2022 Update: We installed our swimming pool a little over two years ago, and going through the research alone was a tremendous effort. There are so many items to consider regarding the design and construction, and then all the potential pool accessories as well; it’s frankly a little overwhelming. And if you’re going through the […]
Outdoor
How to Water Transplanted Trees in Extreme Summer Heat
2022 Update: With the intense heat of a Texas summer, it wasn’t my plan to transplant two large Red Oak trees – but that’s just how things went down. Worse yet, we’ve had temperatures as high as 107-degrees of late, which is extreme even for here. It’s been relentless. There was no question I had […]
Fire Pit Patio Rehab & Tree Demolition
Rehabbing my crappy fire pit patio area took 3 seasons: fall, winter, and spring. A LONG time. The main reason? I wanted the backyard soil frozen solid to support the tree demolition equipment. A dead ~70-foot sweet gum tree, after all, is not something you cut down without a LOT of exceptionally-qualified professional tree removal […]
Lawn Repair: Patching a Large Area with Kentucky Bluegrass
Update — Originally Published June, 2015 Maintaining a beautiful lawn is an ongoing effort. There are the rules of watering, seeding, fertilizing, lime application as well as both pest and fungus control. So many facets to consider, and if you’re reading this – you’re probably quite well-aware. But there’s one more challenge that I recently […]
Refreshing a Pool Landscape: Dead Hinoki Cypress & Solar Tiki Torches
Our pool landscape, now at 11 years old, needed some tuning. We’ve maintained it continuously, but the two Hinoki Cypress right up front (circled in the original landscape photo below) – died together. This particular area of our backyard, under the heaviest of rains, would sometimes pond a bit. And the last 2 years, we […]
Tree Planting 101
2021 Update… Spring is upon us in New Jersey, the ‘Garden state,’ and signs of life are exploding outside. I’ve done quite a lot of tree planting over the years, and while everyone has their own techniques, I find there are a few basic rules & principles that always seem to apply. Best Season for […]
Creating a Natural Stone Landscape Border
This flagstone landscape border is a one-day project that’s simple in concept, but really added a lot of character to an Arborvitae line in the front of my house and also set us up to add softer flower bed plantings as well. What I love about landscaping projects is that they’re hard work, they’re outside […]
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