquid form, sprinkle it around the area. You'll see more Mole activity in the first few days because they'll get agitated but quickly they'll move somewhere else. Don't use a castor oil from a groce...

How To: Cut back ornamental grass

Adrian Higgins is the extraordinary garden writer for the Washington Post and shares with us his tip for cutting back ornamental grass. Spring is late in Washington this year which is good because we haven't gotten around to cutting back our grasses. This is a vital late winter chore because if it isn't done before new growth emerges, cutting could damage the new growth. Different people have different techniques depending on the grass and tool. Adrian doesn't like to use pruners for this tas...

How To: Turn an Old Washing Machine Drum into an Awesome Outdoor Fire Pit

If you want to put a fire pit in your backyard, but don't want to spend a lot of time or money on it, this $10 DIY Upcycled Fire Pit designed by Sarah and Joe over on House & Fig is the perfect weekend project. It's simple, looks great, and shouldn't take much more than an hour to put together. You can pick up a washing machine drum from a used appliance store, and you'll also need a few pieces of steel for the legs and a can of high-heat paint.

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