Outdoor Entertaining

Once May arrives, you know the summer outdoor entertainment season can't be far behind. It's time to take a few hours and spruce up your outdoor space so it looks its best by Memorial Day Weekend. Here are some tips on making things look great for that weekend get-together – even if you feel pressed for time.

Pressure Washer – Your New Found Friend

If you have a pressure washer, you already know how many yard care chores it can handle for you. This piece of equipment makes short work of your spring patio or deck cleaning, as well as many other chores such as sprucing up your outdoor furniture, washing down the driveway, cleaning your home's siding, power washing the dog kennel and lots of other projects. Once you have used one and find out how versatile it is, you won't go back to the water hose and brush again. To learn how to clean effectively and safely with your pressure washer, go to outdoorcleaning.com. If you are considering your first pressure washer, learn how to choose one to suit your needs here.

Quick Patio and Deck Fixes to Prepare for the Party

Two words: add color. Annual plants can provide an inexpensive boost to your outdoor living space. If this is your first home and you don't know much about plants, you can keep it as simple as choosing the most popular shade-loving or sun-loving plants. For shade, impatiens are a popular choice, coming in many colors. For sun, geraniums and petunias can fill the need. Inexpensive clay pots always look great. Add a small pot or vase of flowers to the center of your table and you have instant beauty.

Mulch is also a great item to have on hand. Purchase bark or wood chip mulch to match what you already have in your yard. Pour it on for pre-party touch-ups. Add an inch or so of fresh mulch to flowerbeds that can be seen from your entertainment area. You may even cover up a weed or two if you are in a hurry – you can deal with pulling them after your company goes home.

If you are going to spot kill weeds near your patio or deck with a spray weed killer, read the directions carefully and follow all safety instructions. Do the spot-killing more than a week before company comes so you won't have dead or wilting weeds surrounding the area.

Do Some Quick Patch-Up

What about that bare spot in the lawn everyone can see from the deck? Buy a roll of sod and cut it to fit the area. Pull out any dead grass, loosen the soil and place the sod. Press it down tightly for good soil to sod contact and water. If you have had a wet week prior to your outdoor party, you may want to top off any muddy patches near your deck or patio with some bark mulch for appearance and to keep everyone's feet clean.

Quick Fix to Green Up the Lawn

If your lawn needs a quick boost to green it up for a special weekend, you can carefully apply a fast-release fertilizer such as urea. But be careful. You absolutely do not want to apply too much fast-release fertilizer or you will burn your lawn! Urea is a common synthetic fertilizer. The bag will note: 46-0-0 on it, indicating that nitrogen is all you are getting. Apply at a rate of no more than one-half pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Water the lawn after application. Within two-to-four days your lawn should respond. The intense green color will last two-to-three weeks.