Welcome to our Backyard Blog where we share our love of outdoor living, our newest Backyard Getaway projects, community events, “Re-purposed Backyard” art for the garden how-to instructions and product review and how-to videos. To make your visit a little easier we have divided our posts into three categories below or you can simply scroll down to read all our posts.
Backyard Ponderings:
[pon-der] verb to consider thoughtfully; meditate
Backyard Ponder-ing is all about sharing our love of outdoor living with you. Read about our newest Backyard Getaway projects, community events, caring for gardens, ponds and Koi, sustainability and how to enhance your life through outdoor living. Read our latest
Backyard Pondering blog post!
Re-Purposed Backyard:
The Re-purposed backyard blog is about making something new out of something old or discarded, creating art out of re-purposed, recycled or re-used items, something fun for your garden or useful for your outdoor living space. What you can create is only limited by what you can imagine. Our re-purposed backyard blog is where we share how-to instructions on what we are creating for our re-purposed backyard. Be sure to visit our Re-purposed Backyard Gallery to view just a few of the many items we have created and read our latest Re-Purposed Backyard blog posts.
Backyard Buzz
Have you seen the latest buzz? Visit our
Backyard Buzz page or check out the Backyard Buzz on the
Backyard Getaway YouTube channel. In each episode Dave tests and reviews the latest and tried & true garden, pet and pond products and shares how -to project instructions. Before you buy or build be sure to get the Buzz!
We hope you enjoy our blog and visit often to read our latest articles. If there is something you would like to see in an article contact us and let me know what you would like to read about. If you like what you read please share with your friends and like us on facebook. Backyard Getaway is now on Instagram.
Check out our latest school project! Building Bridges With Schools and Community The project was created through a national grant from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Sarasota was selected to be one of 7 cities nationwide to participate in MetLife’s grant. We are honored to be working through the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center along side
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There is nothing more peaceful than watching beautiful Koi, the living jewels of the pond, gracefully swimming through the water. It is hard to believe that the Koi of today all started hundreds of years ago in Japan from the common black carp (Cyprinus carpio). Through years of breeding, there are now hundreds of classes, varieties & sub-varieties of Koi.
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You may or may not know that I am a contributing writer for the best local pet publication, Sarasota Pet Magazine. Candice Botha, the owner of Sarasota Pet is very involved with the rescue communities and is always coming up with great ideas to help raise funds for our local rescues. You can help a local rescue group like our
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Our fall pond checklist includes some helpful tips to get your pond and Koi ready for cooler weather. Switch from a high protein food to a lower protein food & feed less often. Add additional submerged plants to give the fish a place to graze naturally. Add some cool weather plants to replace the more cold sensitive plants. Keep your
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Each morning, as I go out to feed the animals, I have the pleasure of watching beautiful swarms of dragonflies playing in the yard. From a distance, you see them buzzing around quickly darting back and forth as if they are playing a game of tag, their wings shimmering in the sunlight. It is such a beautiful and peaceful way
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Some time ago, I shared a few interesting items for your garden, manufactured from recycled materials. Purchasing the items made from recycled material is a great way to recycle, but there is an easy way for you to become sustainable without going out and spending money. Personally, I like the idea of doing more in the way of recycling,
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Most people when considering fish for their pond think of Koi, but the Goldfish, a distant cousin to the Koi, are also popular fish for ponds. Goldfish are a smaller, inexpensive alternative to Koi and are safely kept in a pond with Koi, Orfe and Plecostomus (algae eaters). They are social and enjoy living in groups. Like Koi, Goldfish are
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Aquatic turtles make a wonderful addition to an outdoor pond but before you run to the pet store to pick out your new pet, it is important to make sure your turtle’s new home is properly equipped to keep him healthy and happy. As with any new pet, be sure to research proper care and feeding requirements as well as
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It is that time of year again, hurricane season. While most of you have an emergency plan for your family including your four legged family members, those of you with Koi may not have given a second thought as to how to prepare your pond for a hurricane or other emergency. Pond hurricane prep is very important when you raise
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Have you seen the latest Backyard Buzz? What is the Backyard Buzz, you ask? It is pond and garden product reviews and how-to’s, it is pond and water garden how to’s and how to create useful and artful items for your outdoor living space using re-purposed items. Join Dave, on his journey to find the best products, as he reviews
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[pon-der] verb to consider thoughtfully; meditate