About American Landscaping Journal
American Landscaping Journal is a landscaping publication created by landscapers for homeowners who want practical, straightforward information about their yards.
Based in Seattle and published by the team behind Neat & Tidy Landscaping, the Journal covers landscaping, yard care, plants, weeds, tools, equipment, materials, DIY projects, contractors, vendors, landscape waste, and the real costs and challenges behind maintaining a property.
Our goal is simple: help homeowners understand their landscapes and make better decisions about what to do themselves, what products and tools to use, and when it makes sense to hire a professional.
Written From the Contractor’s Side
There is plenty of landscaping advice online. Much of it is written without showing what actually happens in the field.
We want to show the other side.
Our articles draw from real landscaping projects, estimates, job sites, tools, materials, problems, successes, and mistakes. We share original photos and field observations whenever possible so homeowners can see what landscaping work actually looks like—not just the finished photograph.
We’ll talk about the things homeowners often don’t see:
- Why one yard cleanup costs $500 and another costs $5,000
- What landscapers look for when estimating a property
- When a project makes sense to DIY
- When hiring a contractor may actually save money
- What makes certain landscaping jobs difficult
- How access and waste disposal affect project costs
- What tools professionals actually use
- How contractors estimate labor and materials
- What questions homeowners should ask before accepting a bid
- What can go wrong with invasive plants, weeds, pruning, soil, drainage, and neglected landscapes
- How to compare contractors, materials, products, and vendors
We aren’t interested in pretending every landscaping problem has an easy answer.
Sometimes a homeowner can solve the problem with a shovel and a free Saturday. Sometimes the right tool makes all the difference. And sometimes a project requires a crew, commercial equipment, hauling capacity, or specialized knowledge.
We want homeowners to understand the difference.
From Landscapers, Editors and Industry Professionals
American Landscaping Journal is edited by Evan Le, founder of Neat & Tidy Landscaping.
Born into a family of landscapers, Evan grew up around the trade and was exposed to landscaping, yard maintenance, and property care from an early age. After spending more than a decade working as a web developer, he returned to the family landscaping industry before eventually branching out to found Neat & Tidy Landscaping.
His background in technology, research, systems, and problem-solving now shapes the way he approaches landscaping—understanding how plants, soil, weeds, maintenance, labor, tools, materials, waste, and costs all work together across a property.
The Journal combines Evan’s technical perspective with his family’s landscaping experience and the firsthand knowledge of professional crews doing the work every day.
But we don’t want American Landscaping Journal to represent only one company’s perspective.
As the publication grows, we’ll feature guest editors, landscapers, contractors, arborists, gardeners, vendors, manufacturers, suppliers, and other industry professionals. We’ll interview people who work in different parts of the landscaping industry and bring their experience directly to homeowners.
Different contractors do things differently. Different regions have different plants, climates, materials, labor markets, and landscaping challenges. We want to document those differences rather than pretend there is one answer for every property in America.
What We Cover
American Landscaping Journal covers the entire life cycle of maintaining and improving a residential landscape:
Landscaping & Yard Care
Cleanup, restoration, pruning, planting, mulch, gravel, weeds, soil, maintenance, drainage, and practical landscape improvements.
Plants, Weeds & Invasive Species
Plant identification, growth habits, blackberry, English ivy, bamboo, invasive plants, unwanted vegetation, and what homeowners should know before planting—or removing—something.
Tools & Equipment
Hand tools, battery equipment, power equipment, commercial landscaping tools, rentals, comparisons, and what is actually worth buying.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
What homeowners can reasonably tackle themselves, what a project actually involves, and when professional help makes sense.
Contractors & Costs
How landscaping companies estimate work, what affects pricing, how to compare proposals, what should be included or excluded, and what homeowners should expect from a professional contractor.
Materials & Vendors
Mulch, gravel, soil, compost, plants, landscape supplies, disposal facilities, equipment suppliers, and the businesses that keep landscaping projects moving.
Landscape Waste
What happens to branches, weeds, soil, sod, bamboo, blackberry, logs, brush, and other material after it leaves a property—and why disposal can be a significant part of a landscaping project.
Seattle & the Pacific Northwest
American Landscaping Journal was founded in Seattle, so the Pacific Northwest will always be an important part of what we cover. As the Journal grows, we’ll expand our reporting and contributors to landscaping conditions throughout the United States.
No Perfect Yards Required
We’re interested in real yards.
Overgrown yards. New yards. Old yards. Expensive yards. Small yards. DIY projects. Contractor projects. Projects that went perfectly and projects homeowners wish they had done differently.
Our goal isn’t to convince every homeowner to hire a landscaper.
It’s to give people enough information to make a good decision.
If you can do it yourself, we’ll tell you.
If a $50 tool can save you hundreds of dollars, we want you to know about it.
If a cheap solution is likely to create a bigger problem later, we’ll explain why.
And when professional help makes sense, we’ll explain what the contractor is actually doing, what you’re paying for, and what you should expect in return.
The Art of Clean
American Landscaping Journal is also developing The Art of Clean: Landscaping Advice for Homeowners, an upcoming book built around the same philosophy as the Journal.
The book will bring together practical lessons about yard cleanup, landscape restoration, plants, weeds, tools, maintenance, contractors, costs, and making smarter decisions about residential landscapes.
Until then, we’ll keep documenting what we learn from the field and sharing it here.
American Landscaping Journal
Real yards. Real work. Practical advice from the people who do it.