First, you need to decide where you want the shade sail to be. Consider where you will spend most of your time when outdoors, and the places that need most protection from the sun. Also keep in mind that the area will need enough room for the whole sail along with a place to attach the sail to.

Once you’ve determined the location of the sail, spread it out in your yard and decide how to angle it. In order for water to run off the sail, it will need to be positioned at an angle where one side is lower than the other. A triangle shaped sail can be positioned with one corner higher than the other two corners. A square sail will need two corners up with two lower.

Next, determine exactly where the sail will attach to an anchor point. If it will just attach to walls, you will just need to install grommets or hooks into the walls at the appropriate  places. If you need posts to have your sail the way you like it, you will need to do a little extra work.

To install the posts, dig holes, add gravel, then set your posts. Fill the remainder of the holes with concrete to keep the posts in place.

Once the concrete is dry, add hooks or grommets to the appropriate areas on the poles, and attach the shade sail to the attachments. Now enjoy your new shaded outdoor living space.

Installing pathways using many common landscaping materials like poured concrete or flagstones can get expensive, especially if you’re interested in a long path. If you’re set on a pathway in your yard but have a budget, there are some alternatives that work well and look good for the purpose.

Mulch, one of my all time favorite landscaping aids, is one material that can be used to create a low-key pathway. Dig a 3 inch deep trench where you want your path to be, and fill it with mulch. To create a more formal look, add some border to the path. Landscaping timbers are one of the lowest priced options for any pathway border.

Although you can buy mulch in bags at garden centers, purchasing in bulk may offer the best prices for the purpose of making pathways. Check out local nurseries or landscape supply stores for bulk options. For an even better deal, contact tree cutting companies or your local government to see if any offer free mulch.

When using mulch, remember that it will decompose over time. A new layer will need to be added every few years.

Another possibly free option for a pathway is reclaimed shipping pallets – if you can find these in your area. Once the wood is cut into single boards and nails are removed, they can be utilized in landscaping for both pathways and edging. Funky Junk demonstrates how easily this can be done, and how nice it looks when finished.

Reclaiming broken concrete pieces or old bricks is another cheap option, although it can be quite labor-intensive. Many people offer broken concrete or bricks on Craigslist after demolishing houses and drive ways. If you can score these for free (or cheap), you can work them into a pathway design that looks similar to a flag stone path. Plant ground covers that can deal with foot traffic, like creeping thyme, around the concrete or bricks to create a path that has a natural but professional look to it.

Start by looking at the optimal planting date for your area. (In the Boston area, ours is fairly late — to avoid any risk of frost, we don’t plant until around Mother’s Day, in the middle of May). Once you have that date decided, it’s time to figure out what you plan to plant, and when you might need to start those seeds indoors.

For instance, tomatoes like to have at least two months to germinate and establish themselves before they’re planted in the ground. This means that I need to start my seeds between March 1 and March 15 to get my plants ready for planting day. Your dates, of course, will vary.

This kind of planning does more than ensure you’ll have ideal growing conditions for your plants. It helps to temper your enthusiasm with a bit of patience. The unseasonable winter won’t last, and eventually we’ll be snowed in here. Once that happens, the waiting, as a man once said, is the hardest part. Planting your seeds too early, and having them languish in a cramped pot, isn’t any better for them than starting too late.

The good news is that there are some fairly simple ways to control this erosion and get your yard looking green again. One popular option is using straw erosion blankets. These will help keep water from flowing so quickly, and they will improve the soil. Straw erosion blankets are also eco-friendly, as they are made from renewable, bio-degradable resources.

If this seems like a good choice for the steep, but relatively small sloped areas in your yard, there are just a few steps to follow to get the job done.

First, remove any rocks in the area that you’ll cover with your erosion blankets. Then use a shovel to dig a trench at the top of the slope. This trench should be about 6 inches wide and 8 inches deep.

Get your straw erosion blanket and lay the top end on the trench. You will need to fold the top end of the blanket underneath and against the soil that is inside the trench. The rest of the blanket should be rolled out, descending down your slope.

Once the top of the blanket is in place, use a staple gun to staple the blanket to the trench’s soil. You should have the staples spaced about 12 inches apart.

Place the soil back into the trench as it was before.

Move down the slope and lay more rolls, overlapping the rolls by 3 feet or more. Staple through the top and bottom of each blanket, spacing the staples about 1 foot apart or less. Then staple the sides of the blanket rolls, spacing the staples about 5 feet apart.

Once you have a single roll of blankets all the way down the slope, move along the top of the trench with the same procedure. Overlap these 4 inches.

Building a fun DIY play yard for kids, on the other hand, can be both challenging and enriching for all involved. Although it may take many hours and lots of out of the box thinking, it’s a plausible goal for most people who want to save money and have a great yard in the process.

Here are few items that work well for the DIY playground creator on a budget:

Tree Swings
Swing sets are almost always a part of a play ground. Creating your own is pretty simple and straightforward if you have some tall, strong trees in your yard. A plank of wood or a used tire, combined with sturdy rope tied to a tree branch will make a swing suitable for most children.

Sandboxes
Altough you can purchase a sand box at a retail store for $50-100 or more, a DIY version is adequate and much less expensive. Scrap planks of wood along with weed netting can be used to construct the basic sand box structure. Another option is old tractor tires. If you can find these for free and paint them, they are a unique, low-cost way to hold sand in your yard for sand play. For those with less time, a simple plastic storage box works well for a basic sand box for smaller children. These also come with lids and can be moved around easily – which comes in handy.

Balance Beams
Balance beams are a very simple, yet they are still an entertaining addition to any yard for children. These can be created in a multitude of ways with items that may otherwise be thrown away. Old phone poles, long four by fours, or used garden edging all work well for the job.

The most important task you should not avoid is replacing any fuel that has been left in your snow blower from last winter. Old gasoline changes with the heat, and it could possibly make your snow blower fail to start at all. Fresh gasoline, on the other hand, will make your engine run better. An oil change is also a must. Simply drain the old oil from your snow blower and refill with fresh oil, using a dip stick to make sure the proper amount is added.

After you’ve replenished the oil, check the spark plug for damage or build up, and replace it if necessary. Do the same with the snow blower’s belts, taking care to look for fraying or tears.

Lubricating the snow blower parts is another maintenance step not to be forgotten. Lubricate the auger, drive chassis, and any other parts that may have problems moving while the machine is running.

Once you’ve finished these pre-season maintenance steps, check the tires and inflate them if need be. Finally, run your machine for a few seconds to ensure it’s performing properly, and to let the fresh oil move through the whole system.

Here are four ideas to get your landscaping creative juices flowing:

1. Ornamental Grasses
These plants provide a nice addition to a yard any time of the year, but winter is a time they can really stand out. Ornamental grasses, such as Bottlebrush Grass and Big Bluestem, provide texture and color that contrasts well with winter snow and adds new dimensions to landscapes that may otherwise be lacking during colder months.

2. Berry Trees and Bushes 
Berry trees and bushes are another way to add color and variety to a cold weather landscape. The fruit will attract and feed birds during winter months. In addition, snow is highlighted when caught in the textured branches of many of these plants, including holly and bayberry.

3. Structures and Ornaments
Beyond winter plants, there are a plethora of items that can be added to a yard to add visual drama and beauty while most garden plants are dormant. Hardscapes, like gazebos or arches, are one idea. Statues, bird baths, retaining walls, or benches are other possible additions to your yard that will add some oomph to it all year long.

4. Outdoor Lighting
A well-placed outdoor lighting fixture can enliven even a bare yard on a dark, winter night. If the yard has other landscaping elements, it will look even better. Simple lights lining a path, or a lantern hung from a pole, are two ways to brighten a yard during colder weather.

Whether you do the work yourself or call in a professional (and especially when working around power lines, the latter  might be a good idea), you should look to cut away any tree limbs that are:

• Dead or dying: once a branch has lost its sap and started to dry away, it’s just waiting to come down. Sometimes a heavy snowfall — or even a stiff winter wind — is enough to knock it down. Don’t wait for that to happen.
• In a dangerous position: As a preventative measure, it’s not a bad idea to trim back any branches that hang too far over your home’s power lines, or especially the junction between those lines and your house. You don’t need to take down those branches entirely, but prune them back regularly.
• Looming over your house or  driveway: Yes, trees make your house much more livable, but big, heavy branches stretching over your roof or your car need regular inspection to ensure they’re not about to come down. A bit of extra care now, before the weather turns bad, will save you (and your insurance money) a lot of time, money, and hassle.

1. Lattice
This inexpensive fencing is available at most home improvement stores. Adding it to your yard, patio, or deck can provide privacy while still allowing a nice breeze to blow through. It will also keep your yard from feeling too enclosed. To ramp up the privacy, you can always add climbing plants like roses or ivy.

2. Hedges
Evergreen upright and columnar conifers, planted densely, create foliage year round. These “living walls” provide privacy as well as a sound and wind buffer. If you’re going for a manicured look, you’ll need to clip these regularly. Otherwise, you can plant almost any evergreen shrubs closely together, and let them grow as they wish. This will create a more natural-looking privacy screen.

3. Bamboo
Bamboo is a low maintenance plant that will grow like a weed once established. Keep this in mind when choosing it as a privacy plant, as it may be hard to hold in check unless grown in containers. The benefits for privacy are great, as this plant grows tall and provides a graceful looking screen.

4. Trees
Any kind of tree can add a low-maintenance, inexpensive element of privacy to your backyard. Trees carefully chosen and planted together can add aesthetic value. For year-round privacy, choose evergreen trees.

5. Raised Plants
Almost any type of plant, from flowers to shrubs, can help provide privacy when planted in raised beds. Plan out an area around your outdoor living space and build mounds of soil a few feet high. This will make your plants a few feet higher than they actually are, providing more privacy.

1. Mulch. Mulching in the spring and summer aids in weed control and helps retain moisture in the soil. Mulching during fall and winter is also necessary in many areas, but for different reasons. During the colder months of the year, the temperature of the soil will go below freezing and come back up, exposing plants to dangers. A layer of mulch, such as compost, chopped leaves, or wood shavings raises the freezing line, and helps insulate soil, so plants will thrive in the coming spring.

Fall mulching should be done after the first frost, but before the first freeze of the season. Any summer mulch should be removed and fresh mulch should be applied to help prevent any problems with pests.

2. Winterize your irrigation. Irrigation systems can break if water is left in them during freezing weather. If you have an irrigation system for your landscaping, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for winterizing. If you have a simple drip system, you can likely just dry the tubing out and be set for winter. Do this by turning off  the water source, detaching one end of the hose, and blowing it with an air compressor until it’s completely dry.

3. Mow one last time. By October or November, your grass should no longer be growing. At this point, it’s time to mow for the last time until next spring. For the last cutting, adjust your mower one notch or to the lowest setting for your grass type. This will help prevent grass from bending over during the winter, which can cause fungus growth. Make sure your blades are sharp before this last mowing. This is also an opportune time to do routine maintenance on your mower before storing it for the winter.