Your backyard. It can either be your summer kingdom or a landscaping nightmare that demands taming. It can be home for the local wasp and stinging bee community, or it can be the place your family gathers every evening the weather holds for a great time together.
Want to get your family out back and having a good time? Here are some ideas you can use to dress up that grassy area into something truly enjoyable. Use these 5 ways to spice up your backyard for summer fun.
Jump Around
No, this does not mean to play the iconic hip-hop song from the 90s, although adding music to your backyard and deck is not a horrible idea. Instead, think about becoming mom of the year by vote from your kids and their friends by adding a trampoline.
This does not have to be the trampoline of our childhood memory. Instead, it can be an in-ground model where the surface is level with that of the yard. Want to be popular with neighborhood parents as well as kids? If you have a regular, above ground model, add a safety net around the springy surface to help prevent broken arms and other hazards caused by airborne children.
A trampoline also does not have to be expensive. There are some reasonably priced new ones available, or you can find used ones from a family whose children have grown beyond the nausea inducing flips of their pre-teens.
Soak it In
There’s nothing better than a good soak after a long day chasing kids around the yard, making sure they are supplied with cookies and kid friendly snacks, and making batches of lemonade for their newest business venture. However, you may not be able to afford a traditional hot tub, nor do you want to leave it up and heat it year round when you live in the frozen tundra of northern Michigan.
Never fear. There are options, including inflatable hot tubs, ones that come with easy set up and care to easy tear down and storage for winter months. Believe it or not there are several brands, like Intex, that have affordable prices.
Just remember you will need a power supply, chemicals, and other items to make your hot tub experience complete. Still, even the smallest yard will have a place for you to erect the one place mom can go to chill out at the end of the night. Especially if you keep it a no-kids-adult-only zone.
Grow Your Food
It is always a challenge to find fresh fruits and vegetables that are both organic and affordable. Well, if you live in the right climate, you can grow some of your own. Your back yard is probably a great place for gardening. There are just a few tips to keep in mind.
If you don’t want to dig in the ground or you don’t have great soil, consider raised beds. These can be easily constructed with wood or cement blocks and you can fill them with rich, fertile soil, making your plants grow better.
Landscaping plastic under raised beds will help keep them weed free, or at least cut down on weeding and the work they require.
Set up a watering system. This will make maintenance easier on you, and if you already have a sprinkler system in your lawn, it should be easy to tap into and modify. Get professional irrigation help if you need it.
Pay attention to sun and shade. Have raised beds in both types of area if possible. That way you can grow more plants. Tomatoes and peppers grow better in the sun while other plants grow better in the shade or with only partial sun.
A garden can be a great hobby along with a way to provide a great organic food garden for you family, and you know exactly where it came from.
Get Cooking
Nothing is worse than a hot kitchen in the summer and cooking inside can really impact your air conditioning bill not to mention how you feel. One solution is to cook outside. Fortunately, there are more options than just a great BBQ grill. There are kits and modular units that allow you to add counter space, sinks, and even separate burners that go with your grill. Some even include small refrigerators and bar space.
This way, cooking outside does not have to be a chore than involves running in and out of your sliding glass door to your kitchen. Instead, you can do everything on your back deck in the great outdoors. Get too hot out there in the summer from time to time? Consider misters and a shade near where the grill and outdoor kitchen areas are located so that you can cook comfortably.
Bloomsday
Want to really spice up your backyard? Add some flowers of various colors and types to flower beds, pots, or even window boxes and hanging baskets. Flowers bring cheer and make everyone feel happy. The more variety you plant, the more likely it is that you will have flowers that bloom all year long.
These flowers can also be used to attract things like butterflies and birds. Add a couple of bird feeders of various types, and you can have your own little paradise right outside your door. Remember, just like the garden, mix plants that like both sun and shade for a variety of color and pants that will thrive all through the year.
Your back yard can either be a chore you have to take care of, or a wonderful place for you and your family to enjoy and hang out. The key is what you do with it. Use these five ideas to spice up your backyard for summer.