Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

The fist step to getting the soil in your garden right is figuring out what you have. There are three types of soil: clay, sand and loam. Clay is comprised of very fine particles that pack together very tightly allowing very little water to drain out and making it difficult for roots to dig in.

Welcome mats often retain water creating problems with porch decking and keeping them from being useful to clean shoes. Use an old plastic grid diffuser from a fluorescent light fixture and place it beneath the mat to allow water to drain out. Use a jig saw to cut the grid to fit. You may also want to use screws in the corners of the grid to keep it in place and prevent slips and falls.

Consistent watering is crucial to container plants and hanging plants in particular. However, reaching a hanging basket is often difficult without drenching yourself in the process. A simple kitchen baster may be the perfect solution.

Pets are notorious for digging under gates. The gate has to be far enough off the ground to swing. Unfortunately, most dogs see that space as the beginning of a way out. To stop this cycle, dig a shallow trench across the gate opening and cut a piece of pressure treated landscape timber to the length of the opening. Set the timber in the trench (roughly level with the surrounding ground) and toenail to the posts on either end. The gate swings but the dog can’t dig out.

Hanging baskets are a simple way to instantly introduce color and create interest. However, they can also be hard to get to in order to water. To make watering easier, place a small funnel in the pot with the spout inserted in the soil.

Vines make a great addition to a trellis or lattice but they do require some attention. Lawn and garden expert Tricia Craven-Worley explains that the trick is early attention. “The saying about vines” she says, “is the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, and the third year it leaps.”

The best way to collect seeds is to leave them on the plants to dry out or cut off the stems with the seeds still on the flower or pod. Tie a brown paper bag around the stem and hang them upside down. Be sure not to use a plastic bag as it can retain moisture and cause the seeds to rot.

With all the activities that today’s homeowners have, its really pretty hard sometimes to cultivate an entire garden. But you can bring beautiful plants closer to your house on your deck or patio through container gardening. Although this still requires a little maintenance, here are some tricks of the trade to cut down on all of the required watering.

Maintaining your metal garden tools is important. Tools that have become rusty probably haven’t been cleaned at the end of the day. Brush off all dirt and debris and make sure the surfaces of the tools are dry before you store them. By simply adding a little lubricant to the edges and surfaces of your loppers, trowels and shovels and then wiping them with a soft cloth you can help prevent the surfaces from rusting.

A simple, easy way to measure postholes as you dig them is to mark 6-inch graduations up the handle of your posthole diggers (a permanent marker is ideal for the job). A similar approach works well for a shovel handle; only here you can measure from the handle end instead of the blade end so you can invert the tool to measure as you go.