Tips for Enjoying Your Backyard, Part 1

by Scott Newton, brand manager, BioGuard pool and spa care products, Lawrenceville, Ga.

Here are some time-savers, water-care ideas and maintenance and safety suggestions for backyard living:

1. Safety first. Follow a few common-sense rules in the backyard and around the pool: keep each child within arm’s length at all times; designate an adult as water watcher; ensure that the pool’s fence is always locked, and install both gate and pool alarms to alert you to unsupervised pool use.

2. Use plants to dress up the landscape. A bit of backyard greenery can be both pretty and functional. Use shrubs for form, foliage-heavy plants for color, and sturdy perennials for reliability. Plenty of pretty perennials, such as coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, require little tending and offer cheery blooms throughout the growing season.

3. Add years to backyard furnishings. If mildew spots appear on outside chairs and tables, wash the fabric according to manufacturer directions and dry in the sun. Then mix together equal parts lemon juice and salt; spread on the stain. Dry in the sun again and rinse thoroughly.

4. Organize backyard toys and tools. Two simple storage rules for keeping backyard clutter to a minimum: air out wet things by storing them in big mesh bags or open-weave crates; toss all the little bits – sunscreen, dive toys – into a clear plastic shoe organizer hung on the fence where everyone can easily find them.

5. Stay healthy with a water workout. According to the Centers for Disease Control, just 21 minutes a day of exercising in a pool can decrease your risk of chronic disease. If swimming laps doesn’t excite you, there are other great ways to get moving. Try kickboxing using water as the resistance and enjoy the benefits of strength, endurance and balance. Depending on intensity, a typical water exercise session of 40 to 50 minutes can burn up to 600 calories.

Check back tomorrow for more tips for enjoying your backyard, and “like” Atlanta Home Improvement magazine on Facebook for more tips, advice and ideas.