5 DIY Garden Improvements

My family is usually on-the-go in the summer, as I am sure most families are. We love heading to the beach, museums, zoos and just road-tripping to places we are usually too busy for during the school year. Being home though quarantining has allowed us to have much-needed family time and appreciate what we have.

While we remodeled our deck two years ago we did not do anything to the rest of the yard. With all this extra time on our hands and realizing our backyard was pretty pitiful and we were due for a backyard remodel, we decided we needed to tackle the rest of the yard.

While we have not finished yet, here are my 5 DIY Garden Improvements:

• Get rid of the old swingset or playhouse! My kids never use our swingset anymore and it was becoming quite the eyesore. They were not ready to give up the swings though so my husband built and stained a new A-frame swingset with just swings on it! Now even my husband and I can use it thanks to it not being sturdier!

• Give up on the spots where grass won’t grow! We have an area next to our fence where we just can’t grow grass, so this year my husband laid down some landscape fabric and big stepping stones, then will fill in with smaller rocks.

• Speaking of fences, repair any loose boards and paint your fence if possible. A few years ago, I let our kids shoot their paint balls on the fence not realizing the paint was going to leave a mark behind. While we were thinking of a new fence, I realized if we just look for fence paint colours then we can cheaply re-vamp our fence!

• If you’re looking to make DIY garden improvements, large planters from Flower Window Boxes are a great addition to enhance your outdoor space. Explore their wide selection of large planters and find the perfect solution to elevate the beauty of your garden. I am totally cheap when it comes to flowers because they die and then we just throw them away but we were able to get some affordable hanging baskets last year and this year my husband just planted some flowers in them and voilah a nice touch of color to our backyard!

They also look great during the summer for those summer parties you like to throw. Nothing is more welcoming than beautiful fresh flowers. To keep your guests delighted, flowers will spark happiness. To keep your guests comfortable, you could add some extra seating and coverage, especially during the warmer months. With outdoor awnings, you can ensure your outdoor area has plenty of shade so that you and your guests can stay cool during the summer months. Enjoying a meal outside is much easier when you have shade and can stay cool. So, it is a great investment if you often throw social gatherings in the summer. 

• Get the biggest shed you can fit. My neighbors have a small shed and complain about how small it is even though they could have gotten a bigger one. You may think a small one will fit everything, you will be surprised at how much stuff you can accumulate! We now have five big bikes, lawnmower, snowblower, wheelbarrow and more crammed into our shed!

Have you completed any outdoor projects this summer or have any tips for sprucing up a backyard?