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During the spring, summer and fall months, you may wish to do the majority of your entertaining outdoors. You’ll want to have an attractive yard that will provide a welcome spot for your guests to enjoy for barbeques, picnics, or just for visiting together and enjoying the company of friends and family members during both daytime and evening get togethers.

Incorporate lush plants into your landscape to add a sense of privacy as well as to bring the tropics into your yard. Palm trees can be placed in large pots on plant dollies with wheels along the perimeter of the yard, or in temperate climates these specimen plants can be planted in the ground. Schefflera trees are another good alternative for pots or in-ground plantings, depending on your locale. Add a special touch for entertaining by twirling tiny white Christmas lights onto the trunk of the palms as well as along the fronds. Add them to the trunk and limbs of other plants to add mood lighting for entertaining. Another yard idea for [entertaining] as well as everyday living is to add solar powered lights underneath your best specimen plants to highlight them. The warmth and welcoming, homey feel that lighting adds to the yard will make you and your guests feel cozy and comfortable.

Swimming Pool Fun

If you have a swimming pool, pond, or other water feature in your yard, an idea you might love for entertaining is to add floating candles to the water. This adds elegance and makes the water feature become an entertaining asset rather than simply a body of water. Floating candles can be found at your home or pool supply store. These candles can also be ordered from online sources. A popular design for floating candles is the white water lily design, but other shapes and colors are readily available.

Outdoor furniture that is already on your patio can take care of most of the seating for a small party, but if you are hosting a larger event, you’ll probably want to drag the dining room chairs and other portable seating outdoors. You might also purchase some inexpensive molded plastic stackable chairs that you can use again and again for entertaining. These plastic chairs are surprisingly comfortable and cost only a few dollars each at your local discount store.

Back Yard Entertaining

To create a perfect table for entertaining in your back yard, try this idea: purchase an inexpensive hollow wooden door from your building supply store. Ask for a flawed door which you can buy at a very low price. Use two end tables or stacked plastic crates to create pillars to hold each end of the door. Then cover the door with a large sheet or table cloth in any color that blends with your overall color scheme. You’ll have a great place to serve food and drinks for only a few dollars. After the party, you can store the door in your garage or storage room until you need it again. Use a grouping of pillar candles in various heights placed on a platter to make a great centerpiece.

Luminaries also add a welcoming feel to backyard entertaining. To create luminaries, simply gather together some white or brown paper bags in a small size. Look for “lunch bags” in your local superstore or grocery store. Using clean sand, place about two to three inches of sand in each bag. Place a tea light or small candle in the sand. Place the luminaries along walkways, around the swimming pool, and use them to direct guests to your backyard from the driveway. When it is time for guests to arrive, simply light the candle for a very dramatic effect that is very affordable.

Springtime rejuvenates the world around us with little effort on our part, but these spring landscaping tips may put you a little ahead of the game.

Lawns

Have you ever noticed how well weeds grow? That’s because some of them can produce up to a million seeds! Annual weeds grow, produce seed and then die within a year. If they are properly removed before they seed, this problem can be radically prevented. Pull weeds by hand, securing both the crown and the roots. If your lawn is healthy, it will hold back weed growth. Make sure it is watered, fertilized, aerated and mowed properly.

Trees and Shrubs

Prune branches that were damaged during winter.

Fertilize ornamental trees and shrubs with a granular fertilizer that is slow-acting.

Look closely for signs of insect damage on needled and broad-leafed evergreens.

Add new mulch to prevent weed growth and to retain moisture.

Fertilize roses and add new mulch.

Plant new trees, shrubs and bare-root roses, or transplant existing ones to another area.

Lost To the Frost

It is important to check the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) data for the average dates of the last spring frost for your area of the country. Many an annual has been lost to the last frost. When nighttime temperatures are above freezing, remove mulch from existing beds to allow the sun to warm up the soil.

Existing Perennials

Divide overgrown masses of summer or fall blooming perennials. Do the same for spring bulbs once they have finished flowering.

Examine plants for any aphids or mites. A strong spray from the water hose will knock them off.

Annuals, Perennials and New Flower Beds

Before deciding which flowers and plants will go into the flower bed, first determine the pH of the soil. Is it high in acid (1.0) or is it alkaline? (14.0) Or is it neutral? (7.0) It is important to choose plants that will thrive not die in their new environment. Test kits are available at any garden center, and knowing the chemical balance of your soil will give you an edge when choosing flowering plants.

It is also important to check the USDA recommendations on what plants will be hardy in your area and which ones will not. The USDA produces a map that gives these statistics to help you choose what will grow and what will not in your particular area of the country.

Choose plants that will bloom in succession, not all at once. This will produce a bed that can bloom from spring into late summer and even early fall. Plant smaller flowering plants in front; place medium one in the middle and plant the tallest along the rear. Invest in a soaker hose that can be placed along the contours of the bed. Mulch well to prevent weeds from ever seeing the sunlight.

Probably the best spring landscaping tip is to look around at your existing landscape. What do you want to keep and nourish? What could be added to increase the beauty and vitality of your little piece of the world? Remember, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Study your site and study your plant desires and the beauty of it all will unfold before your very eyes.