There are lots of improvements adults can make to their gardens to encourage their kids to spend more time outside. Now is the best time to create your plan because you have a few months to get the backyard ready for the summertime. There are some suggestions below that you might like to consider, and you can always conduct some extra research online if you need some inspiration. When all’s said and done, most kids spend too much time sat in front of the television these days. With that in mind, you need to work hard to turn that situation around.

[Photo courtesy of Jesper Sørensen/flickr.com]

Create a fun play area

When it comes to creating a play area in the garden for your kids, the possibilities are endless. You could purchase swings, slides, and lots of other equipment to make the outdoor space seem exciting to the little ones. Of course, you might have to employ the services of an affordable tree arborist if you don’t have enough space at the moment. Once you remove all those unwanted trees; you can start turning your backyard into a thrilling activity hub where your loved ones can spend time with their friends. Again, if you need some extra inspiration; just look through Google images.

Start growing fruit and vegetables

Most children find mother nature fascinating, and so you could spark their imagination by growing some fruits and vegetables in your garden. Your kids will love learning about the plants and caring for them as they grow. The best thing about that idea is that, in a few month’s time; you can sit down at the dinner table and enjoy some organic produce. Put your kids in charge of watering the plants and ensure they take an active role if you want the best results. Who knows? Maybe you’ll inspire them to take up an agriculture hobby or something similar? Stranger things have happened!

[Photo courtesy of Ricardo’s Photography/flickr.com]

Bring wildlife into your garden

There are lots of steps you can take if you want to bring some wildlife into your garden for the kids. Firstly, you need to secure the land to ensure your neighbour’s cats can’t get into the backyard. That should encourage more birds to land and eat from your feeders. You could also dig a small pond if you wanted to attract frogs and tadpoles. Some people choose to build chicken coops and benefit from fresh eggs every morning. The idea is just to make the backyard seem as vibrant and alive as possible.

If you put those suggestions into practice; there is a decent chance your kids will peel themselves away from the TV screen a little more often. Just be sure you spend lots of time in the garden as a family when the weather improves. Building a brick barbecue is a wise move because it will mean your family can enjoy a few meals outside during the summer. You might also think about adding some waterproof outdoor speakers, so you have some entertainment in the backyard. Just create a plan and work out your budget before the spring.

As a homeowner, you probably keep your house clean and tidy and looking great. But can you honestly say the same about your garden? So many people ignore what’s going on in their garden, and that’s often because they don’t know how to tackle those kinds of outdoors challenges. Well, it all starts with getting the right equipment and learning how to use it. Here’s more information on all the garden tools and equipment every homeowner should have.

Well-Designed Garden Pruners

Pruning is something that all gardeners must to do keep their plants as healthy as they can be. Make sure you have some well-designed pruners that you can use and rely on in your garden. It can be tiring for your hands, so it’s best to use pruners that have been designed with this in mind.

Small Weeding and Digging Tools That Are Easy to Grip

Weeding and digging is something you’ll probably be doing a lot of in the garden, and that’s why you should get yourself some tools that are easy for you to grip. It’s not always easy to use cheap tools because they are not designed in a very ergonomic way. That’s why you should try to use higher quality weeding and digging tools if you can. It’s one of those things that’s worth spending a little extra money on.

A Chainsaw for Tackling Unwanted Branches

When you have branches hanging down and getting in your way all the time, it can be very frustrating. Don’t just ignore them, though. It’s easy to get rid of them when you have the right tools. A chainsaw will help you with this and any other tree problems that might need to be remedied in your garden. It’s definitely worth considering. You can buy a chainsaw from this website. It’s an investment that will serve your garden well.

Compression Gloves

You’re going to need a good pair of gloves to rely on if you want your gardening to be comfortable and easy. You will cut your hands and experience all kinds of problems if you try to garden without using gloves. It’s not even worth considering. So, be sure to find yourself a pair of compression gloves that offer that little bit extra padding and keep you properly protected. It might not sound like much, but good gloves can make a world of difference.

[Photo courtesy of maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com]

A Good Lawnmower

Of course, you’re going to need to mow the lawn on a regular basis if you want your garden to look great. The lawn is the focal point of pretty much every garden out there. And when you don’t cut it correctly, it either gets brown and barren or it gets overgrown. Neither of those outcomes are particularly desirable, so you should upgrade your lawnmower for better results. There are so many high-tech options out there today.

If you own a home with a garden, you want that garden to look great. But it will only look great when you have the right tools and equipment for the task of keeping that garden in check.

Out of all the things you can do to ornament and add life and vigor to your garden, water features stand apart in their own special category. If done right, they can add mystique, romance, fun, and function to any garden at all.

Here’s a look at some of the best water features you can include in your garden and their unique benefits.

Pools

Swimming pools are the ideal addition to your garden if you, your family, or friends are interested in having some fun in the sun, and hiring a pool builder to install one might just change your life. Not only does a swimming pool by its very nature suggest a degree of wealth and luxury, but they’re also just incredibly versatile in terms of all the different ways you can enjoy them!

With a larger pool, you can get some serious exercise in by swimming laps back and forth. Kids can learn to swim in a pool. Family and friends can have their own water polo tournaments. Or, if you’d prefer, you can just lounge about on a deckchair getting a tan, and jump in when you want to cool off.

Image by Nowis via Wikimedia Commons

Ponds

A pond is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and relaxing garden features out there, and there are many different styles to choose from. Do you want a pond straight out of a European fairy-tale, with lily pads on the surface, flowers on the bank, and maybe some ornamental features at the bottom? No problem!

Or how about you turn it into a traditional Japanese koi pond and sit next to it for some Zen meditation and quiet contemplation on those hectic days?

Fountains

Fountains are a brilliant way to delight and intrigue guests and to create a sense of magic and wonder in your garden. The sky is the limit with how fancy or elaborate you can go with these, but there are a wide variety of options available suited to different budgets.

With a fountain, you can turn your garden into a scene from Renaissance Italy, or a modern, hip environment from the most fashionable city you can think of.

Bird baths

Not only are birdbaths available in a wide array of affordable and classy designs, able to act as a stunning ornament in and of themselves, but they also serve a feel-good purpose.

After all, our little feathered friends need a cooling drink from time to time, don’t they?

With a bird bath, you not only decorate your garden, but you also invite the local wildlife in and make them comfortable during their stay. A fantastic way of engaging with your local habitat.

Wells

Wells are an immensely practical item – that is, of course, why they were invented. In the modern day, most of us have the luxury of getting our water from a tap. For anyone who feels like enhancing their own sense of self-reliance, however, it could be worthwhile having your property surveyed, and potentially building a well if conditions allow.

Not only will this be one of the most interesting garden features most of your friends have seen, but a well can also be designed in a variety of classic styles harking back to romantic Bavarian villages.

Do you love hosting garden parties for your friends and family during the summer months? Would you like to ensure they go off without a hitch this year? Then you need to consider some of the tips and advice on this page. You can have a fantastic time without breaking the bank if you just take some simple steps. Nothing in this article will take a long time to complete, and so you could have everything ready in less than a week. Once that’s done, you just have to set a date and send your invites. With a bit of luck, this year’s garden parties will go better than any you’ve held before.

Build a brick BBQ so you can cook outside

Before you do anything else, it’s sensible to make a BBQ so you can cook lots of food outside. The last thing you want to do is stay in the kitchen when your friends have come around to a social gathering. Thankfully, the process should only take a couple of hours, and you only need some basic materials. Thirty or forty house bricks should be enough for you to complete the structure. Of course, you can add grills and other things like that to ensure it functions in the best way possible. You’ll find guides online and videos on YouTube if you get stuck.

[Photo courtesy of Dick Knight/flickr.com]

Create an outdoor shelter

You never know when the heavens will open and all your guests will get wet. For that reason, it’s sensible to build some shelter outside. If you don’t have much money to spend, you could purchase a portable gazebo or something similar. Those products are available for reasonable prices from your local home stores. Of course, those who want to go a step further have other options on the table. Patio roof awnings are an excellent choice because they’re semi-permanent. However, you don’t need to seek planning permission or anything like that. So, take a look online at some of the most relevant suppliers.

Install an outdoor audio system

You’re going to want to entertain all your guests with some music. While you could traipse wires from your stereo outside, there are better solutions available. Waterproof outdoor speakers have come down in price considerably during the last few years. So, maybe you should get some and screw them to your exterior walls. You can then link your stereo and play music outside without having to work too hard. In some instances, you can get systems that use a remote control. That’s perfect because you can swap and change the music while you’re outside cooking the food.

Now you know how to get your garden ready for its next party, we hope you will make improvements this year. The best thing about building a BBQ is that you won’t have to keep buying those disposable products. The outdoor shelter will keep everyone dry, and the speakers will entertain. Sure, there are more things you could do. However, I just wanted to show you the fundamentals and point you in the right direction.

When most people think about luxury living, they imagine living rooms adorned in marble and kitchens decked out with fantastic range cookers. But the latest trend in luxury living is to move out of the house and into the garden. More and more people want to be able to enjoy their lives in the open air. It’s here that they want to entertain guests and indulge themselves in their hobbies, especially now that the summer is almost upon us.

So what can you do to live it up in your garden? Take a look at some of these ideas from the rich and famous.

Create Your Own Covered Space

Just because you’re outside, it doesn’t mean you don’t need a covered space to keep the sun at bay. As a result, it’s a good idea to invest in some sort of canopy: one that allows you to enjoy the rest of the garden while protecting you from the sun during the hottest part of the day.

[Photo courtesy of Hotel Montecatini Terme/flickr.com]

These covered spaces can be equipped with pretty much whatever you like, but at a minimum, you’ll want some seating and a table in the middle. If you’ve got the budget for it, add an outdoor TV for watching sports and a fan to keep you cool when the mercury hits 90.

Give Your Pool A Makeover

Swimming pools are a staple of a luxury garden: they’re somewhere that you can cool off on those long summer days between June and September. But pools aren’t necessarily stylish, especially if you’ve had your current pool for a while. Not only can they look out of date, but they can also get run down pretty quickly, especially if you don’t regularly maintain them. Visit Sparklean Pools to learn more about vinyl liner pool repair. Updating your pool can make a massive difference to the visual appeal of your garden and help it to feel luxurious once more.

A Wonderland Getaway

The wealthy also really love to use their gardens to escape from the rigors of the day. Having somewhere they can go to relax helps them to unwind. A wonderland getaway can take on practically any form, depending on what constitutes a getaway for you, which is what makes it so exciting.

[Photo courtesy of Gary Barnes/pexels]

Some people like to be surrounded by flowers and slunk off to a remote corner of the garden to read a book. Others like to create communal spaces in unusual locations, using the geological features of the backyard itself. For instance, your garden might be on a slope, next to a steam or near to a rock formation. Finally, a wonderland getaway could be a physical building, like a summer house, complete with various creature comforts.

An Outdoor Chess Set

[Photo courtesy of Misaochaaan/wikimedia.org]

Being in the garden is all about having fun. That’s why many wealthy people make games a permanent feature of their gardens. Take chess, for instance. Large, outdoor chess sets are really good if you have children or relatives who like to play. Plus, they help keep people entertained on those long summer evenings.

With the warmer months rapidly approaching it’s no wonder most of us our turning our attentions to our beloved gardens. However the cooler months tend to mean our gardens have been somewhat neglected so it’s difficult to know where to start trimming and preening the wilderness that has taken over.

[Photo courtesy of geograph.org.uk]

So today we are discussing the simple ways we can organise and preen our gardens so they are ready for us to enjoy over the spring and summer period.

Clear Out the Debris

Sometimes the winter damage can look worse than it actually is, due to all the debris that has accumulated over the colder months. So beginning with clearing out all the debris will give you a better idea of what actually needs doing.

Re-energise the Earth

The winter months tends to leave the soil in your garden packed and undernourished, so revitalising the soil is really important. Just adding compost,and fertilizer where necessary, will have the earth healthy and ready for the sunnier seasons.

Nurturing Existing Plants

For those plants that have survived the winter, you’ll need to prune in order to prepare them for the spring and summer. ‘Deadheading’ flowers and extracting dead leaves will leave your plants ready to flourish and blossom.

[Photo courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net]

Look Up

Look at the trees in your garden and evaluate their health and positioning. It’s important to keep trees trim particularly if they are situated close to your home. Hiring a local tree service company is a good idea if you’re unsure about how to care for the trees in your garden.

New Flowers and Shrubs

Look around your garden and consider the colours and types of plants you’d like to add to get your garden looking tip-top. Some fantastic spring plants are snapdragons, pansies, lilacs and tulips. So take a trip down to your local garden centre and start planning how to breathe new life into your garden.

Maintenance

Once you’ve done all the cleaning, re-nourishing, potting and planting it’s easy to think the work is done. But maintenance is key in order to keep your garden in premium condition throughout the warmer months. Dust off those little hand pruners and do a weekly inspection of the dead flowers and leaves that need removing.

Inspect your flowers and plants for insects. Looking for holes or stickiness to leaves could mean an infestation so take a sample down to your local garden centre for advice on appropriate action.

Keep your garden hydrated by watering regularly. Drip irrigation pipes and soaker hoses are generally more effective at evenly distributing water around your plants that standard sprinklers, so consider investing in one of these if you don’t already have one.

Finally, have fun with it. Gardens are the wildest area of our homes and we should be free with the way we nurture and care for them. Finding new and creative ways of adding colour and diversity to your garden is such a rewarding way to spend time over the warmer months. Then of course, there’s nothing better than sitting back on a spring evening and admiring our handy work.

With the evenings becoming lighter and the leaves finally blooming on the trees, it’s safe to say that the warmer weather is on the way. Warmer weather encourages time spent outdoors, but wait – your garden has become overgrown and full of weeds!

[Photo courtesy of Sally Allsop/geograph.org.uk]

Thankfully, there are quick solutions to the manky garden issue and that’s taking time to fix it up. There are plenty of ways to do this, even if you only have a spare hour or two at the weekends. Soon enough you’ll be able to enjoy barbecues and picnics within feet of the house with our amazing garden makeover tips:

1. Add colour: Flowers take some time to grow after planting, everyone knows this. However, flowers aren’t the only way you can add a little pizazz to your garden. If you have a shed or any wooden garden furniture, you can give them a new lease of life with a lick of paint. Instead of spending time you may not have, have a look at some paint sprayers reviews and do the job in half the time.
2. Outdoor décor: Similarly, with giving old, wooden furniture a lick of paint, you can add potted plant pots to your garden in bright, zany colours to add some life. Use up old leftover paints you may have laying around and add lovely patterns to your plant pots and give it a personal touch. Adding garden ornaments and fun little items to decorate can also liven up your outside space.
3. Sort the weeds: Take an hour of your time and actually weed the garden! The most obvious solution to an overgrown space is to strip is back and it shouldn’t take too long if you use a strimmer and edger for the whole area. Once you’ve cut it all back, you’ll be able to truly assess the space you have and what you can do to make it look summer ready.
4. Declutter: Believe it or not, like any area of the home you need to have a clear out. Get through the garden shed and throw out anything that is old and rusted. Make space for new garden tools.
5. Involve the kids: If you have kids at home, get them involved in the garden. A paved area can always use a chalk mural and a grassed border will always be better off with a vegetable garden being planted and colourful labels attached. Children always have a magic touch on the outdoors and you can let them get so creative!
6. Deck the garden: You may need a little longer for this one if you don’t have a deck already, but if you do all you need to do is redo the deck. Stain the deck with products like these and give it a new lease of life.

Your garden doesn’t need to take long to redo and even if you can only dedicate an hour or two at a time, you can makeover your garden to look as beautiful as you could hope it to be.

The best part of the year is spring cleaning and that often includes the garden. The garden does often get neglected during the colder months as no one wants to spend time out there and it’s far too chilly for planting. Getting your garden summer ready is no easy feat, especially if the weather has been against you all winter. But there are some fantastic ways to get your garden looking beautiful, and it’s not all down to the plants either.

Most garden changes can be done yourself, especially if you possess a talent and a green thumb. Sometimes, some projects can include calling out a company to help and if you simply don’t have the time but want a summer garden, it’s a smart idea. However, if you have the right tools in place, you could have a beautiful, flower-filled garden with defined pathways and newly built garden furniture. Patio and garden furnishings are the pride of some gardens and if you manage to build them yourself, even better. If you are a novice with woodwork but fancy turning your hand at creating eye-catching garden furniture, then you should make sure you have every tool present in the shed! Creating garden beds is far easier on a mitre saw than a table saw so why not check out straightkerfs.com for some exciting reviews on the right mitre saw for your plan?

[Photo courtesy of maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com]

Planning out your garden for the summer takes some time so get writing a list of things you will need. Weed killers and edgers are a must to be able to get rid of overgrown plants that have spent months growing all over the place. It’s time to turn the soil over, too, and replace with fertile soil ready for planting. Taking a trip to the garden centre won’t go amiss to get those flower beds ready for a late summer bloom. If you have children, check out the range of garden toys you can purchase and if you are feeling really creative, why not build a barbecue at the end of the garden? Being fortunate enough to have a long garden means keeping smoke fumes away from the house, and building your very own brick barbecue could be the cherry on top of your garden planning.

A green, lush grass is great for most people in the summer but if you live in a rain-heavy area or simply don’t have the time to maintain it, then fitting artificial carpet or laying paving down is the best way to go. Easy maintenance and pretty to look at, artificial grass gives your garden a fresh look all summer long, without any yellowing! Your garden can be beautiful and summer-ready in no time at all, as long as you’ve planned accordingly to ensure that flowers bloom and you have all the right garden equipment. You can look forward to long, lazy summer evenings in your newly spruced up summery garden. It’s so easy, and it’s so time to get on with it!

The garden is, for most people, one of the most important parts of the house. It is certainly often the most beautiful, and knowing how to tend to it properly can be something of an art form. Keeping the garden aesthetically pleasing and relaxing to be in is one thing, but it is quite another to keep the place as healthy as it can be, and this usually takes considerably more understanding. It definitely takes more work, and perhaps that accounts for the amount of gardens that suffer terribly from not being cared for properly. Don’t let your garden become one of those – take a stand today and learn how to keep it healthy for longer. Take the following tips as a starting point.

[Photo courtesy of Unsplash/pexels.com]

Watch Out For Pests

One of the most important things for you to do is to watch out for any pests that might be lingering around. No matter what kind of plants you do or do not have in your garden, pests are always going to be a potential issue. Therefore, learning how to spot them and deal with them is going to prove to be vital if you are dedicated to keeping your garden as healthy as it can be. Some of the more obvious signs of pests can be that your plants are being nibbled, or even that they look diseased. It is also worth getting to know the different bugs that abound in your part of the world; some will be friendly, and even useful to the gardener, and other will be a nuisance. Learning this is one of the most important steps you can take to looking after your garden more effectively.

Keep The Lawn Trimmed

There are a number of reasons why you might want to ensure you keep the lawn trimmed, some of them aesthetic and others related to the health of the garden. Above all, it is a good idea to mow the lawn every six weeks or so, no matter what time of year it might be, as this helps the all-round health of the garden to no end. This is one of those tasks where the quality of the tools being used really helps, so make sure you have a decent lawn mower before you get started. You might even want to take a look at some lawn mower reviews before you start, to ensure that you have the best one for your particular garden. With a well-kept lawn, often the rest of a garden seems to just fall into place.

[Photo courtesy of Unsplash/pexels.com]

Check Plants Before Buying

Whenever you purchase plants to add to your garden, it is really in your interest to check them thoroughly before buying them, and definitely before planting them with your other plants. This is because they could be carrying any number of unpleasant diseases, diseases which could swiftly wipe out the majority of your garden. Check the roots, first and foremost, as this is one of the easiest ways to tell whether a plant is diseased or not.

Children love mystery and magic of fairy tales or great stories.  One story that is known the world over is the English classic, The Secret Garden.

It is about a young girl, Mary, who is discovering her way in life after growing up in India.  She doesn’t like her new home too much and there is a very sad boy who lives in the house.  Upon adventuring around the grounds she stumbles upon a locked door in the garden.  She is determined to break through and eventually discovers a secret garden.  The story is based around bringing this garden back to life and making the boy better by sneaking him outside.  It is purely delightful and worth a read.

Our garden’s can often be less than magical but that doesn’t mean, with a little creativity, we can’t take a leaf out of Mary’s book and give our children something amazing.

[Photo courtesy of Leah Kelley/pexels.com]

Think about what you want to achieve, a secret hidden away cove behind her wall of roses?  Perhaps a tucked away fruit garden for your kids to discover and delve into? Or even a real modern rockery with water features or even an inverted fish tank.

Before you get stuck in it’s worth giving a termite treatment now.  Prevention is better than cure and discovering you have a problem after all your landscaping could lead to disappointment.  Once you have the all clear and advice on how to avoid any invasions, get to work.

[Photo courtesy of Kaboompics // Karolina/pexels.com]

Busy families mean keeping on top of a garden can be quite demanding.  But if you enlist the help of your little ones then not only will you have them outside creating, you will also have some keen green fingered workers to help you with digging and planting.

A fun and unique twist on a garden, if you have little or no outside space, is the brilliant living wall.  This is an eco wall of oxygen promoting plants.  You can have them indoors our outdoors and they will purify the air of pollutants.  In fact growing an eco wall in urban areas has quite a positive effect on the environment.

Herbs are a really simple grow and offer a variety of scents which your children can enjoy.  Fruits produce both flowers and then edible delights! Roses can hide fences or walls under their beautiful large petals or you could go with another great kid pleaser, the towering sunflower!

Get creative with your outdoor space and encourage the children to play.  Dedicating a little area all of their own will make them feel like they have a little hideaway and also kick start them off on the road to enjoying creating things.  Bringing a plant to life is one of the most humbling things we can do with simplicity.  Just make sure to teach the children any potential dangers of playing outside in the garden, such as eating fruits they don’t know.  A little bit of mud is good for the immune system, but washing hands is vital after handling plants!