A gardening article needs clear sources and an honest account of how it was made. The KnowTheYard Editorial Team is the name under which this site publishes its guides. We do not publish individual staff profiles, and we do not invent writers, credentials, or reviewers to stand in for them.
How we work
Automated writing tools help us draft, organize, and revise pages. They are not a source, and their output is not treated as evidence.
A plant fact, hardiness range, safety classification, timing window, or application rate on a page traces to a reference listed in that page’s sources section. We prefer university extension services, botanical gardens, government agencies such as the USDA, animal poison resources such as the ASPCA, and published research.
When the evidence covers only a certain species, climate, or growing setting, the page says so. When reputable sources disagree, the page explains the condition behind the difference instead of picking one silently.
The full research rules are in our Methodology.
Editorial Responsibilities
| Role | Responsibility | Does not automatically establish |
|---|---|---|
| Research | Question framing, source collection, evidence notes, conflicts, and boundaries | That every source applies to every climate or specimen |
| Editorial | Structure, clarity, claim wording, repetition, links, labels, and reader decisions | A specialist credential or on-site diagnosis |
| Safety checks | Pet and human toxicity, edibility, and chemical-use claims matched to the right plant, exposure, and source | That a plant is safe in every form or amount |
| Page presentation | Readable text, useful images, accessible controls, and working links | That a gardening claim is correct simply because the page works |
| Corrections | Investigating reader reports, correcting mistakes, and updating related pages that repeat the same error | That every reader suggestion requires a change |
A working page and a well-supported recommendation are different things. One person may cover more than one of these roles, while the responsibilities stay distinct.
How a guide moves toward publication
- Define the useful decision. The brief names the plant, setting, reader goal, nearest alternatives, primary failure mechanism, and risk level.
- Build the evidence trail. Research connects material claims to sources that fit the species, climate, method, and outcome.
- Draft around behavior. The page explains what the plant does, what the reader can observe, which action follows, and when to reassess.
- Match scrutiny to the risk. Safety claims need evidence for the right plant, exposure, and affected person or animal. An unresolved question stays visible on the page.
- Check the reading experience. Text, images, tables, and links should help readers understand and use the information.
- Publish with a correction path. Readers can identify the page and send a precise report when evidence or conditions have changed.
What the byline and date mean
By KnowTheYard Editorial Team
The publisher of the page. It is the same on every article because the same team researches, writes, and maintains the library.
Updated
The date the page’s content last changed, taken from our revision history. It does not mean every sentence or linked source dates from that day.
No date shown
Some older pages predate our current revision records. We leave the date off rather than guess one.
Sources
The references listed at the end of an article are the ones its claims rely on. A source listed for one claim is not offered as proof of every sentence.
“Evidence-led” describes the site’s method. It does not claim that every gardening question has strong experimental evidence.
We avoid badges that look authoritative without explaining the work behind them.
Independence, conflicts, and commercial work
A contributor should disclose a financial, employment, supplied-product, or close personal relationship that could reasonably affect the subject. The response may be disclosure, reassignment, an additional independent check, a narrower scope, or declining the work.
A disclosed conflict is not automatically disqualifying, but a hidden material conflict stops readers from judging the work.
Advertisers, affiliate programs, sponsors, and product suppliers do not own our conclusions or our correction process. See the commercial disclosure for current program status and the Editorial Policy for the separation rule.
Report a mistake
If a claim, date, source, or commercial relationship on a page looks wrong, send the exact URL and the disputed passage through the Contact page.
For a factual correction, include a strong source and the conditions it covers. When a correction holds, we also check related pages that repeat the same advice.
You can read how we research and verify, how we edit and correct, and how we separate commercial relationships.