Landscaping: Page 6

Dave shows you a great way to turn fallen leaves into Gardener's Gold: fabulous -- and cheap! -- mulch for your plants.

A fantastic "do it yourself" project, the folks at Progressive Farmer magazine show you how to build a fire pit in just one day. Clear step-by-step instructions and material lists help make this project both fun and easy.

In the winter, the weather can be especially unpredictable. Ice, snow, low temperatures, and high winds can all play havoc on our trees and shrubs and these can be expensive losses. In a two part series, Allen Smith gives some tips on how to protect your garden.

You probably do spring cleaning in your home... so why not fall cleaning in your garden? Allen Smith demonstrates various cleaning techniques to keep your garden healthy.

Learn how to choose mulch and apply it to areas surrounding trees. Remember, too much mulch is NOT a good thing.

In this video, let our expert show you how to grow bamboo. Yolanda Vanveen gives you information about this wondrous plant, and she shows you how to care for it. Learn the different types of bamboo, and learn what diseases can effect your plant.

Tim Carter shows a clever method that prevents tree roots from entering an underground sewer or septic line. Check for underground utilities before attempting this project.

Snails and slugs are a big problem for gardeners across the country, whether it be a hosta patch or your lettuce, they love to eat a wide variety of plants. If you have containers, raised beds, even if you have benches slugs will climb up and over and into your plants. To get rid of these pests you could use baits, traps or a preventative barrier. Copper tape is a protective barrier that works. Copper conducts enough electricity so that when that slimy slug touches the copper strip it gets a...

Chlorosis means yellowing of the leaves, particularly the older leaves of the plant. When present on older leaves it's possible the plant has a Nitrogen deficiency and could indicate that it's a good time to fertilize. If the same symptoms occur with younger leaves the most likely problem is over watering.

We next discuss trimming regular hedges. Most people just want a hedge that's tidy and neat, one that performs a function of blocking a view. We discuss some newly planted Boxwoods. Glenn planted these several months ago and wants to keep these low growing, about the height of the wall behind them. When the new growth starts to come up and the plant has reached its desired height, he prunes them. Glenn leaves an open space between the plant and the wall, this allows for good air circulation,...

Chopping up downed trees and sending them to the landfill isn't ideal. It's better to use them as firewood or have them chipped up and use them as mulch material or for a walkway. Never combine woodchips with the soil because they rob the soil of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium but they're great walkway material and will gradually break down providing nutrients for the soil.

Hydrangea is a garden favorite. It has lovely blooms and can become a good sized plant. Many ask when should it be pruned or cut back. A good rule of thumb is to understand that Hydrangeas bloom on old wood. As soon as the flowers are spent, as soon as they start to turn brown it is a good idea to prune. This allows a maximum time for the branch to grow, set new wood which will then turn into old wood and produce more flowers.

In this how-to video clip instructional series, our expert demonstrates how to fell a tree using either a chainsaw or a rope or both. He informs us about the correct tools to use to cut down a tree and about the safety equipment one needs to fell trees. He also explains the process of cutting down a tree, including planning the felling, planning escape routes, wedging, cutting notches in the tree trunk, using a felling wedge, felling a tree with a rope and a truck cutting down a tree with a...

This series will focus on the basics of drawing landscapes. Our expert Neha Ahuja shows you how to draw a landscape in these free video art lessons, including what sorts of art supplies you'll need to make your drawings, where to find examples of landscape drawing, and how to identify the distinguishing characteristics and details that define landscape drawing.

Protect and preserve your garden from winter chill by cutting back shrubs, putting down cool weather fertilizer, transplanting and planting spring bulbs.

This ReadyMade video explains how to build a raised bed garden for your home to block out that ugly garage or naked neighbor.

If working an area with poor or eroded soil something must be done to improve the soil so plants will grow. A great tip is to use about 50% organic matter and 50% native soil, mix it together, put it around the rocks, then plant Thyme or other creeping plants. This will help the plants to establish themselves. Don't put organic matter under the rocks because over time it will allow the rocks to sink.

If looking for a way to make your garden interesting throughout the year don't just concentrate on the flowers, look at other parts of the plant. An example is a Rose bush. After the Roses are finished many have beautiful leaves. One plant has beautiful hips, large seeds pods. They add interest during the summer, then in the fall they'll turn a ruby red creating interest throughout the entire season. Consider the whole plant and its' characteristics during different seasons.

Top dressing is important for roses. Add one or two inches of good organic matter in and around the plants, taking care not to disturb the roots. Lori likes a material that is well composted, something with a lot of different sized particles, a product with a little nutrient charge included. Something with phosphorous, nitrogen, even some bone meal as well as some iron is good, since these ingredients tend to green the leaves. Top dressing will keep Roses looking good year after year.

Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are a problem throughout the United States. The resin on the leaves is what bothers us, causing acute dermatitis (a bad rash). If you happen to come in contact with it, quickly wash with hot soapy water, that should at least reduce the amount of irritation. Poison Ivy has three leaves and a little bit of red where the leaf merges with the stem. There is a new product made especially for eradicating Poison Ivy and tough brush. To use this product, spray the leaves...

Although most of us can't grow Mangoes or Avocados or some of the other plants we're looked at, most everyone can grow or enjoy Orchids. Today they're readily available and there are thousands of species and it's believed there are thousands that have yet to be been discovered. Considering the way they're propagated today and the many places they're sold there is no reason we all shouldn't be growing Orchids. Karen had a fear of growing Orchids, thinking they were difficult to grow. She...

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 task...

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 grocery...

Weeds are the bain of a gardeners existence. Many people reach for something and spray. There are many cultural things that can be tried before spraying. Cutting the grass correctly and ensuring good drainage will go a long way towards preventing weeds. If water is puddling on top of the soil you know you're going to have to do something, some drainage tiles, bringing in more soil to level it out, somehow improve the drainage. With conditions like this you will not only have problems with weeds...

Water gardens are great but Mosquitoes like them too. To help control Mosquitoes a safe and effective remedy is Mosquito dunks. When placed in the water they are attractive to Mosquitoes, but they contain a bacteria. The Mosquitoes feed on it, it gets into their gut and kills them. The dunk is safe for pets, for fish that might be in the water, for wildlife and for humans. Just leave the dunks in the water, they will last about 30 days in a pond this size. Normally use 1 in 100 square feet or...

The Sun Sprite Rose has a nice fragrance but you want to keep it healthy by fertilizing it. Roses are heavy feeders so Charlie suggests adding compost in the Spring, really building up the soil, maybe put in some time release fertilizer pellets, then use regular Rose food to keep the Roses really looking good. Another home remedy involves fertilizing with coffee grounds. Coffee grounds sprinkled around Roses about a quarter of an inch to half an inch thick will help Roses grow and bloom better....

Cool Tool: Working on pop-up sprinklers is easy—if you're an octopus! This nifty tool pulls up and holds the nozzle so you can work with both hands.

Looking for a tiny yet terrific new plant? Dwarf Photinia is a dazzling space-saving bush that oodleboxtv.com lord of the landscape Michael Glassman loves to use in his designs! Click here to find out why...

Protect the kids from playground falls and mulch the plants at the same time! Landscape designer Michael Glassman spins his wheels finding inventive ways to use recycled rubber tires in the backyard.

Form, function and finesse transform seemingly simple stacked retaining walls into works of art and true engineering marvels. We'll show you how to make "rock stars" out of slabs of stone that hold soil from sliding down slippery slopes.

Trish Horrington shows how to make a floral headdress. Flowers are listed and subtitled at the beginning of the video. Great video with a cute result.

A man in a Hawaiian shirt shows how to arrange a parallel flower arrangement. No verbal instruction, but video clearly displays the techniques in accomplishing this arrangement.

Video shows how to garden using a self watering planter. Man explains how to use and gives an example of different vegetables he plants in the planter.

Lars discusses how to use the hori hori knife within your garden. Video gives a brief history on the knife and how it can be applied to home gardening techniques.

Lars discusses an organic fire ant control method developed at Texas A&M university. Lars stresses on the safety and environmentally friendly factors these products practice.

Video shows how to make a winter hanging basket. Using a wire basket, compost, silas natural fiber, violets, tulip bulbs, trailing ivy, a water can, newspaper, fertilizer and a small saucer, the video breaks down the easy steps to construct your basket. Watch video for best results.

Tom Cole shows how to prune raspberries and blackberries off canes. Using secateurs, cutback the canes once they have fruited. The next step Tom shows is to tie the remaining canes that need to bloom. Great video with pleasant results.

This video demonstrates a way to save your old garden hose. It show how to replace the ends of the hose.

Rob Scott shows us how to plant a rose bush. Roses should be planted in late autumn or early spring. Start by preparing the rose, then the soil, and add fertilizer to the soil. Watch video for best results.

Video show how to prune wisteria in the winter. Wisteria is a climbing plant that needs to be trimmed so that it is kept at a manageable size. Simple steps are explained well in this video.