Most kids love to play outside. The backyard is a great outdoor environment for them. Maintaining a safe playground in your backyard will prevent children from sustaining injuries and keep them healthy. Monitoring your kids while they are playing reduces the possibility of getting injured. 


Below are precautionary measures that can ensure the safety of your children:


· Secure the Backyard


Fenced yards are safer if you have kids. A fence will prevent them from roaming beyond the boundaries. Ensure that the backyard is secured from driveways to avoid a run-over. Set rules and specify the off-limit areas of the background.


· Adult Supervision


An adult should always keep an eye on the kids while they are playing outside the house. Ensure that they do not pass the boundaries and monitor them when they climb.


· Store Tools Should be Under Lock


Keep garden tools and other tools used in the home in a secured place. Children can get hurt if they use these tools as toys. Warn your kids that it is unsafe to play with adult tools. Chemicals such as disinfectants, pesticides, insecticides and swimming pool cleaners must be kept out of their reach.


· Pool Safety


Prevent drowning accidents by fencing backyard pools. Supervision can also reduce the incidence of drowning deaths. Maintain the pool gates locked when it is not in use. Warn your kids strictly that the basin area is off-limit. Control your children whenever they are around the pool or spa. Never allow them to be in the pool without adult supervision. Ensure that rescue equipment is near the pool for emergency cases. Installation of a pool alarm is vital to alert you of any unauthorized entry into the pool area.


· Playground Safety


Supervision can lower the incidence of playground injuries. It is ideal to cover the playground with sand or rubber to act as a shock-absorber. These materials can prevent a head injury if there is a fall. The playground equipment should possess ladders with spaced steps for easy access. Suspend only two swing seat in a section to avoid accidents. Swing seats made of rubber are perfect for children. Exclude cords or ropes from the play sets to avoid strangulation accidents. Cover bolts that jut out from the equipment as they can cause injuries. Remove rocks or tree stumps to avoid tripping hazards.


· Avoid Wooden Equipment


Most wooden structures used outdoors are made from wood treated with arsenic. This chemical increases the risk of cancer in children. Avoid play sets made of wood. Steps, deck boards and handrails made of arsenic-treated wood should be replaced. Keep your kids away from structures made from arsenic-treated wood. Prevent them from playing with wooden surfaces to avoid inhaling dangerous splinters from arsenic-treated wood.


Constantly check the playground for hazards. Remove broken boards or dangerous objects such as nails to ensure the safety of children.

Keeping your pool clean will not only help you save some money, it’ll also help you not lose your mind whenever you need to take care of it before you invited some friends over for a pool party. The following tips will help you keep your pool inviting, without forcing you to spend hours cleaning it before your guests arrive.


1. Check the pH


A pool’s pH should be kept between 7.2 and 7.8, as it’ll force you to use less chlorine after a while. The reason Is chlorine isn’t so active when pH is too high, so if it rises you need to add more to balance the scale. In order to keep your pool amazing, we suggest you do this on a weekly basis, or at the very least three times a month.


2. Get rid of debris and clean out baskets


This may seem obvious, but a lot of people ignore debris in the pool’s surface whenever they see it and, soon enough, the floating debris sinks and becomes much, much harder to remove. That being said, at least every two to three days use a leaf skimmer to remove every piece of debris you can find floating in your pool. Moreover, you should also do clean out the strainer baskets every once in a while, as it’ll help reduce chlorine demands and improve your pool’s overall health.


3. Vacuum the pool


The last piece of hard work you’ll need to do to keep your pool looking amazing, is to vacuum it on a weekly basis, so you won’t need to add as much chemicals, nor will you need to worry that much about last minute arrangements. Brushing the walls may help too, but we also want to add you can’t forget check the filters every time you vacuum, cleaning if necessary.


4. Keep your chemicals away from sunlight


When storing the chemicals, always make sure you keep them away from sunlight and in a dry place, as this will maintain their quality for longer. As a side note, you may also want to try using baking soda to control the alkalinity of the pool, as this is a cheaper alternative to pool chemicals. We don’t advise you to do it too often, however.


5. Maintain the water level


Every time it rains, and every time you have a pool party, the water level should fluctuate a little. Keeping it will help prevent pump damage, and doing so is extremely easy. If the level is too low, you can use a hose to fill up the pool, and if it’s too high you can just get a submergible pump to get rid of the excess. Try to check the levels every week, or at least twice a month, just to make sure your pump doesn’t get hurt. 

Having a yard is a wonderful asset to a home for more reasons than just aesthetics. Being outdoors regularly might be good for health as well. Humans evolved in sunlight, out in the elements and our bodies still need that environment even in our modern age. 


Natural sunlight helps to regulate circadian rhythms. Your body's hormone for sleep, melatonin, reacts to light and levels change according to time of day. Spending too much time indoors can create sluggish patterns of hormone production and sitting outside in the yard can help reset these rhythms for better sleep at night. 


Vitamin D has been on everyone's health radar recently and with good reason. It is produced by sunlight, though, and more effective in this natural form than a supplement. Being outdoors in natural light for 15 minutes a day can help your body manufacture its minimum requirement of this essential vitamin. 


Eyes also seem to get better in natural light. Artificial lighting and in particular heavy computer use can cause eye strain and nearsightedness. These fake lights are also being linked to headaches, neck and back pain and migraines. Getting outside and just looking at your yard, a treeline or cloud cover can relax eye muscles. Evolution gave us the ability to scan for predators or prey against varying backdrops. Looking at objects seems like little work but in reality it's a workout for the eye muscle. 


Even if you don't have a large yard to sit in, or if your patio is tiny, you can still set up a nook for breakfast or afternoon reading with minimal work. Set up a few plants or paint that shed so your eyes have something to gaze at and absorb some vitamin D. Keep in mind that most devices these days are mobile and will work outside in the yard as easily as indoors or an office. Plus it's healthier for you. 


Additionally designers are taking new looks at small space living and a small patio is the perfect place to try out some gadgets. Think a Murphy style bar that folds up against the wall when not in use. Or folding chairs and furniture that can be put away into a wall-hung closet. There are even plastic all weather storage containers for gardening equipment that can double as a table for out door dining. 


No matter what your yard size or condition, there's no real excuse to stay inside if the weather allows it. Being in the yard is a homeowners treat and should be taken full advantage of. If you can get outdoors each day for a short time, do it. If not for the fun of it alone, then do it for your health.

Privacy plants are a great way to fence the yard or create sectional areas or screens. Bamboo creates a backdrop with its classically Asian look that is clean and neat. But beware of the types of bamboo being used. 


Bamboo is a grass plant and comes in two types: Running and Clumping. Running bamboo will run away with your landscaping and should be avoided. It's invasive and can send out shoots that will wind up in your neighbor's yard several houses away. It's extremely difficult to eradicate and if you are planting it, keep it in a container and don't bury the container completely so you can watch for side shoots. It's best to keep it potted above ground. 


Clumping bamboo, on the other hand, is a grass with a radial growing pattern. This means that it grows in an ever widening circle from the main shoot. It won't send an underground shoot out several feet to crop up unexpectedly. It can remain contained. 


It grows as well as traditional forest bamboo which is known to be one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. In some cases, it can grow up to a meter per day. The clumping bamboo being sold as landscaping plants can be categorized by maximum height. It will also grow in very densely which is a characteristic that's a big draw for quality privacy hedging. 


There is also a lot of versatility in types available on the market. Some have limited heights and many come in colors and variegated patterns that can complement any landscape or home yard. Used as a privacy hedge, it can also provide a windbreak or simple edging. Since it remains well contained, it's also good for architectural designs in the yard. 


Variety is also found in the width of the plant. Some types available now are bushy and low growing while others look like topiaries with denser leaf growth at the crown. Either way, as long as it's a confirmed clumping type, clumping bamboo should not be overlooked as a means of decorating and fencing the yard. 


Summer is the strongest growth period and as far as maintenance, it's likely they will need some trimming. As with many landscape plants, they'll keep their general shape but a wayward shoot might appear and need to be cut. When pruning, cut the stalk at the base where it meets the mother plant and use sharp instruments. To reduce height or shape the plant, hedge trimmers are perfectly fine. 


Keep an eye out for the new Clumping Bamboo when looking for yard plants, particularly privacy hedges. All varieties share basic needs so there's no end to the creativity you might find in mixing types. Stripes, green, high or low, it's possible to find nearly all your looks in one plant. 

It doesn't really matter if you are young or old, love to garden or prefer to bask on a deck, something about butterflies in the yard make people smile. Butterflies can be found in every region of the US and in just about every environment. Even an urban yard can support butterfly visits. 


To attract butterflies, it's useful to know that they are pollinators. That means they are on the lookout for food from flowers and will pick up pollen as they travel from bud to bud. It stands to reason that there are going to be flowering plants for any yard that have pollen to attract these winged wonders. 


To increase the chances of butterflies stopping in for a snack, plant a variety of flowering types of plants. In this case, more is better since butterflies evolved with wildflowers and providing differing heights and color types can attract them naturally. Choose colorful flowers like zinnias or marigolds but avoid double petals. It's easier for both butterflies and honeybees to drink if the flower heads are flat. 


Sunflowers are a favorite of several species of butterfly. They come in many varieties and except for specially bred bush types, they are also space savers in the yard, growing upward but not spreading. They're perfect around a deck or pool area. Violets and clover are two other highly attractive butterfly plants and are low growing, low maintenance and can be useful as borders or even ground cover if the area is small. 


It's best to use organic or natural gardening methods when hoping to attract butterflies and bees to the yard. And remember: butterflies begin as caterpillars so plant some food for those too. Milkweed is a weed in many gardens but it's home for a number of butterfly larvae. The caterpillars also like dill and fennel, two herbs that are highly scented. 


Scented plants are also nice to have for human visitors too. Try nasturtium, phlox, lavender or bee balm. If you have only a little growing space, plant an herb garden. Most can grow in a container to save space. All herbs when flowering are attractive to butterflies too. And herbs can still be harvested when they are going to seed. 


Even outside the flower heads, butterflies need food and water. Place a tray of water outside with pebbles for the butterflies to perch on when drinking. Finally, add a little cover for the butterflies to hide. All creatures, even the pollinators, feel safer if there's a spot to shelter in. All that's needed are a couple high growing bushy plants or lay out an artfully placed pile of twigs. 


Butterflies are the quintessential fun ingredient in a yard. They add color and interest and are a sign that the yard is healthy. Plant a variety of crops or put out a few containers of flowers and you will have a happier yard.