Editorial Policy

On the About page I explain why I built GardenLea: I got tired of gardening advice that was scattered across a dozen sites, and product reviews that read like marketing copy. Saying that is easy. This page is where I write down the standards that are supposed to make it true, so you can hold me to them.

If GardenLea ever falls short of what's on this page, that's a mistake — not a policy. Please tell me.

What GardenLea covers

GardenLea is an independent, reader-supported site for homeowners in the United States. It covers two areas, and deliberately stays inside them:

  • Home gardening — gardening basics, vegetable growing, flower and plant care, lawn care, and soil and composting.
  • Outdoor power tools — garden tools, garden hoses, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and chainsaws.

If a topic falls outside those areas, it doesn't belong here, however well it might do. A gardening site that starts handing out advice on subjects it has no business covering is exactly the kind of site I was trying to get away from.

The standards every article is held to

Every article published on GardenLea is held to the same commitments:

  1. Clear and beginner-friendly. If a term needs explaining, it gets explained. No assumed knowledge, no jargon used to sound authoritative.
  2. Explains why, not just what. Advice you don't understand is advice you can't adapt to your own yard, soil, or climate. Wherever possible, the reasoning is on the page alongside the instruction.
  3. Honest and balanced recommendations. Strengths and limitations both. If a product has a real drawback, it's stated plainly.
  4. Structured to save you time. You should be able to find the answer without scrolling past a life story to get to it.
  5. Kept current. Products get discontinued, specs change, and gardening guidance shifts. Content is updated as that happens rather than left to quietly rot.

Accuracy and sourcing

Gardening outcomes depend on soil, climate, plant variety, region, and technique — variables that no article can assess for your specific situation. GardenLea's guidance is written to be general and adaptable, and to say so when a recommendation depends on conditions I can't see from here.

Where a claim rests on a manufacturer's specification, a safety certification, or published data, that's what it rests on — not on a confident guess. When something is genuinely uncertain or contested, the honest answer is "it depends, and here's what it depends on," and that's what you should get.

Independence: money never buys coverage

GardenLea is funded through affiliate commissions and advertising. The full mechanics are laid out in the Disclaimer, but the editorial part belongs here:

  • Commissions never determine what gets recommended, ranked, or featured. Some products recommended here earn little or no commission, because they're simply the right answer for the reader.
  • Advertisers have no say in editorial content. Ads are served by third-party networks and are not endorsements.
  • No brand reviews or approves content before publication. Ever.
  • Payment is never accepted in exchange for a positive review, and negative findings are never suppressed for compensation.
  • Sponsored content, if it ever appears, is clearly labeled as such — and it's held to every standard on this page. A sponsorship buys placement, not a verdict. If I can't be honest about a product, the partnership gets declined.

The whole business rests on your trust being worth more than any single commission, because it is.

Safety-sensitive content

Some of what GardenLea covers can genuinely hurt you. Chainsaws, lawn mowers, and leaf blowers are dangerous tools, and fertilizers, weed killers, and pesticides are chemicals with real exposure risks — to you, to children, and to pets.

So, plainly: I am not a licensed arborist, horticulturist, landscaper, or safety professional, and GardenLea is not a substitute for one.

  • Always read the manufacturer's manual and follow their safety guidance over anything you read here.
  • Use the protective equipment the manufacturer specifies.
  • For tree work, storm damage, anything at height, or any job beyond your skill level, hire a licensed professional. This is the advice I'd give a friend, and it's not a formality.
  • For chemical exposure, plant toxicity, or an allergic reaction, contact a qualified healthcare provider or your local poison control center — immediately, and before searching the internet.
  • If a pet or child may have ingested a plant or garden chemical, call a vet or a doctor first. Nothing on this site is worth the delay.

Content here is for general information and education only. It is not professional, medical, legal, or financial advice.

Corrections

I will get things wrong. When that happens, I want it fixed rather than defended.

If you spot an error — a wrong specification, an outdated price, a broken instruction, a safety detail that's incomplete — please get in touch and point at the specific page. Every correction report gets read.

  • Clear factual errors are corrected promptly.
  • If a recommended product is later found to have a significant defect or safety issue, the recommendation is updated or pulled as fast as I can manage it.

"Contact us and we'll fix it" is a promise this site makes in several places. This page is where that promise is written down.

Keeping content current

Published content isn't finished content. Specifications, prices, availability, and model ranges change constantly — especially with outdoor power tools. Guidance is revisited as products change, as seasons make it relevant, and whenever a reader flags something.

Where an article's usefulness depends on a detail that may have moved since publication — a price, a current model number, a stock status — verify it directly with the manufacturer or retailer before you spend money. That isn't me dodging responsibility; it's genuinely the only way to be sure on the day you're buying.

Related pages

Questions about anything on this page? Contact me — I'd rather answer than have you wonder.