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Author: Melanie Joseph

With hands-on experience in gardening and lawn care, Melanie has been a dedicated writer for LawnStarter for years now. She’s passionate about sharing practical tips to help homeowners cultivate healthier, greener yards — one blade of grass at a time.

What Causes Mushrooms in My Yard?

By Melanie Joseph | Published: May 12, 2025
General Lawn Care

Moisture, shade, poor drainage, and excess thatch can cause mushrooms to grow in your yard. Although they’re not bad for your lawn in most cases, if they pose safety issues, you’ll want to remove them immediately and take measures (aeration and dethatching) to prevent them in the future.

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Types of Mulch for Your Landscape

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: May 7, 2025
Landscaping

With so many types of mulch, such as wood chips, bark, cardboard, gravel, and rubber, it can be confusing to choose among them. We’ll help you understand each type so you can choose the right one for your landscape.

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How to Choose the Right Mulch Color for Your Landscape

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: May 9, 2025
Landscaping

When choosing the right mulch color for your landscape, consider your home’s exterior color, landscape style, plants, and other factors, which we’ll explain here.

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Reel Mower vs. Rotary Mower

By Melanie Joseph | Published: April 14, 2025
Lawn Care Equipment

To compare reel mowers vs. rotary mowers, we’ll consider their differences in ease of use, cost, maintenance, weight, noise, and other categories.

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How to Care for New Grass

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: March 31, 2025
General Lawn Care

Knowing how to care for new grass can help you achieve a lush lawn. You must properly water, mow, fertilize, prevent weeds, and avoid foot traffic.

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How to Prevent Weeds in Flower Beds

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: August 24, 2025
Landscaping

Learn how to prevent weeds in flower beds, which starts with proper bed preparation and laying landscape fabric or a weed barrier.

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Is It Better to Rake or Mulch Leaves?

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: August 29, 2025
Leaf Removal

Your needs will dictate whether it’s better to rake or mulch leaves. For example, choose to rake for a tidy yard or mulch to reduce landfill waste.

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How to Get Rid of Weeds in Flower Beds

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: August 21, 2025
Landscaping

To get rid of weeds in flower beds, manually remove them or apply an organic weed killer like vinegar. You can also use a chemical herbicide or a targeted strategy for stubborn weeds.

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Best Ways to Clean Up Leaves in Your Yard

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: August 29, 2025
Leaf Removal

Discover the best ways to clean up leaves in your yard — from raking and using leaf blowers to mulch mowing, vacuuming, and shredding.

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How to Tell If Grass Seed Is Still Good

By Melanie Joseph | Updated: August 1, 2025
General Lawn Care

Grass seed that’s still good is uniform in color, smells fresh, feels solid and firm, and has good weight. Learn other ways to tell if grass seed is viable.

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