Knowledge library
The Knowledge Library
The calculators give you a number. This is where the number comes from. Everything in the library is written to be read on its own, cross-linked to the tools it supports, and updated when we find better evidence.
How-To Guides
Full project walkthroughs, from preparation and materials to the finish and the common failure points.
Articles
Seasonal advice, deep dives, myth-busting, and the small decisions that decide whether a project lasts.
Little Known Facts
Short, sourced corrections to advice that gets repeated far more often than it gets checked.
Reference Charts
Spacing, coverage, sizing and conversion tables you can look up mid-job without doing any arithmetic.
Plant Profiles
Light, water, spacing, hardiness and harvest for the plants people actually grow at home.
Material Profiles
What each material is good at, where it fails, what it costs, and the honest alternative.
Glossary
Trade and horticultural jargon translated into plain English, with the context that makes it stick.
Project Costs
Realistic DIY and professional cost ranges, and what actually drives the difference between quotes.
Recently added facts
- Evening Watering Is Not Always the Safer ChoiceWatering at dusk saves water but can cost you the plant: wet leaves overnight are the single biggest invitation to fungal disease.
- The Second Coat of Paint Uses Less Than the FirstBuying 'two coats worth' at the first-coat rate routinely overshoots — the second coat stretches 10-25% further on most surfaces.
- Topsoil, Garden Soil, and Potting Mix Are Not InterchangeableFilling a raised bed with bagged topsoil is the most common reason a new bed compacts into a brick by its second season.
- Mulch Piled Against a Trunk Slowly Kills the TreeMulch touching a trunk holds bark permanently damp, invites rot and rodents, and encourages roots to circle above the flare.
- Grout Joint Width Changes How Many Tiles You NeedTile quantity is calculated on tile size plus joint, not tile size — a detail that quietly changes the order on any large floor.
- It Takes Forty-Five 80 lb Bags to Make One Cubic YardOne cubic yard of concrete is about forty-five 80 lb bags or sixty 60 lb bags — roughly 1.6 tonnes you carry by hand.