After spring cleanup, the grass doesn’t stop growing, and the weeds keep popping up. Basic lawn maintenance is a given, but these tips for preparing your yard for summer entertaining get you ready to invite friends over for summer socializing. We’re not talking a large catered event here, just cocktails and snacks. But you’ll still want your property looking its best.
Clean Grills and Outdoor Furniture
If the point of your party is barbecue, start with a clean grill. No one wants meat cooked with last year’s grime.
Even when your outdoor furniture spends the winter in the shed or under fitted covers, your chairs and tables can still pick up lots of dust, dirt, debris, and insects hiding out for the season. Bring out all the outdoor furniture you plan to use for your party and give it a good scrubbing. Make sure you leave plenty of time for it to dry completely before your guests arrive.
Set Up the Bar
When you have guests over for drinks, you want to make the drinks a bit of an event in themselves. Invest in an attractive outdoor bar cart or cover a folding table with a white cloth to set up your bar. Prep lemon and lime twists, cherries, olives, cocktail onions, skewers, and cocktail napkins. Set up wines, spirits, and a large, galvanized bucket filled with ice to chill beer.
Decorate
Add a sense of festivity with garden decorations. You can use planters, balloons, tablecloths, and seasonal decorative napkins to make a party atmosphere. Hurricane lamps and tea lights within various candle holders look pretty for evening gatherings. Just be sure you’re not using flames during dry weather when there’s a high chance of fire in your area.
If youplan carefully, you may want to retain some of your new outdoor adornments as you decorate your exterior space for the rest of the summer.
Control Insects
There are many new forms of backyard mosquito control that don’t involve noisy zapping sounds or pesticides. Invest in passive insect control that will attract and kill pesky bugs without poisons or unpleasant smells.
Don’t Forget Trash and Recycling
Keep a trash and recycling bin at the bar or snacks table to avoid guests tramping into and around your home looking for your garbage cans. Don’t forget a recycling bin and a place to collect bottles that carry a return deposit if you take them back to the store and your state still has them.
Preparing your yard for summer entertaining isn’t difficult with planning and some elbow grease. Enjoy your gatherings in your yard!
