Why a backyard oasis? With tough economic times and saving money being a top priority for many families this is the time to think about creating your own backyard oasis to chill out from your daily stresses. With proper planning you can make your backyard into a paradise that fits the activities of the entire family. You can even add a nutritional garden area to save additional money.

photo credit: zenera

One of the first steps in planning is deciding on what you will spend.  Many backyard accessories can be made or may already exist in your landscape. You can hunt at auctions or garage sales for any additional furniture, garden supplies or children’s play equipment.

The next step is to evaluate your space. It’s amazing how much you can fit into a very small area and still have a spacious feel. An area under a shade tree may become a place for children to play. Your patio can double as a family leisure area for picnics or camp outs or even be set up as a patio gardening area.

Plants add a relaxing atmosphere and seem to extend your yard. By arranging your plants in layers such as raised beds, containers, or climbing plants, you can grow upwards and save space and add privacy to your backyard oasis.

One more addition to any yard is water. Water tends to make people feel at home. Water fountains cover up traffic and neighborhood noise while small pools can contain fish, or be a place for the family to cool off on hot days.

With an enclosed porch or additional building you can extend the time you can spend in your yard. I have a small sunroom and a greenhouse that I spend hours in during my cold Northwest Pa. winters. It extends my spring and fall seasons by several months.

Backyards can also look beautiful and inviting even in cold weather. Many of my favorite childhood memories include bonfires and cookouts in January and February, our coldest months.

If you live in town or a city you may still have a patio, a deck, a room with windows, or an area by a garage that you can turn into your own private getaway. There are many renters who have rooftop garden and living areas that are a special and very inviting oasis.

Your backyard can be made to fit you and your families needs for family leisure activities, such as sports, gardening, and entertaining. Make this season the time to create your own backyard oasis.

Any garden or backyard flowerbed needs good soil to give the gardens and floral display a lush and hardy look.

photo credit: doug_wertman

And if you are using raised bed techniques you often create most of your soil. So knowing how to identify your soil and make it healthier will benefit your overall garden and gardening experience.

The following you tube will show you more about good soil.

I tend to use lasagna gardening methods for soil. That is building the soil up on top of the soil. I don’t have to dig this way and I know my soil is health and will drain well.

I started using this method because I did not have a way to dig my garden and I had a lot of excess materials that could be composted.

Even if your backyard does not have a garden or flowerbed you often have shrubs, trees and areas that just may need additional soil.  Knowing good soil will help these areas. And if you have a small compost bin you can make your own soil or fill your own flower baskets and planters.

Technorati Tags: backyard gardens, gardens, good soil, lasagna gardening, make good soil

Are toads beneficial to the garden? Yes! They have a large appetite for bad bugs. And besides that they add laugher and interest to your backyard and garden areas.

photo credit: darrenlewis1984

I never thought that much about toads in the garden until one year when I grew a unique cucumber with spines on the exterior. This vegetable grew like crazy and the trellis I put up for the cucumber plants looked like a jungle. It was so full the cucumbers were hard to pick and the area was shady.

One day I noticed I had left a little clay pot near the bottom of the trellis. (I cover all small squash and cucumber seedlings at night when they are young. It protects them from squash bugs.) I was going to pick it up and put it away until I noticed a toad was using it for a house. The pot gave the toad a dark, moist hiding place during the day.

The toad seemed content to stay in the cucumber patch area. It would watch me, tucked away in the pot, work in the gardens.

The next year I put a terra cotta pot back in the garden in a shady area and the toad returned. Every night, toads will stalk and consume 50 to 100 unwanted pests including slugs, cut worms, and flies. So if you like natural insect control, the toad is your answer.

To attract toads to your garden or near your pond or water garden, find a location to attract toads. You are looking for a soft, moist area with as little wind as possible. You also need an area about one foot square in an area that you can leave alone.

Next, build your toad a home. Any form of natural, miniature cave-like waterproof sturdy shelter will do. The toad just needs to be able to move in and out freely, remain on cool, moist soil while inside, and are hidden from overhead predators and severe weather.

photo credit: mara

A favorite method is to lay a medium-sized unglazed terra cotta flowerpot on its side and sink part of it into the ground. Toads love to climb inside and the clay pot provides a moist climate. Stones or bricks can also be arranged into a permanent mini shelter, but they require more work to set up.

Some people recycle other types of old, broken heavy plant containers. They turn them upside down in the garden after breaking a large enough opening on the top edge as a doorway. By using a broken pot you have you can use colors that match your yard or plants. It can even be considered garden art.

You can even buy commercial toad houses in garden centers and garden supply stores. But why not have the fun of making the toad house yourself? And it’s a great children’s project.

The last step is to protect the surroundings. Place the pot in a place that has some privacy. And make sure the area has little or no chemicals that would hurt a toad. Those who attract toads for garden pest control usually use natural methods in their gardens, so toxins in the garden are probably not a concern. A pool area might have toxins though.

You can further attract toads by providing a flat stone for a sunning area that gets sun, but is also somewhat surrounded by vegetation or natural shelter. This will give them protection and a feeling of security.

Toads don’t need as much water as frogs; you can provide water by setting a shallow waterproof tray with pebbles and stones on the ground. A gradual edge works best, and no deeper than an inch or so of water is needed.

Note: Frogs and toads are disappearing, so when you attract toads, you’re also helping the planet.  And you are practicing natural garden pest control.

Technorati Tags: backyard gardens, natural insect control, toad houses

Many people picture a cute furry groundhog with a hat and a holiday all to himself but backyard gardeners know the damage that Groundhog or “wood chuck” can do.

From Millan.Net

If your not familiar with these garden hazards, they are a tunnel-digging rodent common throughout eastern North America. Also known as woodchucks, they can wreak havoc on your backyard garden in no time. I have seen a groundhog destroy a row of beans in less than an hour and ruin a patch of melons overnight. And their homes leave a mess in yard pastures and even under homes.

Groundhogs can produce tunnels forty-five feet in length that are buried up to five feet underground. And if they decide to tunnel under your home or an outbuilding they can damage the foundation.

It is best to deal with groundhogs before they decide to vacation in your backyard paradise. Prevention is the key and here are a few tips to keep your backyard groundhog free.

Protect your gardens

When you plant a vegetable garden it’s like rolling out a red carpet to an all you can eat vegetable bar. The groundhogs will be waiting in line unless you plan ahead. Raised beds, container gardens, patio gardens or a garden fence will discourage these hungry rodents.

Some people use cages to catch groundhogs or dogs to scare them away. I have also used shiny objects, wind chimes and a radio to scare groundhogs away from the backyard garden area.

Maintain your property

Groundhogs are attracted to the edges of woodlands and next to open areas. Old pastures, empty lots and overgrown areas will quickly become their home. They also love to burrow under rocks, tree stumps or by shrubs or bushes. They are making a home in a protected area

Know your property.

Is the edge of your woods overgrown with brush? Do you have firewood or other objects piled in the yard? If so, you are creating a perfect home for a groundhog. Clear away any brush, wood and debris. Keep the grass cut short around your home and outbuildings. Or remove the grass in this area and put down mulch.

When you find a groundhog hole, fill it and make sure the area is cleared. You may want to walk a dog around the area to discourage it from staying. I have also poured cat litter down the holes, and then filled them in.

Groundhogs are stubborn when they decide to move in, so the best policy to keep them out. And Happy Groundhogs day!

Technorati Tags: backyard gardening, garden pests, garden problems, groundhog control, groundhog damage

The backyard Oasis will be offering “Backyard Oasis Projects” for creating a rustic arbor, raised bed gardening, selecting plants and small space design. Classes begin in March and will be in video form so you can watch and later ask any questions you may have.

photo credit: Stephen Howard

If you live Warren County PA or Chautauqua County NY there will be on location classes available in April for straw bale gardening, container gardening and raised bed gardening. You will need to sign up for these classes so that I know how many will be in attendance.

Your can sign up through “contact us”. the Gardener’s Rake is a sister site to our backyard oasis so you can also sign up there.

The Gardener’s Rake is also having a “Free Seed Contest” For more information and rules visit The Gardener’s Rake.

Join in on the fun! Spring is almost here. Just ask the local community Ground Hogs, Dunkirk Dave and Punxy Phil.

From Millan.Net

Technorati Tags: backyard oasis projects, free garden seeds contest, gardening classes offered, the Gardeners Rake