Guides
Garden design guides for real backyards
Long-form, jargon-free explainers covering the questions most home gardeners actually ask. Each guide walks you through the why and the how — with plant lists, diagrams, and the trade-offs we wish someone had told us years ago.
9 min read
How to Design a Front Yard
A step-by-step framework for planning curb appeal: focal points, layering, and the plants that actually work near a front entry.
Read the guide →10 min read
Best Plants for Shade Gardens
Twelve reliable perennials, evergreen shrubs, and ground covers for every shade level — with USDA zones, heights, and bloom times.
Read the guide →11 min read
Fall Planting Schedule by USDA Zone
Exactly what to plant in autumn from zone 3 to zone 10 — bulbs, trees, shrubs, and cool-season vegetables with specific date windows.
Read the guide →10 min read
Fix Yard Drainage Without Regrading
Five DIY-friendly drainage solutions — French drains, dry creek beds, rain gardens, permeable hardscape — plus when to call a pro.
Read the guide →11 min read
How to Design a Backyard
A practical framework for backyard design — defining zones, layering trees-shrubs-perennials, hardscape decisions, and traffic flow.
Read the guide →12 min read
Mediterranean Garden Design
Fifteen drought-tolerant plants, gravel and terracotta hardscape, water features, and the design moves that make the style read correctly.
Read the guide →12 min read
The Raised Garden Bed Guide
Materials, the right height for your back, the soil-mix formula, what to plant month by month, and the mistakes that ruin most beds.
Read the guide →12 min read
Container Gardening for Small Spaces
Pot sizes by plant, the right potting mix, watering without rot or wilt, varieties that thrive in pots, and winter care.
Read the guide →11 min read
Drought-Tolerant Garden Design
Seven xeriscape principles, 15 drought-tolerant plants by USDA zone, hardscape choices, and the mistakes that ruin most water-wise beds.
Read the guide →12 min read
Vegetable Garden Planting Schedule
Month-by-month timing for zones 3–10, cool vs warm season crops, succession planting, and indoor seed-starting dates.
Read the guide →11 min read
Lawn Alternatives for Low-Maintenance Yards
Eight no-mow lawn alternatives — clover, moss, sedge, wildflower meadow, gravel — with zone fit and transition tips.
Read the guide →13 min read
Native Plants by Region
Regional plant lists for the seven major US ecoregions, plus where to source true native stock and how to design with it.
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