Carl Pettit
Carl Pettit is a columnist, editor and writer working for an array of colorful publications. He specializes in cultural and social issues, as well as East Asia, politics and satire.
Water adds so much to a garden. And while ponds and pools are nice, the trickle and splash of an active fountain breathes fresh air and even a bit of a mystical quality into your garden oasis. When it comes to choosing or building a fountain for your garden, there are many options available to you. Some of these options can be quite complex (if you so desire), but they don’t have to be.
A great way to incorporate some greenery into the architecture of your garden is to build a trellis. By setting one up in your backyard, you’ll be adding a wonderful, eye-catching piece of art, perfect for climbing plants and vines, and with sturdier trellises, hanging pots full of flowers and herbs as well.
If you want to get your kids outside, away from their Xbox or Wii, and interested in some of your backyard garden projects, you’ll probably need to be somewhat inventive with your gardening ideas. Pulling weeds and planting flowerbeds just won’t cut it for most of children. Think incentive here.
We have some ideas.
Dogs, as the saying goes, are man’s best friend, so it's only right and logical that we might want to spend some quality time with our buds. Walks in the park and tossing the Frisbee on the beach are great, but if you really want to engage the human-canine relationship—and have a really good time while you’re at it—you might want to think about setting up a dog agility course in your backyard or garden.
Sure, you could take the easy route and head on over to Ikea or your local lawn-and-garden shop and pick up a few pieces of outdoor furniture for your backyard. But if you really want to impress your friends and indulge your creative flair, you might want to consider some of these more unusual options:
Sometimes gardens are for growing things, and sometimes gardens are for constructing massive playgrounds for you and your friends.
You can add a lot more to your backyard garden than border stones, flower beds and creatively shaped patches of lawn. If you really want to transform your outdoor sanctuary into something special, why not turn it into a mancave paradise?
Nothing adds character to your garden—at least in a caveman-like, primordial sense—than an outdoor fire pit.
This week, families will come together from all across the nation for Thanksgiving. They will stuff themselves full of turkey, side dishes and desserts. Some will laugh and joke with relatives, while others renew old feuds and bicker with their cousins and siblings. No matter how your particular Thanksgiving winds up, you can thank the American Pilgrims for starting this long-standing custom.