Ruth Foster, a landscape consultant, oversees the planting of the perennial flower border in the yard. Smaller plants fill in the front, moving to the tallest flowering plants in back. Foster has chosen deer-resistant plants like summer asters for the front, with echinacea or cone flowers behind. Foster has also selected a vivid, neon autumn joy for the garden. She and Bob look at the early blooming magnolias that have been planted in the yard and the euonomous hedge that will grow to eight or ten feet and turn red in the fall.

Western red cedar was used to construct this window flower box project in one day. The naturally weather- and insect-resistant qualities of western red cedar wood make it an ideal choice for outdoor use. Download PDF Plans

Bob continues his tour of the exterior with landscape designer Ruth Foster. In the Elizabethan-inspired garden in the front of the house she explains the various flowers she has chosen for the outer border and how they are appropriate for Colonial theme. Over near the side of the house we learn more about the more naturalistic garden, a style that dates back to the American Revolution.

Here s another great tip from BobVila.com. Mulch is probably the best tool you have to keep your garden healthy and green this summer. There are lots of different kinds of mulch to choose from, depending on what s in your garden and what s available where you live. Wood or bark chips, compost, straw, salt hay, cocoa husks, shredded leaves, plastic sheeting and even gravel can all make good mulch for different reasons. In the right quantities, they serve as a shield for the soil so it can do its best work. Mulch protects the soil from erosion and helps it retain its moisture so you can water less frequently and roots grow deeper and healthier. It also keeps weeds down, reserving precious nutrients for your vegetables, flowers and shrubs so you don t have to add as much fertilizer. You spend less time and energy weed whacking and don t need to use poisonous herbicides. After you ve mulched everything once, you don t necessarily have to spend a fortune every season on new bags of commercial mulch. As a matter of fact, be careful of mulching your garden with anything that attracts pests or contains dangerous chemicals, especially on vegetable gardens. Adding some organic material might be enough. Autumn leaves are a gift to your garden that literally just falls out of the trees. Instead of getting rid of them all, put them through a leaf shredder or just run over them a few times with the lawnmower, rake them up and use them as fall mulch on flower or vegetable beds with a little fertilizer. You can add compost to them and turn them into the soil in the spring. In play areas or anywhere you don t want to maintain a lawn, try a recycled mulch like rubber chunks from used tires that would otherwise sit in landfills. Find out more at BobVila.com: the ultimate home improvement web site! 2008 BobVila.com

Bob visits the Burpee Trial Gardens in Ambler, Pa. with George Ball, Burpee president and CEO. George explains the objectives of a "trial" garden and shows off several new plants and flowers.

Bob takes a tour of the completed landscaping in this episode. Landscape designer Ruth Foster has created a Colonial-themed design. Foster chose to keep a magnificent white pine at the front of the yard and combined it with birch trees in the nearby less formal capability garden. Along the front of the yard Foster had planted a half dozen crabapples that will bloom white in the spring. The centerpiece of the landscape is the Elizabethan garden, guarded by two cedar trees at the front of the yard, almost like sentries. The garden itself is edged with flowers, such as rhododendrons and lilacs, as well as favorites like the roses. In addition, Foster has constructed a raised diamond-shaped bed with a topiary in the middle of the garden.

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Staging your home or creating a clean, well-presented space that draws positive attention can add 15 to 20 percent to the selling price. You can hire a professional stylist or do it yourself. Here are the basics. First, clear the junk. Ruthlessly trash clutter and pack away personal items like family photos and knickknacks. Rent a self-storage space for half your furniture. Empty closets and most of the kitchen cabinets and rearrange rooms to show more floor space. Re-paint areas that show wear and tear or where expressions of personal taste might be distracting, and make the obvious repairs like leaky faucets and cracked window panes. Extra storage space in sheds, attics, basements and garages is a very good selling point, so clear them out as well. Junk removal services can save a lot of backache and disposal hassles. Scrub everything, including the windows, and let in light and fresh air. open the drapes. If they re worn or outdated, take them down. Imagine you re taking photos for a magazine: Fluff the pillows, set the dining room table and never underestimate the power of fresh flowers. Don t forget the yard. Get rid of any piles of debris, re-seed the lawn, weed the garden and lose that old patio furniture. Who knows after all that, you might not want to move! Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

Bob and the designer tour the new formal courtyard. They discuss the future of the plants shapes and how they will provide privacy to guests as well as the homeowners. The bluestone path is bound tightly with stone dust to provide years of service. One of the triangular gardens features pink roses and tall pink Cleome (Cleome hasslerana) also known as Spider Flower. Outside the unique white picket fence several Rose of Sharon plants are featured.

All the plants in the backyard were from Monrovia, one of the largest plant suppliers to local nursuries in the country, and they grow some very specialized plants. Ruth Foster was in the backyard earlier in the season to coordinate the colors of the flowers with the surrounding hardscaping and landscaping. The cedar fence will weather to a silver grey, which will provide a soft backdrop for the seasonal colors and blossoms.

Jack Walters from Just Irrigation is on site putting in a RainBird sprinkler system. Bob catches up with him as he is at work in the Elizabethan-style garden. Walters uses a machine called a "pipe-piper" to lay the pipe in the ground, without having to dig trenches. Next, he attaches the fixtures and positions them so that they will be contained within the garden area and not saturate the flowers along the outside of the garden.