Let this be the year when you get to enjoy all that your yard has to offer. No matter the size, even if it’s sandy with weeds, you can start seeing its potential. Simple tweaks can transform a neglected space into an oasis where your family and friends can relax.
Fencing
Privacy is nice, although some need it more than others. If you want to screen out neighbors, you can plant boxwood or privet hedges. Cape Cod Wholesale Nursery (only opened in early spring) or Mahoney’s Garden Center carry good selections. To keep pets and children safe, find the type of fencing comfortable for your budget. Attractive options can be found by talking with local companies, such as Eagle Fencing Company Cape Cod in East Falmouth.
Furniture for Outdoor Living
Maximize your yard by defining small sections. Assess your deck or patio. Work on the deck if it needs shoring up or a fresh coat of stain or paint. Replace any cracked patio pavers or update them all. Get comfortable outdoor seating, or just purchase new cushions. Add an outdoor dining table and maybe an umbrella. For more shade, affix a pergola and train grapes or other vines onto it. A good place to find ideas such as these is the Cape-based company Stonewood Products. Its Mashpee and Harwich stores carry all the products needed to plan and complete projects, including select woods and natural stones, exterior lighting, outdoor furniture, and shower kits.
Farther out in the yard, set up a hammock, which can be a delightful spot for an afternoon nap. Or, near a garden, place a rocker or two with a tea table between them for alternative spot to relax.
What Type of Garden Would You Like?
If you are a skilled gardener with a green thumb, your yard may boast flower beds, flowering shrubs, as well as an enviable vegetable garden. If not, plant some annuals for color. Whatever level of gardener you are, you don’t need a vast space in order to toss in some seed. Put in flower beds or add plants, especially ones that attract pollinators, along borders. Ample selections are found at Mahoney’s Garden Center, Coonamessett Farm in Hatchville, and Jenny’s Edibles & Blooms (which operates out of Green Dragon Farm on Sandwich Road in Teaticket).
Give yourself and the ecology a small break by eliminating manicured grass. Instead, throw wildflower seeds liberally on the ground and distribute small stones between beds and place pavers to mark walkways.
For vegetables, you don’t have to dig trenches. Instead, build wooden containers for raised beds or purchase large pots for herbs and tomatoes. Start small and add on as you like. The point of gardening is to enjoy being out in the yard; the lovely results are an added benefit.
Get the Children Outside
If you have children, create safe areas for them. It’s a fact that kids are healthier when they get more fresh air. The benefits are not only for physical health but also mental and emotional health. So it makes sense to encourage them to be outdoors more often. Christine Garrison, outreach specialist, and Mary Wilson, early learning specialist, both working with The Coalition for Children, shared some thoughts. “When you show enthusiasm for doing things outside, your child will, too. Wonder together about what might be fun to do and discover.” Get out there to play catch, or garden, or sit and read.
Tiny tots need nothing more than a small space to run, play ball or be with friends or siblings. Adding a swing would make it special, but rather than installing plastic swing sets in bold, primary colors, look for wooden ones that appear more natural with the rest of the yard. The Shed Place in Mashpee can get you started.
If space is limited, older children might like a basketball hoop. If there’s more room to play with, set up a net for them to practice hockey shots or soccer kicks. Pools can be expensive; instead get a sprinkler that rotates, the faster and wilder the better.
If you want to win big points, consider a treehouse or playhouse, but if building one is too difficult, make some on-the-fly structures with poles (or branches), twine, and fabric such as household sheets. Involve the kids with the design and building so they enjoy it even more. It might be that perfect place to inspire imagination. Set up a small table and chairs with wipable surfaces. This can be a great place for doing homework or craft projects.
Fun Additions
Fire pits are increasingly popular, so if you want one, find a safe spot well away from other active areas. Choose from a range of styles, wood or gas, free-standing or built-in, low to the ground or tabletop. Get benches or sling chairs, then sit around and enjoy.
Another idea is to install a water feature. Again, these vary as imagination and budget permit from a small standalone fountain or cascading waterwall, to larger ones such as a pond, koi optional. Any feature with running water promises to bring tranquility to your setting. Simple rock water features can be found in garden centers. For free one-on-one expert advice, Country Gardens on West Main Street in Hyannis has an aquatics team to help you plan exactly what you’d like.
Another consideration if you have extra space is to get a free-standing screened structure so small gatherings can enjoy being outside without the bother of flying insects. Thinking a bit grander, a gazebo could be the center of your activities. Choose different styles and sizes and have it open to the air or screened. You can hire a contractor to build one or find a prefabricated wood or vinyl design, such as those carried by The Shed Place, located in Bourne and Mashpee.
Lighting
Just the right type of lighting can transform your yard into an enjoyable space after dark. Subtle lighting is not only for safety, it can create a tranquil or festive mood. Add a touch of summer magic by stringing up soft fairy lighting around the yard. Twine them overhead or at other heights around shrubs to easily brighten any corner. Install pathway lights to mark where people can walk or where to avoid walking, such as around water or the fire pit. These low lights may be wired underground or run off solar-powered LEDs.
Music
Speakers are getting better, smaller, and cheaper, so why not bring your music out with you. Just keep the volume at a level that’s considerate to neighbors who would probably rather not listen to your playlist. Should you want to watch sports or movies outside when the better weather returns to the Cape, secure a flat screen in a protected spot that’s away from moisture and lights.
Keep your yard simple or load it up, as you like. With a little planning, you can totally enjoy your own backyard oasis.