“A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of the year.”
– William F. Longgood, Journalist and Writer
Everyone would agree with Mr. William F. Longgood here. Time spent in the gardens of summer fills you with immense peace. You might not be able to forget that time for the rest of your life.
All home yards are good enough; however, they can always get better with some upgrades. Some easy, practical, and low-maintenance upgrades to your yard can make your summer yard experience even more comforting and relaxing.
In this article, we will learn about those upgrades. But let’s understand what makes a summer yard comfortable or uncomfortable at first.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Shade and cool can greatly improve comfort in your home yard in the summer.
- Harsh sunlight, high temperatures, and humidity can become troublesome while enjoying your summer yard.
- Trees, water features, and sofas can improve your summer yard comfort.
- Plan different parts of your yard for different purposes.
- Shrink the lawn through hardscaping and groundcover, and your maintenance work is halved.
What Makes a Yard Feel Comfortable During Summer
People crave relaxation, fun, food, and coziness all year long. However, in summers, two more things become important: coolness (think temperatures, not attitude) and shade (think sunlight, not lipsticks).
Imagine if you get all this in your home yard. Wouldn’t it be comforting, right?
But first, let’s see what can spoil the comfort of your summer yard.
Common Reasons Yards Become Uncomfortable in Hot Weather
Summers are the season when the sun shines directly upon you, and not in a positive way.
In an open summer yard, it leads to high temperatures and humidity. High temperatures make you sweat profusely, while humidity doesn’t let that sweat evaporate easily. This can make it extremely uncomfortable for you to relax in your yard.
Practical Ideas to Improve Summer Yard Comfort
You can greatly improve your comfort quotient by introducing comfortable seating, along with some shade and cooling elements in your outdoor spaces this summer.
Shade Solutions
There are many ways to get a shaded area in your summer yard.
Good old trees are a great source of shade and coolness, while presenting you with beautiful dappled light. You can also build tents, pergolas, canopies, and shade sails for that purpose.
Shaded areas save you from piercing sunlight. You won’t mind even the hottest of summer afternoons and simply enjoy the fresh air.
FUN FACT
Stay in the shade!Because in direct sunlight, the temperature can feel 10-15 degrees higher than it actually is.
Comfortable Seating
For a relaxing seating experience in your yard, you have to have some comfortable chairs.
You can either get Adirondack chairs, sun loungers, or even deck chairs. You can also consider a comfy corner sofa for seating in your yard.
Don’t forget to get all-weather mattresses or futon-sized cushions for them. Look for colorful cushions to add fun to your yard seating.
Cooling Elements
Try to include water features around your yard. The sight and sound of water create a cooling sensation. For constructing pools in your yard, contact Maryland fiberglass pools. Their designs seamlessly combine practicality with visual appeal.
Shades also reflect sunlight and keep the area cooler. For greater cooling, good ol’ trees can sufficiently soothe your burning soul in the summer.
Use light-colored, breathable fabric wherever possible, as it reflects heat and keeps the area from becoming too warm. For example, your canopy and cushions can be made of light-colored, breathable fabric.
Creating Relaxing Zones for Different Outdoor Activities
Your summer yards need spaces for different purposes and daytimes. You need a lounge space for your days, quiet retreats for your evenings, and dining areas for your nights. Let’s see how you can augment your yard with these spaces to make it a memorable summer experience.
Dining Areas
A tent can be the perfect sheltered area for dining. Or, the sofa that you are installing in the yard corner can have a dining table.
For cooking, set up a barbecue or even a complete outdoor kitchen.
You can design your dining space in an alfresco style.
Clever outdoor lighting adds a zing to your dining area. You can consider string lights and lanterns, or even deck lighting. If you have a gazebo for your dining area in the yard, consider having a chandelier. It would greatly enhance your dining area’s aesthetics with the perfect lighting.
Lounge Spaces
You need to pick comfortable lounge furniture. It is crucial to create a summer-ready yard. The comforting chairs that I mentioned above can make a great addition to your lounge space. Or that spacious and comforting corner sofa. Depending on space and people, you can also set up a garden table.
The space would become your go-to place for reading a nice book or your favourite magazine.
Quiet Retreat Corners
Garden rooms are great corners for your quiet retreats. Summerhouses are sheltered buildings with large windows and doors, giving you a great outdoor experience.
You can use this place for relaxing, entertainment, working, or even as a guesthouse.
Having a quiet evening in these retreat places would be one of the most enriching experiences. It would surely make you remember that summer for your whole life.
Low-Maintenance Comfort Upgrades for Busy Homeowners
First of all, shrink the lawn. Lawn has been crowned the “most demanding feature” of the outdoor landscape. Replace some of the turf with low-care groundcovers, pavers, or mulch. People with busy lives are choosing patios and decks over grassy lawns due to their low-maintenance needs.
Native and low-water plants are a smart choice. They are low-maintenance as they reduce watering and pruning chores by a fraction. On the other hand, perennials like lavender and coneflowers keep your yard blooming all year. Grow evergreen shrubs in your yard. They can slash your energy bills, block harsh winds, and cushion noise from neighbors and busy roads.
Manual irrigation of these plants can eat up much of your time. Implement a drip irrigation system that irrigates your plants directly to the roots below the mulch. Also, practice hydrozoning. It might sound high-maintenance, but it’s just a fancy name for grouping similar plants.
For great outdoor lighting, you can choose low-maintenance LEDs.
Conclusion
If you have a yard, spending a comforting and memorable summer in it is your birthright.
Summers come with their usual problems like harsh sun, high temperatures, and humidity. But you can bypass all these through simple, practical, and low-maintenance upgrades to your yard.
I hope you have a wonderful time in your yard this summer!
How to make a backyard feel cozy?
To make a backyard feel cozy, consider hardscaping, building a summerhouse, having native plants, and soft lighting.
How to make a backyard more enjoyable?
To make your backyard more enjoyable, have comfortable seating, water features like a fountain, and an inviting patio or deck.
How to make a backyard look nice for cheap?
To make a backyard look nice for cheap, consider groundcovering with a stone path, and invest in a pergola for shade.
