Backyard Ideas, Gardening and Outdoor Entertaining, Articles, Information, Tips, How-To's and Resources 
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Articles on This Page:
Spring Into Outdoor Living
Got Spring Fever? New Gardening Products for Green Thumbs
Spring Cleaning Backyard Style
Celebrate Spring by Getting Your Garden in Shape
Dust Off Winter -- Spring Cleaning 101 Outdoor furniture is often placed in storage or exposed to the elements so simple cleaning before and during the season is recommended. “For most metal tables and chairs, including those produced of steel, cast aluminum or aluminum, mild soap and water is the best solution,” says Debbie Foster, an expert in outdoor furniture and a personal concierge from Homecrest, a leading manufacturer of furniture for outdoor living. “Hose down or wash with water and mild soap to help remove dust, pollens, chemicals, salt water and dirt. And to maintain the frame finish, here’s another tip….apply a coat of clear liquid car wax once a year. For that occasional nick or scratch, Homecrest offers its owners special touch-up paint to keep furniture looking new for years. Also be sure to check cushions for wear and tear and consider replacement if necessary.” Assess Your Needs If you’re a new homeowner or have recently remodeled or completed an exterior landscaping project, you may be in need of additional or new furnishings to complete the space. While there is a vast array of outdoor furnishings available, start your shopping early in the season to have the best selection. And before you begin, decide how you plan to use your space to determine what you will need -- are you creating an outdoor living room, an outdoor kitchen, a private retreat or a dining/entertaining space? Also, many of the finest brands offer custom frame finishes and fabrics so that you can have exactly what you want. Outdoor rooms are no longer comprised of a picnic table or a hodgepodge of plastic chairs. Make your outdoor space a seamless extension of your interior design -- creating a room that is both functional and beautiful. Shopping Made Simple Lacking a bit of confidence when it comes down to choosing colors and fabrics? Not to worry. New to the market this year and available at specialty seasonal and furniture stores nationwide, the Homecrest Index, or “HI”, can make every shopper a design expert. Once you determine the pieces necessary to create your outdoor living space, with “HI” you can simply coordinate frame finish with the most fashionable fabrics. Custom orders such as this typically arrive in six weeks or less. Or if you’re looking for a quick solution for an upcoming event, many of these same specialty and furniture retailers will carry inventory of their best selling collections in several colors and fabrics. Extend Your Outdoor Living Experience -- Fusion Living With the popularity of outdoor living and the design trend of bringing the indoors out, many are also bringing the outdoors in, fusing styles to maximize their use year round. Sunrooms, guest rooms and breakfast/dining areas are all great locations for incorporating a bit of the outdoor experience. Most high-quality outdoor furniture is designed to withstand environmental elements and include UV protection built into the construction of the fabric to ensure its durability during outdoor use. This and other features may make outdoor furniture the hardest working furniture you will ever own -- and an absolute requirement for rooms that get a lot of wear and tear. Fusion living, or using your outdoor furniture throughout your home and outdoor living spaces, can extend both their enjoyment and investment -- but most importantly, offers a daily reminder of those warm days of spring.
Spring Into Outdoor Living Fusing the indoors and outdoors make for comfortable year-round living
Got Spring Fever? New Gardening Products for Green Thumbs
(ARA) - As spring approaches the itch to get out of the house and get your hands dirty will become a full-blown rash. But while you’re confined to thumbing through flower and seed catalogs, those who grow the flowers, plants and shrubs are stoking a fever of their own, creating a whole slew of new green goods.
This spring the emphasis in gardening will be on ease, convenience and results. New to the market are exotic annuals, patio ready plants, lightweight containers, and of course, dependable and disease-resistant roses.
Patio Ready Plants
Create an instant “patio ready” solution with color and long lasting appeal with the Raymond Evison Patio Clematis Collection. Each plant comes in a decorative pot ready for your patio, deck, balcony or front porch.
Compact and showy, these container clematis are covered up and down the entire vine with richly hued flowers, creating a striking tower of color from spring through fall. Once enjoyed for the summer, they can be planted in the garden in fall and will spread like a ground cover.
New Stars in the Garden
Looking for a great low-maintenance rose for your garden? Why not choose The Pink Knock Out Rose, a color sport of the breakthrough The Knock Out Rose. Pink Knock Out blooms profusely and thrives in very humid climates, where most other roses need spraying.
Other new roses include Elle, a hybrid tea AARS winner that produces long-stemmed shell pink roses with deep yellow undertones or White Drift, the first compact rose ideal for hanging baskets. With pure white blooms and a strong spicy fragrance, this rose is sure to turn your neighbor’s heads.
Specialty Annuals
New annuals from Simply Beautiful can easily be integrated into your garden to complement perennials and shrubs. Try Simply Beautiful Kong coleus this year with its gigantic multi-colored leaves for the shade or Simply Beautiful Fusion Infrared exotic impatiens for containers.
And don’t forget your Wave Petunias! Easy Wave Red, the first true red in the Ride The Wave petunia family, is phenomenal in garden beds where they can spread up to a whopping 3 feet. Try any of the Wave petunias for instant impact without any fuss.
Vincas return in a big way this season with Simply Beautiful’s Titan series, sporting gigantic flowers in seven colors including Polka Dot, Punch and Lavender Blue Halo.
Contain Yourself
So you don’t have the time or space for a full-size garden? You can still get the flavor and feel of getting your hands dirty, and create elegant accents inside and outside your home with one or more of the latest designer containers from Campania International.
“This new line of container and styles reflects our desire to match specific styles with different parts of the home both inside and out,” says Peter C. Cilio, vice president of product development. “The different types of materials easily fit together to form an overall, different look.”
New products on the market include COTTO-Lite and LEAD-Lite Containers, which are lightweight alternatives to lead or terra cotta containers. Made from clay and other naturally found materials, these planters are durable and resistant to frost and ultra violet rays.
Give Your Plants a Boost
Whatever you plant, give your flowers, shrubs and even vegetables a head start with Messenger from Eden Bioscience. This revolutionary new plant care product is like a vaccination for your plants, turning up their own immune system to help produce more flowers and fruit and increase overall plant health. Environmentally safe, this breakthrough product increases disease resistance and growth. Spray Messenger on throughout the growing season, and watch it boost your plants performance both indoors and outdoors
| Spring Cleaning, Backyard Style |
| Seven time-saving tips to get your backyard ready for summer (ARA) - Now that the wintry weather is gone and the colorful blooms are back, it’s time to think about spring cleaning. But while you’re washing windows, scrubbing walls and dusting corners inside the house, don’t forget about rolling up those sleeves and giving the outside a once-over, too. Spending some time in the backyard as soon as spring rolls around can really pay off. “Winter can leave a lawn in pretty tough shape,” says backyard expert Michael Miller, president of backyard tool manufacturer Hound Dog Products. “But there are lots of little things you can do to help spruce up your backyard when the weather starts to turn warmer. By digging in to cleanup in early spring, you’ll be ahead of the game, and your neighbors will be playing catch-up all year long.” Miller offers seven tips that the professionals use to ensure a successful backyard spring cleanup effort -- and to help your home’s outside sparkle and shine as vibrantly as the inside. * Rake. As soon as the lawn begins to wake up for the season, give it a light once-over with a rake, taking care not to disturb any new grass plants by raking too hard. In addition to clearing leaves, twigs and other debris left over from last fall, the first raking of the year also allows you to assess the extent of any winter damage to your lawn. Look for early signs of pests or disease, and nip them in the bud before they cause big problems. * Aerate. Heavy use throughout the year can cause soil to become compacted. Removing plugs of sod in the spring -- aerating -- loosens the soil and lets water, air and fertilizer get down to the grass plant’s root structure. For smaller yards, or for concentrated trouble spots in any size yard, consider using a manual aerating tool that removes plugs from the turf. If you have a large yard, consider renting a power aerator. * Top dress. After you aerate, spend a few minutes doing what the experts call “top dressing,” spreading a thin layer of peat moss over the lawn with a rake. The top dressing helps to gradually condition the lawn throughout the year, strengthening the grass so it can resist disease, weeds and thatch, and reducing the amount of water and fertilizer it needs. * Weed. Go after weeds early in the season before they have a chance to go to seed. Cultivating a healthy lawn is one of the simplest ways to crowd out weeds. Or, remove dandelions and other broadleaf weeds with an easy-to-use weeder. Ergonomic tools like the Weed Hound have helped make long afternoons spent weeding nothing more than a backbreaking memory. All you do is place the tool over the weed, step lightly on the footrest, and pull the weed up, root and all. * Fix bare spots. Whether it’s due to disease or dog urine, bare patches can make a yard look shabby. A quick and easy way of improving the look of your yard is to repair the discolored patches, especially in early spring, when the cooler temperatures help the grass grow. Just clear away the dead-looking patches, sprinkle grass seed on the newly exposed soil, add fertilizer, and keep the area moist until it sprouts. * Remove thatch build-up. Thatch prevents sunlight, oxygen and moisture from getting to the nutrient-hungry soil below. But it’s easy to remove, especially if you do it regularly -- every year or two. Just go at the yard with a dethatching rake or power dethatcher to clean away the layer of tangled roots and stems. It takes some elbow grease, but it will help clear the way for new growth. * Give your tools a spring tune-up. Spend a few minutes in the garage or storage shed making sure your tools are in good working condition -- before you need to use them for the first time. Consider taking your lawn mower in for an annual tune-up. The dealer can replace the oil and spark plugs, sharpen the blade, and get it ready for the season. A little effort in early spring can lay the groundwork for a thriving, healthy backyard -- and have your neighbors turning green with envy. Celebrate Spring by Getting Your Garden in Shape (ARA) - Spring is just around the corner and that means it’s once again time to get your garden ready for the warm weather ahead. So when the snow melts away, here are some tips to prepare your garden for the spring and summer months ahead. * Start on your garden early, in March or April, by cleaning out the garden bed and yard of any winter debris. * Save leaves and grass clippings from your yard. These items along with twigs can be used to create a mulch pile for the next gardening season. The mulch will help to shield the soil from the sun and reduce water run-off. It will also help to stop weeds from growing in your garden. * If you have a mulch pile already, put it over the soil in your garden so it covers up approximately 3 inches, and turn it over into the soil. * Wondering when you should transplant trees and shrubs? A good way is to remember is to do it in any month that has an “R” in it. January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December are all good months for transplanting. * Make sure you have the right tools for your garden and that they are sharpened and cleaned. Consumer Reports lists nine essential tools for gardening, which include a rake, wheelbarrow, handshovel, and pruner. * Union tools has created a great new tool to help in your garden activities. The Wet N Dry Rake is perfect for raking wet and dry leaves as well as any yard or garden debris that needs to be cleaned up. With its adjustable tension grip it makes any garden or yard work easy for anyone. * The Stow N Go Wheelbarrow also by Union Tools is a must for any gardener. It can be used to haul your gardening tools and plants. It can easily be put together and taken apart without tools, making it easy to stow away in a shed or garage and not take up much room at all. * Plant vegetables that you enjoy eating, that way you’ll be able to go out and pick them right from your own backyard. Some popular ones to grow are tomatoes, broccoli and cucumbers. * It is also a good idea to know what kinds of plants and vegetables you can grow in your area. Not all of them need to be planted at the same time and climates vary from place to place making it difficult to grow particular foods depending on your region. * Start pulling weeds out now to avoid a rush later on. It’s easier to get rid of them when the ground and soil are wet.
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