With the summer season here this picnic table will be perfect for children’s activities.

Here is a you tube video with instructions on how to build it. It is very detailed. I plan to make one for out backyard patio area.

Picnics add to family memories. I remember when my father built one for a large picnic we were going to have when our cousins visited from Florida. He made it from old barn board for the barn that used to stand on the property across the road. We had that table for many years.

It was so heavy from using old barn wood that you had to move it using a tractor. At least it never flipped over.

Hopefully this how to video will help you make a picnic table that will add to your backyard activities.

Picnic table tips:

1. Make sure the table is level.
2. If your picnic table tends to want to tip over place weights on the legs to hold it in place.
3. Check to see if the wood is smooth and that there are no slivers that will hurt people.
4. Seat covers are helpful when using the table of several hours.Cover the picnic table in the winter or during bad storms.
5. Add a weather protection seal to the picnic table every few year to help preserve the wood.
6. Those plastic table cloth covers you can buy for a few dollars work great for children’s activities and picnic where you don’t want to spend a lot of time cleaning up after the party is done.

With care, a picnic table will last for years.

With summer vacations for children and family entertainment being a focus of the backyard you may want fast and easy activities available.

Here are three ideas for family entertainment that will keep children busy and also provide an activity for adults.

The treasure chest is a great game to keep children occupied. By changing the contents of the box the game will always be new and exciting. You could even add movie tickets or a trip to the beach as one of the content items. The game could be turned into a guessing game with clues leading to the box. It’s also adaptable for older teens and adults.

These games are easy to set up, very inexpensive and can be changed so that they always add a new dimension to backyard fun.

Technorati Tags: backyard activities, backyard entertainment, childrens games

A patio herb garden makes a great small space garden and serves a double purpose of producing herbs for cooking or for crafting purposes.

photo credit: jemasmith

Planting an herb garden on your patio isn’t only a practical use of space, but it also adds atmosphere and greenery to your patio.

These simple steps will help to make planting your patio herb garden a breeze.

First choose herbs to plant in your patio herb garden. What herbs do you sue the most? Take a look at your kitchen shelves for help with your selection. Basil, chives, dill, oregano, parsley rosemary, sage and thyme are the most popular herbs and are easy for even a first time gardener to grow. Once you have determined the herbs you would like to grow its time to select pots and containers.

Study your patio, them choose different sizes and shapes of containers to give your patio herb garden a unique and fun look. You may want to go with a rustic look, match containers to go with your landscape or make a garden that would appeal to children. With containers the atmosphere you can create is unlimited.

Make sure that your containers have holes in the bottom for good drainage, and then fill the bottoms with small rocks or gravel.

Next fill your containers with composted soil mixed in a 2 to 1 ratio with sand. Leave a 1-inch space at the top of the container. This gives you room to water without running the pot over and creating a mess.

Water the container and allow it to drain before planting your herbs. This step also settles the soil mix. I usually let the containers set overnight.

Next plant your herbs. It’s best to keep oregano, rosemary, mint and thyme in separate containers. They tend to grow large or spread and take over the container. You can grow the other herbs together in large shallow pots or a window box in your herb garden.

Last of all, it’s time to place containers on your patio in a location where they get at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. Herbs have a variety of different colors and textures and add depth to a small space garden area, like a patio. Add a few edible flowers in your herb garden for more color. Nasturtiums are an edible flower.

Lavender and rosemary are more difficult herbs to grow but you may want to consider growing them. In many areas they are perennial if brought indoors during the winter months.

One other idea you may want to consider when planning your herb garden is making part of the garden into a vertical garden. This would be perfect for a small patio with a corner that gets direct lighting.

This patio garden could be a compact as 3 foot in length if you use vertical growing methods or a few hanging baskets.  It could also be a growing wall or barrier to create more privacy on the patio.

Herbs are easy to grow and have so many uses. You will be surprised how much this small garden will add to your home and patio space.

Technorati Tags: backyard patio, gardening, herb gardening, herbs, small space herb garden

There are many concerns to take into consideration when building a fence.

1. What is its purpose? Is it for privacy, to control pets or children or for landscape design?
2. What styles will suit your home? Remember, building a fence takes time and cost money. Although there are fences that are more cost effective there is always cost involved so make sure you have placed the fence in the right area.
3. Check for any local fence restriction in your area and always contact your local utility companies before digging.

The following you tubes on how to build a fence will help you with any decisions and show different fencing styles. These you tubes are produced by home depot and are a bit commercial but they have great information that will help you.

I plan to add a small fence to the front yard that will be mainly decorative. This fence is more of a cottage style design with its main purpose being décor and to help block some of the noise from the highway.

And in the backyard I should add a fence for my dog Taz (the spaz) but so far I have not decided on what style would look good and also contain the Australian Shepherd Cattle dog with attitude. I don’t like the metal look but don’t want a high wood fence either. My selection for this fence design may take some time.

Technorati Tags: backyard design, backyard fences, fences, fencing, how to make a fence

These tips are used in all my gardens but for small space gardening they seem to work very well. When making a small space garden you need to make sure each plant compliments the others and really does the work of two plants.

photo credit: normanack

I am redoing my entire front yard due to severe flood damage and many of the garden area will be small. Although the hillside terrace garden will be about 35 foot long by 5 to 15 foot wide I will be creating small space garden areas, many with different uses.

So here are a few tips or garden practices I will be using in all my garden areas, especially my new small gardens.

Edging.

Any garden bed or border will be easier to maintain if they are edged. This will help keep the surround grass and weeds from invading your garden beds. You can select brick, metal plastic or stone and an edging. Your chose will be influenced by cost, materials on hand or prior landscaping.

I usually go for what I have on hand or what I can use at the best price. For me that is free. Recently I used old round metal hoops I found. And in my current project most of my edgings will be rock.

And if you have lawn around your bed you may want to add a 6 to 12 inch edging of stone or masonry, which you will set even with the surrounding soil. This will give you a wide mowing strip around your garden making lawn care easier. And this also looks nice.

Mulch

Using a mulch in your gardens will help control weeds, cut down on watering, help prevent erosion and water runoff (a problem in my yard) and will give you garden areas a common look and flow if they are scattered on your property. Once I mulched a garden I was hooked. It just simplifies lawn work.

I use mainly organic mulches as I find them for free in my area. Organic mulches include leaves, leaf mold, shredded bark and aged sawdust. You could also use compost. These materials have to be topped with a fresh layer every couple of years as they tend to decay and settle.

Mulches that are more permanent are crushed stone, masonry or brick. These hold up well over time but do not improve the soil like organic mulch will. To find free rock or brick you may want to contact a local construction company.

Garden plan

A garden plan is beneficial to any garden but in a small space garden is almost a necessity. With a plan you can make the best use out of you space. It’s also a great way to make plans for any seasonal changes what you may have in your growing climate.

With a little planning you can tuck a small space garden into any corner or unused space in your yard or patio areas. Even urban dwellers will be able to have fresh flowers and vegetables in their home.

My first new small space gardens will be a mailbox garden and a barrier end garden.

Technorati Tags: backyard design, hardy flowers, Small Space Garden, small space garden flowers, small space garden plan