How To Enjoy The Warm Seasons Of The Year In Your Own Backyard: Create An Eden That Sure To Capture The Attention Of Others

by Jay Chua
(Vancouver, BC, Canada)

There are many people who love to enjoy the warmth the spring and summer seasons bring. They get to escape the cabin fever feeling they had all winter long, allowing them now to enjoy those late night barbeques, sitting by the campfire and having a good time with their family and friends. Are you anxious to enjoy the summer sun? Then rather than going to the lake and camping, make your home’s backyard an oasis... sure to be enjoyed by all.

Plan Out Your Backyard and Make General Improvements – Write Your Observations Down

Your backyard has lots of potential and you can make it look its very best by planning ahead what you would like to see. Write down what you expect out of your garden and then look to see what things you currently have in it. Be sure you write down placements of trees and shrubs and note where it’s primarily sunny and primarily shady. You should also mention if the backyard has permanent fixtures in it such as your patio, deck, porch, fence, shed, etc.

Once you’ve gotten all this documented, it’s time to fix up these permanent things. Do you believe your porch could use another painting? Do you notice any holes in the fence that need to be repaired? Are trees overgrown or do you see limbs that should come down before they do some damage? Do what you can to get these trees into shape and help make your yard look good before you do anything else to spruce it up.

Create A Low Maintenance Yard To Enjoy – Flower/Vegetable Garden and Other Plants

After you’ve cut down nasty looking limbs and cut shrubs to appropriate heights, you need to choose shrubs and grass that allow you to have fun without the necessary work of pruning or doing weed suppression once a week. Pick shrubs that will top out at the height you want; thus, there’s no need to prune. When you’re choosing plants, know where you’re going to plant them so that you can use Mother Nature to your advantage. Suppress your weeds with mulch or a weed blocker… if you plan on making a pathway in your yard.

While you want a low maintenance yard, you can always plant a garden. This is something your family can enjoy together, as kids love to get dirty and perhaps grow things. Who knows? Maybe they have the green thumb you only wish you had. Encourage this by letting them choose fruits, vegetables and flowers they’d love to see growing in the backyard. Make sure you have an area set aside for this. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t mix flowers and foods together so have a separate area for each if you plan on creating a large garden.

How To Furnish Your Backyard For All To Enjoy – Furniture, Fountains and Fun

Your backyard is not yet complete. Sure, you’ve got a porch, deck or patio to stand on to look over your backyard and garden. However, standing up is not the way to enjoy all that you see. Thus, you’ll need some furniture to relax it. Consider the purchase of some porch swing and chairs that allow you to kick back and relax, rain or shine. If you don’t like the idea of one of these things, why not string up a hammock between two shade trees to relax in? Many people use these to relax and many of them have fallen asleep in them.

Here’s an important tip to remember when you’re out shopping for your backyard garden décor: Make sure you purchase décor that matches one another, as color and coordination is vital to how your backyard will look in the end. Also remember to get something that will match the greenery of your yard.

When you’re creating the oasis of your dreams, go for a fountain or birdbath to complement the yard. There are all kinds of options out there but you should choose ones that fit in with the current décor. Now you’re going to find that birdbaths/water fountain have a variety of ways in which they’ll run. You can go for electric models but bear in mind that you’ll have cords stringing about your yard (this is never pretty). You can also go with solar models that use the sun to run; when the sky is filled with clouds, the model will use the juice stored in the batteries to run during the day.

After you’ve purchased your furniture and have your fountain/birdbaths, you need come up with a backyard treat for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps you can designate a spot for everybody to have their own sanctuary in the garden. For younger children, their sanctuary can be up high in the form of a tree house. Perhaps for you and your significant other… a hot tub to relax in when you’ve had a hard day at work. The hot tub doesn’t just have to remain a family treat either. If you want to share it with some friends, consider throwing a small get together with your closest friends. Why not include some sporting events such as a volleyball net or basketball hoop for your family and friends to enjoy quality time together?

Apply The Finishing Touches To Your Garden Retreat – Music and Fire

Now, after you have all this set up, you still need to make some preparations to turn this ordinary garden into a serene place to kick back and enjoy. Have you ever heard music in a garden and wondered how it was being done? Believe it or not, there are some manufacturers who have designed speakers into the shapes of rocks, all in the hopes of not breaking the illusion you have before you. They not only come in a rock design style but also a foot path design. You can use these “speakers” to set the mood for your garden. Make it dance style and fun or have peaceful, relaxing music just to swing by.

Do you enjoy cooking out? Rather than using a barbecue grill, consider digging yourself a fire pit and start a fire. Make sure you create the pit away from your house or other structures so that nothing catches on fire. If you don’t want to create your own, you can always purchase a portable fire pit. Whatever you choose to go with, you can have fun listening to music, talking with friends and family and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

Now ask yourself one question: what better way is there to spend your spring/summer nights?

About Your Author:

Jay Chua is an outdoor/nature enthusiast who loves to spend his time gardening, creating backyard sanctuaries and reading. When he’s not doing these things or spending time with his wife Deisy at their home in Canada, he’s publisher of PorchSwingSets.com, a website designed to teach people about the different kinds of swings available like the porch swing tweak and educating them on the different hammock sales.