Expert tips on how to get the most out of your backyard this summer

CTV News

5 hours ago

Melissa and Rosey flaunt some fun outdoor games to keep you active and entertained in the backyard this summer.
Summertime is the perfect time to get outside, but you don't have to go far to find that perfect summer oasis. You can make it yourself in your own backyard.
From décor to games, there are many ways to spruce up your space to make it a perfect getaway right outside your door and a place where everyone will want to be, day or night.
Here are some tips from the experts who stopped by CTV Morning Live.
Decorations and lighting
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How to create a backyard oasis
We help you create your own backyard space you and your neighbours will love with HGTV Designer Jo Alcorn!
HGTV Designer Jo Alcorn, owner of Alcorn Home Design, offered some tips on how to decorate your yard for form, function, and even a little privacy.
'We want to extend our summers as much as possible and some of us just don't have the privacy that others have. Privacy screens and walls and fences are a big trend and great for DIYers. You can create it to be any colour, size, or shape if you're doing it yourself,' she says.
Adding plants and greenery to it can personalize it even more.
'Give it that warm ambience and coziness so that you do create that kind of getaway and paradise for the summer.'
Next, don't forget the lights. While the days are longer, nighttime is a special time and lighting makes a big difference.
'A lot of time, people forget about the true ambience and romance that lighting does,' says Alcorn. 'There's solar lanterns you can get, there's little table lights you can add, the patio string lights and some candles, and that's going to really set that mood and that stage and make you feel like you're away and just not sitting in the backyard. Do not forget about your lighting.'
Finally, the trick to fun and functional patio furniture is to mix heights and create 'sip stops' around the yard, where guests will want to linger.
'Instead of just putting out drinks and your nibbles, it really is about adding elevation. Adding a tray, little vignettes and groupings, you'll be amazed on how more exciting it is,' Alcorn says. 'It really just extends that summer and creates this fun, and it's all in those little details. Any time you can add different heights, it really is going to create a little bit more of that fun wow factor.'
She says you can make it a little bit more special by adding in some little fun décor pieces with functional items.
'It's really going to create that wow factor that your guests are going to enjoy, or even just you if you're hanging out by yourself.'
Fun and games
Backyard games can be fun for kids and adults. From lawn bowling to ring toss, getting active in the backyard could be just a phone call away.
Games4U is an Ottawa company that offers lawn games for rent, including cornhole, giant Jenga, giant chess, ladder golf, and more. The company says it can help with birthday parties, team-building events, and friendly competitions.
Birdwatching
Migrating birds have returned to Ottawa for the summer, and you can attract them to your backyard.
If you're looking to welcome feathered friends to the yard, there are ways to set up bird feeders that will bring colourful and interesting avians right to you.
Kindell Tolmie, with Wild Birds Unlimited Kanata and Ottawa, says different kinds of bird feeders and bird food can attract different kinds of birds.
'Year round, we have our woodpeckers, cardinals, goldfinches, nuthatches to name a few. In the summer months, we see birds migrate in. Hummingbirds are just here for the summer. Orioles, everyone loves to attract orioles to their yard, these beautiful orange birds,' she says.
'I always like to suggest getting started with a feeder that will attract a variety of birds. I love our seed cylinders, pressed birdseed that can be hung in a feeder that will be attractive to a variety of birds.'
But it's not just about the food.
Offering water would be essential, especially at this time of year with all the heat that we've had. A birdbath is great. The birds will be able to clean their feathers. They can't sweat like we do, they pant like dogs, or they need water,' says Tolmie. 'And look at your garden. Add in native plants that will offer birds areas to eat and to nest. Those are all important parts of a bird-friendly habitat in your yard.'
Sometimes you might attract birds that aren't as friendly. Tolmie says a common question is what to do about grackles.
'They have big appetites. We have certain foods. We have certain feeders that have smaller ports that the grackles won't be able to get to, a seed called NutraSaff is a great solution as well,' she says.
This birdseed, also known as golden safflower, is not attractive to grackles or to squirrels, Wild Birds Unlimited says.
Stargazing
The sun has set, the candles have burned down, and the stars have come out. What better time to gaze up into the night sky than summer?
Gary Boyle, the Backyard Astronomer, says nighttime has always been magical.
'Ever since the beginning of time, people have looked at the night sky in awe, in beauty, superstition, fear, but nowadays, we know a lot about the sky.'
If you're living in the city, where streetlights dim the stars, you can still enjoy some of the brighter objects in the night sky.
'Anyone can look at the sky, even in the city where the brightest things are the moon and the planets. You're not restricted to the countryside, although, if people have never looked at a true county sky, I really think they should,' says Boyle.
Items to look for are binoculars and telescopes.
'With binoculars, the confusing part that people always read is 10 x 42… that really is it multiplies 10 times and the 42 is the millimetres of the oculars in the front. Bigger is better, you see more, but then they get heavier,' he says.
When it comes to a backyard telescope, it may be costly, but you'll be much happier in the long run with a kind of telescope called a Newtonian reflector.
'They run for about $1,000, but I've had this one since 1977, so once you buy quality instrumentation, it really helps,' Boyle said. 'There are reputable dealers online. Don't go to the big box stores. It'll be $200, but it'll be in next year's garage sale.'
To learn more about the night sky, Boyle says there are smartphone apps you can use to find out what to see and when.
'Sky Guide is one of the best ones that I recommend, and there's so many free ones out there,' he says. 'One great thing about this is you see in colour, the various nebulas, the gaseous clouds that are making stars right now, solar nurseries. Once you click on any star, it gives you pages about that star.'
Boyle has more tips and information at his website, wondersofastronomy.com, where you can also find information about star viewing parties and upcoming celestial events.