Lawn Care News

Ideas for indoor gardening and landscape design with houseplants. Includes ideas for combatting pests on houseplants by identifying pests and pest-control techniques.

Definition of microclimates. A microclimate can be thought of as a 'loophole' in the rules implied in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone maps, which define MACROclimates.

Definition of Japanese bonsai. In Japanese bonsai, trees are dwarfed by careful root and stem pruning coupled with root restriction.

The questions that I receive from readers run the gamut, from how to prune shrubs to how to prevent pest damage, from using old grass seed to using vines to solve yard problems. Because of the quantity of questions sent in, I can't get to every one, of course. But unanswered questions often become fodder for future FAQs, so stay tuned: Your topic may be treated in the future.

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Purple-leaf sand cherry picture. While it can be used as a shrub, training purple-leaf sand cherry can create a tree.

Halloween image showing Satan, supported scarecrow-style. Behind Satan hangs a devil flag.

Identifying noxious weeds can the first step in eliminating a serious source of frustration for homeowners. Among these resources are articles on identifying noxious weeds.

What to consider in the way of quality of life when assessing landscaping when buying real estate, such as the presence of Japanese knotweed or kudzu on the land. Some helpful tips for real estate buyers who care about landscaping their yards as they see fit and who seek a high quality of life.

Definition of 'variegated.' A two-toned leaf or flower is said to be variegated.

Picture of a red coleus. This red coleus' color works well with, say, yellow marigolds.

Heaven Scent magnolia trees (sometimes misspelled 'Heaven Sent') are flowering specimens. Heaven Scent magnolia trees have pink blossoms.

Chinese lantern picture. Producing an orange "light shade," Chinese lanterns are in the nightshade family and toxic.

Smoke Tree (or 'bush') gets its name from its fuzzy flowers. Smoke tree flowers form a sort of cloud, as this picture shows.

Most of my pictures of foundation plantings illustrate the norm, where the bed exists on a flat plane. But in this picture, I show a foundation planting done on a slope.

Pruning trees is a bit like doctoring, in the sense that your first concern is to 'do no harm.' Much harm can result from pruning trees improperly.

Picture of lavender delphinium flowers. Although the common name 'larkspurs' is in use for these plants, many people commonly refer to them as 'delphinium' flowers.

For northern climates, you need to find one of the cold-hardy bamboo plants. The Fargesias are among the most cold-hardy bamboo plants.

Blue morning glory picture.

The assembly of BV4000 Leaf Hog leaf blowers (lawn vacuums) is fairly straightforward, an important point for the 'gadget-challenged.' I also give these leaf blowers (lawn vacuums) a good rating in terms of power.

Black pansy picture.