DJ
We just bought a house and need to put in the backyard, it's going to take a lot of money and work. We would like to get the kids swing set and trampoline up as soon as possible but we don't have the money to get the yard put in right now. Does anyone know what we can do to make our yard look nice, be kid friendly, and very inexpensive? Thanks!
There are no sprinklers, or any water for that fact, in the backyard and it needs grass and a patio as well.
This is a newer home with nothing but dirt, the ground has never been touched.
Answer
When I moved in this last house, I simply knocked on doors and asked for a start. There were so many succulents and tropicals that could easily be started. I watched for sales and mark downs and brought them back to life. At least now you have the internet to research how to start what plants. Do some interesting things. I met a lady before I moved and she had gotten an apple tree and then grafted different apples on different branches. You can do that with many other things. I was so broke when I moved in I used to go down the side walks and pull the strings of carpet grass and take them home and plant them. Don't laugh...I had a good yard within a year and it didn't cost me anything. The other thing you need is to figure out how to get water to the back yard. I didn't have water in the front so I poked a hole through my house and ran pipe over to the front with a shut off for water stealers or cold weather. I ended up with a washing shed...I guess they call them here...but an small place for the washer and places to hang clothes to dry in the fresh air but sheltered. I also found a small plant with white flowers that looked like an expensive purple one but was wild. I have a bed of them across the back fence and they are indigenous so they simple bloom and bloom and bloom. I also drove around and still do looking in the heaps of plant people put out to be picked up. I've gotten all sorts of plants and certainly a lot of banana trees and lots of ivy and yuccas. People laughed at me because I didn't use a color scheme. Actually I did but they didn't get it at first. It's myriads of color but in a way so that each color area always has something blooming and one color compliments the next and I bet I have one of everything that will grow here.
When I moved in this last house, I simply knocked on doors and asked for a start. There were so many succulents and tropicals that could easily be started. I watched for sales and mark downs and brought them back to life. At least now you have the internet to research how to start what plants. Do some interesting things. I met a lady before I moved and she had gotten an apple tree and then grafted different apples on different branches. You can do that with many other things. I was so broke when I moved in I used to go down the side walks and pull the strings of carpet grass and take them home and plant them. Don't laugh...I had a good yard within a year and it didn't cost me anything. The other thing you need is to figure out how to get water to the back yard. I didn't have water in the front so I poked a hole through my house and ran pipe over to the front with a shut off for water stealers or cold weather. I ended up with a washing shed...I guess they call them here...but an small place for the washer and places to hang clothes to dry in the fresh air but sheltered. I also found a small plant with white flowers that looked like an expensive purple one but was wild. I have a bed of them across the back fence and they are indigenous so they simple bloom and bloom and bloom. I also drove around and still do looking in the heaps of plant people put out to be picked up. I've gotten all sorts of plants and certainly a lot of banana trees and lots of ivy and yuccas. People laughed at me because I didn't use a color scheme. Actually I did but they didn't get it at first. It's myriads of color but in a way so that each color area always has something blooming and one color compliments the next and I bet I have one of everything that will grow here.
what are your favorite things to do in the spring/summer????
Rainbow Ki
i'm trying to get ideas for a huge list i'm making of fun things to do :]
Answer
My favorite seasons!!! :D I get so happy in the spring and summer. Just reading this question made me feel a little cheerier! lol. Just a few of my faves:
- going swimming. Having your own backyard pool is a must in Phoenix, so a lot of my summertime memories revolve around swimming. : ]
- picnics! There are some really great mountains here that make for good dayhikes, and a little picnic at the top enjoying the view is so fun. Or there's always the picnic-in-the-park, or even your yard. There's just something about eating outside that makes it taste so much better!
- playing at the park -- sports, games, or just monkeying around on the playground :D
- having a neighborhood "Relive Your Childhood" party, with everyone running through the sprinklers, eating cherry popsicles, blasting good "summertime" music, etc. Or, if the adults prefer, sitting in lawnchairs sipping strawberry lemonade, getting some sun while watching through their sunglasses as the kids play. lol
- barbecues! This goes well with the last one. They must include certain foods, though -- ESPECIALLY cracking open a watermelon for dessert!
- having a watermelon seed spitting contest :D
- water balloon fights!
- flying a kite (best in spring)
- having a driveway art exhibition, sharing you & your friends'/family's/kids' sidewalk chalk creations, awarding prizes for most creative, most colorful, most abstract, and whatever other awards you can think of -- but everyone must get one, if kids are involved! It's more fun that way. : )
- playing Cowboys and Indians
- 'camping out' in the backyard, either in a tent or, if the weather is suitable & you feel it's safe, sleeping bags/blankets on a giant trampoline. It's fantastic for stargazing. We've done this many times, but! You have to remember to put a blanket UNDER you as well as over, otherwise you'll freeze even if you pile on the blankets. Yes, we really did have to find this out from experience! lol (Idk how cold it gets at night in other places, but it can cool off quite a bit at night here in the desert)
- if it's too hot to camp outside in your yard, build blanket forts inside! We used to have sleepovers in our blanket fort under the dining room table (I have 8 siblings, so it was a big table) and the various other forts we set up all throughout the house. For some reason, scary ghost stories were always more spooky INDOORS than out! We'd even microwave S'mores for the occasion. : )
- hide and seek/tag -- with squirtguns, if you're adventurous! ; )
- going to a water park
- making fun hot-weather treats: frozen kool-ade pops, pudding parfaits, homemade ice cream or sno-cones, that sorta thing (then enjoying them together, of course!)
- planting and tending a garden <3
- going to a museum or amusement park
- garage sale crawls at 8 AM
- going to the zoo and letting the kids take pictures with a cheap disposable camera
- taking a daytrip to a nearby state park or local attraction. Here in AZ, some ideas would be any of the nearby ghost towns, the Grand Canyon, Sedona (for the creeks & the touristy shops), Montezuma's Castle & other ruins, or any of the state's lakes (I can never get enough time in/near the water!)
- speaking of lakes... FISHING! If you live someplace where there isn't really a good natural fishing spot (like I do : P), look for artificial lakes that allow fishing
Those are just some examples of the stuff we do in the spring and summer that ALWAYS make for good times and great memories! <3
My favorite seasons!!! :D I get so happy in the spring and summer. Just reading this question made me feel a little cheerier! lol. Just a few of my faves:
- going swimming. Having your own backyard pool is a must in Phoenix, so a lot of my summertime memories revolve around swimming. : ]
- picnics! There are some really great mountains here that make for good dayhikes, and a little picnic at the top enjoying the view is so fun. Or there's always the picnic-in-the-park, or even your yard. There's just something about eating outside that makes it taste so much better!
- playing at the park -- sports, games, or just monkeying around on the playground :D
- having a neighborhood "Relive Your Childhood" party, with everyone running through the sprinklers, eating cherry popsicles, blasting good "summertime" music, etc. Or, if the adults prefer, sitting in lawnchairs sipping strawberry lemonade, getting some sun while watching through their sunglasses as the kids play. lol
- barbecues! This goes well with the last one. They must include certain foods, though -- ESPECIALLY cracking open a watermelon for dessert!
- having a watermelon seed spitting contest :D
- water balloon fights!
- flying a kite (best in spring)
- having a driveway art exhibition, sharing you & your friends'/family's/kids' sidewalk chalk creations, awarding prizes for most creative, most colorful, most abstract, and whatever other awards you can think of -- but everyone must get one, if kids are involved! It's more fun that way. : )
- playing Cowboys and Indians
- 'camping out' in the backyard, either in a tent or, if the weather is suitable & you feel it's safe, sleeping bags/blankets on a giant trampoline. It's fantastic for stargazing. We've done this many times, but! You have to remember to put a blanket UNDER you as well as over, otherwise you'll freeze even if you pile on the blankets. Yes, we really did have to find this out from experience! lol (Idk how cold it gets at night in other places, but it can cool off quite a bit at night here in the desert)
- if it's too hot to camp outside in your yard, build blanket forts inside! We used to have sleepovers in our blanket fort under the dining room table (I have 8 siblings, so it was a big table) and the various other forts we set up all throughout the house. For some reason, scary ghost stories were always more spooky INDOORS than out! We'd even microwave S'mores for the occasion. : )
- hide and seek/tag -- with squirtguns, if you're adventurous! ; )
- going to a water park
- making fun hot-weather treats: frozen kool-ade pops, pudding parfaits, homemade ice cream or sno-cones, that sorta thing (then enjoying them together, of course!)
- planting and tending a garden <3
- going to a museum or amusement park
- garage sale crawls at 8 AM
- going to the zoo and letting the kids take pictures with a cheap disposable camera
- taking a daytrip to a nearby state park or local attraction. Here in AZ, some ideas would be any of the nearby ghost towns, the Grand Canyon, Sedona (for the creeks & the touristy shops), Montezuma's Castle & other ruins, or any of the state's lakes (I can never get enough time in/near the water!)
- speaking of lakes... FISHING! If you live someplace where there isn't really a good natural fishing spot (like I do : P), look for artificial lakes that allow fishing
Those are just some examples of the stuff we do in the spring and summer that ALWAYS make for good times and great memories! <3
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