Lawn & Garden

Raised beds, hoses, mowers, trimmers and patio gear, with how-tos that get your yard ready for the season.

A good yard starts with the basics: healthy soil, the right watering setup and tools that are comfortable enough that you'll actually use them. We cover raised beds, hoses, mowers, trimmers and patio gear, with an eye on what holds up season after season.

Garden work is seasonal, so we publish ahead of time. Spring planting guides go up over winter, and lawn care guides land before mowing season starts. Our how-tos are written for regular homeowners, not landscapers.

Tyler Ramirez leads our lawn and garden coverage, drawing on his background in the home and garden industry.

Best picks and reviews

• 
  Best of
  Countertop Compost Bins That Don't Smell: The Best 4

  A good kitchen compost bin holds a few days of scraps without smelling and cleans up easily. Our picks from OXO, Exaco, Package Free and Joseph Joseph, based on America's Test Kitchen's week-long testing.

• 
  Best of
  Top Cordless Leaf Blowers With Real Runtimes

  Battery leaf blowers now rival gas for most yards, without the fumes and pull cords. Our picks for the best cordless leaf blowers from Ego, Greenworks, Ryobi and Makita, with real runtimes from CNN Underscored's testing.

• 
  Best of
  Best Electric Lawn Mowers for Small Yards, Corded and Cordless

  For a small yard, an electric mower is quieter, lighter and easier than gas. Our picks from Ego, Toro, Greenworks, Wild Badger and Ryobi, with real runtimes from Bob Vila's testing.

• 
  Best of
  Easy-Pulling Garden Carts for Seniors: 4 Top Picks

  Carts that do the heavy lifting: an electric wagon that drives itself, a convertible cart with no-flat tires and a big-wheeled utility cart. Our picks for the best garden carts for seniors, based on Bob Vila's hands-on hauling tests.

• 
  Best of
  Hedge Trimmers That Handle Thick Branches

  Most hedge trimmers jam on anything thicker than a pencil. These cordless models cut branches up to 1 to 1.25 inches. Our picks for the best hedge trimmers for thick branches from Milwaukee, Ego, Husqvarna, Ryobi and Craftsman, with test notes.

• 
  Best of
  Best Leaf Vacuum Mulchers for Large Yards

  A leaf vacuum mulcher shrinks piles of leaves into a fraction of the bags. Our picks for big yards, from a walk-behind Billy Goat to gas handhelds from Stihl and Husqvarna, with test notes.

• 
  Best of
  Top Loppers for Thick Branches up to 2 1/4 Inches

  Loppers that cut 1.5- to 2.25-inch branches without wrestling. Our picks for the best loppers for thick branches from Corona, Fiskars, Hickok and Felco, based on Outdoor Life's tests on saplings, fruit trees and overgrown shrubs.

• 
  Best of
  Pruning Shears for Small or Arthritic Hands That Cut With Less Squeeze

  Ratchet, geared and battery pruners that cut with far less squeeze. Our picks for the best pruning shears for arthritic hands from Fiskars, Gardener's Friend, Felco and Sun Joe, based on Tom's Guide's testing by a farmer through hundreds of cuts.

• 
  Best of
  Raised Garden Beds for Vegetables: Best Metal, Wood and Self-Watering Picks

  Cedar, galvanized steel or self-watering plastic: our picks for raised vegetable beds from Veikous, Sunnydaze, Best Choice Products, Keter and Zhongma, based on Bob Vila's tests with soil and plants.

• 
  Best of
  Best Reel Mowers for Bermuda Grass

  Bermuda looks its best cut low and often, which is exactly what a reel mower does well. Our picks from Earthwise, Fiskars, Great States and Scotts, based on Bob Vila's tests on Bermuda and centipede lawns.

• 
  Best of
  Riding Lawn Mowers for 1 Acre: 4 Highest-Rated Picks

  An acre takes well over an hour with a push mower and about half an hour on a rider. Our picks for the best riding mowers for 1-acre lots, from a John Deere lawn tractor to battery zero-turns from Ego and John Deere.

• 
  Best of
  Compost Tumblers Worth Buying: 2 Top Picks

  A compost tumbler keeps scraps off the ground, away from critters and easy to mix. Our two picks for the best compost tumbler, from FCMP and Good Ideas, and how to get finished compost in weeks instead of months.

• 
  Best of
  Top Zero-Turn Mowers for 2 to 3 Acres

  On 2 to 3 acres, a zero-turn can cut your mowing time in half. Our picks for the best zero-turn mowers from Toro, Ego, Husqvarna and Bobcat, gas and battery, with test notes on speed, comfort and slopes.

Guides and how-tos

• 
  How-to
  How to Restring a String Trimmer (Bump Feed and Speed Feed)

  Out of line mid-edge? Here's how to reload a string trimmer head, from winding a classic bump-feed spool to the quick through-the-hole method, and how to stop the line from welding together.

• 
  How-to
  How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades (With and Without Removing Them)

  A dull blade tears grass instead of cutting it. Here's how to safely remove, sharpen and balance a rotary mower blade with a file or grinder, plus a quick touch-up you can do without taking it off.

• 
  How-to
  Lawn Mower Won't Start? A 10-Minute Checklist

  Most mowers that won't start in spring have old gas, a dirty spark plug or a clogged air filter. Work through this checklist for gas, battery and riding mowers before you call for repair.

• Buying guide
  How Much Soil Do You Need for a Raised Bed?

  The simple math for filling a raised garden bed, a chart for common bed sizes in cubic feet, bags and cubic yards, and when to buy bulk soil instead of bags.

• 
  Buying guide
  What Size Riding Mower Do You Need? (Acres Chart)

  A simple chart that matches deck width to lot size, the quick math for how long mowing will take, and when a lawn tractor beats a zero-turn.

• How-to
  What to Put in the Bottom of a Raised Garden Bed

  Cardboard, hardware cloth, logs or nothing at all? What to line the bottom of a raised bed with depending on your weeds, pests and bed height, and why gravel is a bad idea.