Marcus Delvecchio · May 14, 2026
If I could give every new vegetable gardener just one piece of advice, it would be this: skip the in-ground bed and build a raised garden bed first. I’ve grown food both ways for over fifteen years, and the difference…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 13, 2026
If you’ve been putting off a backyard upgrade because you think it has to be expensive or complicated, let me stop you right there. Learning how to build a fire pit is genuinely one of the highest-impact projects you can…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 12, 2026
I used to think a beautiful backyard required a landscape architect, a generous budget, and some kind of innate design talent I simply didn’t have. Turns out, I was wrong on all three counts. After years of trial and error…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 10, 2026
I’ve spent more money on outdoor furniture than I care to admit. There was the flimsy steel set that started rusting by June, the “weather-resistant” wicker that turned brittle after two winters, and one memorably bad impulse buy at a…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 9, 2026
I’ve built six paver patios over the past decade — from a modest 120-square-foot side yard pad to a 600-square-foot entertainment space with a built-in fire pit area. Every single time, I come back to the same conclusion: knowing how…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 8, 2026
I’ve lived with three different small backyards over the past fifteen years, and every single time I moved in, my first reaction was disappointment. Then, after a few weekends with a notepad and some honest budgeting, I realized something: small…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 7, 2026
After transforming three backyards on tight budgets, I can tell you with complete confidence: you do not need $10,000 to have a gorgeous, functional outdoor space. The best patio I ever built cost me just over $500 out of pocket,…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 6, 2026
Three years into my career, I built what I genuinely considered my best patio to date. Tumbled bluestone, perfectly tight joints, a gorgeous curved border. The homeowner called me eight months later — after the first winter — to tell…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 5, 2026
A few years back, a homeowner called me in a panic. She had poured a beautiful 400-square-foot concrete patio the previous spring — smooth finish, clean edges, exactly what she asked for. By the following March, after one hard Wisconsin…
Marcus Delvecchio · May 4, 2026
About eight years into my career, I was called out to look at a pathway a homeowner had installed themselves the previous spring. The stones were heaving, the edges were collapsing into the lawn, and weeds had completely consumed the…