My first shed was an impulse buy: a pretty wooden thing I found online and imagined full of neatly stacked tools. It arrived two weekends later and promptly taught me two lessons — always check …

The first time I built a garden bed, I ignored edging. Within a season, grass crept in, mowing chewed my borders, and the bed looked sloppy. One rainy Saturday I installed a simple row of half-b…

A few summers back I promised to help a friend plant a dozen raised beds in a single weekend. I showed up with two mismatched trowels, a blunt pruner, and a heroic attitude. By noon we were both…

I used to open my shed and groan: a tangle of rakes, a leaning shovel, and a single, lonely pruner hiding under last season’s compost bag. After a weekend with a pegboard, a wall rack, and label…

Introduction: The First Fountain I Installed (and What Nearly Went Wrong) Several years ago, I helped a friend install a medium-sized tiered fountain beside her herb garden. The spot looked per…

My first “garden” was an enthusiastic rectangle of sunflower seeds sown into compacted clay. I’d read one article, grabbed a bag of fertilizer, and expected magic. Predictably, the seedlings wer…