Tired of being cooped up during the winter months? Well, spring has arrived and it’s time to get outside and get some Vitamin D. Springtime in Southern Maryland is a lovely time of year for planning outdoor activities, and here are a few you can do right in your own backyard.

Plant a Vegetable Garden

Do you have space in your backyard that gets a fair amount of sun? Why not start a garden?

There are a couple of options when planning your vegetable garden – you can plant directly in the ground or you can build raised beds. Either option will work, it just depends on the work and amount of weeding you’re willing to do. If you choose to plant in the ground, you may want to add a border to keep the grass from spreading into your garden and to keep animals like deer out of it. It’s a good idea to mix potting soil and manure for optimal growth. Seeds can be purchased or cultivated from existing fruits and vegetables, and should be started in containers and transplanted once they’re big enough to thrive. Be sure to give your plants the recommended space when planting to assure they have room to grow.

Go Camping

Who says you need to take a road trip to go camping? Dust off the tents and sleeping bags and arrange them around a fire pit for a campout in the backyard. Gaze at the stars, tell ghost stories, and eat some hot dogs and roast some marshmallows for a perfect night of family fun.

Create an Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses can be fun for people of any age, testing your agility, balance, speed, and strength. When building your course, keep in mind the age and ability of those participating – if you have younger children, you don’t want to challenge them with something they’re not capable of doing. Use what you have around the house; hang hula hoops from branches so you can literally jump through hoops, create a balance beam with some bricks and lumber, hang strips of ribbon to navigate around, use your saw horses as hurdles, or push a spare tire or crawl through a cardboard box. Feel free to throw in a potato sack (or pillow case) race at the end for good measure.

Have a Picnic

Enjoy a sunny afternoon or a calm evening by having a picnic in your backyard. Bring out a blanket, some comfortable pillows, and a crate or two for a tabletop. For an evening picnic add some lanterns or candles for a bit of ambiance. Planning the menu is all up to you – you can go the classic picnic route and serve deviled eggs, sandwiches, potato salad, and soda, or you can make it more gourmet with a pesto chicken salad, fresh fruit, and hummus and pita bread all served with a nice bottle of wine. And don’t forget the dessert!

Backyard Games

Spring is the perfect time to go through the garage and uncover your backyard games such as bocce ball, croquet, ladder golf, or corn hole. Spend an afternoon playing catch, hide and seek, or Frisbee. Create an oversized Jenga from two by fours, or create a bean bag toss by stitching together some bean bags and using pie pans as targets. Fashion up some bowling pins from water bottles and roll a ball down your outside lane for some lawn bowling. Or simply, bring your board games outside and play them in the sunshine.

 

Spring has sprung, bringing with it warmer temperatures, blooming flowers, and a backyard for you to enjoy.