Home Lawn and Garden
Let our gardening information help with your questions!
Gardening and taking care of a home yard and lawn have long been important parts of life for families in Massachusetts and across the country. Many people have a tradition of coming to their Cooperative Extension when they have a pressing question to ask or need to find a service like soil testing. We hope that the resources you will find on this page will help with many of those needs. (If you still need to ask us a question after viewing all of these great fact sheets and other resources, we’ll do our best to help you, but please be patient if we take a little time to respond.)
Do you have a question on a home garden topic?
- Check out the links below for fact sheets, services, and additional resources for home gardeners.
- Email specific home garden and landscape questions to greeninfo@umext.umass.edu. Please include a detailed description of the problem as well as a high quality photo (if possible) that you are asking for help with to enable us to more effectively assist you.
- Click here to sign up to be on our email list - choose Home Garden News from the list. We'll send you a reminder when a new issue of Hort Notes: Clippings from the Garden is posted and notices about upcoming educational programs for home gardeners.
Fact Sheet Series
Browse over 150 home garden facts sheets from UMass Extension
- Flower Fact Sheets (28 topics)
- Fruit Fact Sheets (25 topics)
- Lawn Fact Sheets (45 topics)
- Tree & Shrub Fact Sheets (12 topics)
- Vegetable Fact Sheets (56 topics)
- Wildlife Management Fact Sheets (3 topics)
MassAggies Fruit Growing Workshops
Each year, the UMass Extension Fruit Team and Stockbridge School of Agriculture team up to offer a chance for home gardeners to learn from the experts who work closely with commercial fruit growers all year. Details can be found here in December or January.
Newsletters
Hort Notes: Clippings from the Garden
We have combined aspects of Garden Clippings (our horticultural newsletter for home gardeners) with our Hort Notes newsletter to provide one-stop shopping for all of your educational needs!
Hort Notes: Clippings from the Garden is our monthly newsletter for landscapers, grounds managers, arborists, and other green industry professionals with the understanding that home gardeners may also look to this publication for information as well. Emailed monthly, this newsletter includes alerts to emerging landscape insect and disease problems while providing timely Integrated Pest Management strategies and emphasizes timely plant health care practices and problem-solving information.
Hort Notes: Clippings from the Garden is created by the specialists of UMass Extension's Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program. To be added to the email list to receive a monthly reminder for each new issue, send your request to eweeks at umext.umasss.edu with subscribe Clippings in the subject line.
Current and back issues of Hort Notes: Clippings from the Garden
Back issues of Garden Clippings
Resources and Services
- Soil Testing
University of Massachusetts Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory
The Lab is located on the UMass Amherst campus and services are available to all. The Lab provides test results and recommendations that lead to the wise and economical use of soils and soil amendments.
- Plant Problem Diagnostics
UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab
This Lab provides reliable and prompt diagnosis of plant problems in turfgrass, flowers, vegetables, ornamental plants and trees.
Connect with UMass Extension Garden Clippings:
