Building an Outdoor Composting System: Bins, Tumblers, and Worm Farms
My first compost pile was a heap of kitchen scraps and grass clippings behind the garage. It smelled like ammonia,…
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Small Balcony Decorating Ideas for Renters
My first apartment balcony was a 4 by 8 foot slab of concrete with a metal railing and a view…
Creating a Rain Garden: Design, Plants, and Water Management
A rain garden is a shallow depression in the landscape, planted with water-tolerant species, designed to capture and absorb stormwater…
Outdoor Greenhouse Setup: Cold Frames, Polytunnels, and Glass Greenhouses
The first time I grew tomatoes past November, I was hooked on protected growing. It was not a real greenhouse,…
Designing an Outdoor Workshop: Tool Storage and Power Solutions
The project was a garden bench, simple enough. I needed to cut six boards, drill some holes, and assemble. What…
Solar String Lights for Large Yards: Coverage and Runtime Guide
String lights are the lighting effect that transforms a yard from “lawn with a grill” into a place people want…
Creating an Outdoor Reading Library: Weatherproof Book Storage and Seating
There is a particular kind of quiet that exists only in a garden in the late afternoon. The neighborhood noises…
Natural Pest Control for Vegetable Gardens
I lost an entire planting of kale to cabbage worms one summer before I got serious about pest control. I…
How to Mount Solar Lights on Vinyl Fencing Without Drilling
Vinyl fencing is a mixed blessing. It looks clean, it never needs painting, and it does not rot. But it…
Creating an Outdoor Bocce Court: Surface Materials and Boundary Marking
Bocce is the most backyard-friendly game I know. You need a flat strip of ground, some balls, and a target,…
Dealing With Clay Soil: Amendments and Plant Choices
If you can take a handful of soil, squeeze it, and it holds the shape of your fist like pottery,…
Creating a Cut Flower Garden for Arrangements
A flower garden and a cut flower garden are not the same thing. The flower garden is for looking at.…
Building an Outdoor Pizza Oven: Materials, Construction, and First Fire
The first pizza oven I built cracked straight down the dome on the third curing fire. I had used standard…
Creating a Sensory Garden: Touch, Smell, Sound, and Visual Elements
A garden that asks to be touched, smelled, listened to, and tasted works differently than one meant only for looking.…
No-Dig Gardening Method: Building Beds Without Tilling
I spent ten years turning my vegetable beds with a fork every spring, breaking my back and breaking the soil…
