With all the unseasonable nice weather we have been having in Montana where I live, I can’t help but think of planning my outdoor landscape for this coming year even though it’s January! According to a study by Michigan State University, for every $1 invested in landscaping, property owners will see a 109% return. A…
The best single time of the year for top dressing lawns is in the fall for cool season grasses and in the spring for warm season grasses. I’m writing from Montana so we have cool season grasses here. This also allows you to combine other cultural practices such as core aeration and over-seeding with the…
There are a few easy ways to do a soil sample test in your garden. It is good to know what kind of soil you have. As you watch your garden grow you can make sure your vegies and flowers have what they need. So, doing a few types of soil tests gives you lots…
Compost is an extremely popular and useful soil amendment that most gardeners can’t go without. Perfect for adding nutrients and breaking up heavy soil, it’s often referred to as black gold. So if it’s so good for your garden, why use soil at all? What’s to stop you from growing plants in pure compost? Keep…
Beginning seeds indoors is a fun way to get the garden going early; imagine being able to extend the harvest of springtime plants; imagine being able to put out the tomatoes and cucumbers that have grown to a full foot-high at the annual Memorial Day planting session. All that work, usually, begins indoors. The indoor…
Oftentimes in gardens we think to plant flowers with other flowers and shrubbery and we plant vegetables with other vegetables. But when you plant the two together you get both beautiful natural aesthetics and a healthier garden. Here’s why… Attract Beneficial Insects Bees are a gardener’s best friend; you could almost say that the bee…
It’s Spring…finally. And the springtime is the perfect time laying down a new lawn. Here’s a few tip sand tricks—including the importance of adding a layer of compost beneath the sod—to getting the job done right. Prep the Yard Laying down the sod is simple and quick, but the trick to having sod roots take…
Weeds are a natural and recurring problem in any outdoor space. Weeds can sprout in virtually any soil; weeds can grow with or without quality soil conditions. Weeds can easily find their way through cracks in cement sidewalks and the very best weed barrier will eventually break down enough that those pesky weeds find a…
So often we hear the saying “well-drained soil”, but what exactly does this mean? You can buy a gardening manual, read the back of a package of seeds, and there it is: “well-drained soil”. Basically, it refers to the quality of your soil. Soil should have good structure, meaning that it should be able to…
Wintertime is the perfect time to plan for next year’s gardening and yard projects. This is the time to take stock of your supplies and to plan your projects for when the first greenery of spring arrives. If you have never planted a garden or have never taken on any landscaping projects, you are going…