Gardening
Best Plants and Design Tips for a Goth Garden
No flower is truly black, but the right near-black plants and design tricks can create a moody, dramatic goth garden that stands out.
6 min read
20 calculators, every formula shown
Calculate. Plan. Grow.
Size mulch, soil, seed, sod, or concrete for your yard, see the formula behind every number, then follow the guide that explains how to do the job.
Popular calculators
Enter your measurements, get an answer instantly, and see exactly how it was worked out.
Mulch Calculator
Enter your bed dimensions and how deep you want the mulch. You'll get cubic yards, the number of 2 cu ft bags, delivered weight, and whether bags or bulk works out cheaper at that volume.
OpenGrass Seed Calculator
Seeding rates differ by species by a factor of twenty, bermudagrass wants 1 lb per 1,000 sq ft, perennial ryegrass wants 8. Pick your grass and whether you're starting fresh or overseeding.
OpenConcrete Calculator
Get cubic yards and exact bag counts for slabs, footings, cylindrical piers, and stairs, plus whether mixing bags or ordering ready-mix makes sense at your volume.
OpenSod Calculator
Enter your lawn area to get square feet, individual pieces, and pallets, plus the cut allowance you'll actually need. Sod is perishable, so ordering short means a second delivery fee.
OpenGravel Calculator
Gravel is ordered by the ton but measured by volume, so this calculator gives you both. Pick your stone, enter the area and depth, and you'll get cubic yards, tons, and a delivered cost range.
OpenTopsoil Calculator
Topsoil is heavy, roughly a ton per cubic yard, so knowing the weight matters as much as the volume. Enter your area and depth for yards, bags, and delivered tonnage.
OpenPaver Calculator
Enter your patio or walkway size and paver dimensions to get the paver count plus every layer underneath, base depth by traffic type, bedding sand, joint sand, and edging.
OpenFertilizer Calculator
Turf guidance is written in pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft, but fertilizer is sold as a percentage analysis. This converts between them for any bag you have, enter the three numbers on the front.
OpenMeasure once
Break odd shapes into simple sections. The area calculator handles rectangles, circles, triangles, and L-shapes, then adds them up.
Get real quantities
Bags and bulk, tons and cubic yards, with a waste allowance built in, and a note when the load exceeds what a pickup can carry.
Then plan the job
Every calculator shows its formula and a worked example, and links to the guide that explains the decisions behind the number.
Calculators by job
Whatever you're doing this weekend, the numbers are here.
Bulk materials
Work out how much mulch, soil, gravel, or sand a project needs.
What's wrong with your lawn?
Start with what you can see. Most lawn problems are cultural, water, mowing height, or compaction, long before they are disease or insects, so it pays to confirm the cause before buying a treatment.
Recently updated guides
Written for people doing the work themselves, with the assumptions spelled out.
Gardening
Best Plants for a Shade Garden (By Shade Level and Soil)
Shade garden success depends on matching plants to your actual light and soil conditions. Use this guide to pick the right shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers for every type of shade, including tough dry spots.
5 min read
Grass Types
Perennial Ryegrass: Where It Thrives and How to Use It
Perennial ryegrass is the fastest-germinating lawn grass, perfect for overseeding and quick repairs. Learn where it thrives, how to seed, and why it's often blended.
5 min read
Grass Types
Zoysiagrass: Care, Establishment, and Is It Right for You?
Zoysiagrass creates a dense, weed-suppressing lawn but comes with slow establishment and a long brown dormant season. See if zoysia fits your climate and needs.
6 min read
Landscaping
The Best Privacy Hedges for Your Yard: 11 Top Choices
Choosing the right privacy hedge means balancing speed, size, and climate. See 11 top options, how to space them, and what to avoid for lasting results.
6 min read
Landscaping
Flowering Vines for Your Yard: How to Choose and Support Them
Not all flowering vines are created equal. Learn how each type climbs, what support it needs, and which vines to avoid planting near your home.
5 min read
Explore by topic
Guides grouped the way projects actually break down.
Lawn Care
Practical answers for seeding, feeding, watering, and weed control. Each guide links to the calculator that sizes the job for your lawn.
BrowseLandscaping
Beds, hardscape, privacy planting, and outdoor structures. Measure once, buy the right amount, and build in the right order.
BrowseGardening
Choose plants that fit your light and climate, then plant and care for them without guesswork.
BrowseCost Guides
Use these ranges to sanity-check bids and budget materials. Local access, soil, and season can move prices a lot.
BrowsePest Control
Identify the pest first, then choose a control that matches the damage. Wrong ID is the most expensive mistake.
BrowseGrass Types
Match the grass to your climate and how you use the yard. The wrong species causes most chronic lawn problems.
BrowseLawn Problems
Start with the symptom, work back to the cause. Most lawn problems are cultural, not a mystery disease.
BrowseProjects
Build guides with real material lists, the order of work, and where the money usually goes.
BrowsePlanning something bigger?
Price a patio, a fence, or a full yard renovation with realistic ranges, and see the DIY material cost against what a contractor would charge, so the trade-off is a decision rather than a guess.