You don’t need to travel around the globe for a relaxing escape. Create a backyard modeled after some of the trendiest vacation spots and settle in for a nice staycation.
Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Paint your yard with the colors of the Dutch countryside by incorporating tulips into your home and garden. You can still enjoy spring’s earliest blooms even if you didn’t plant bulbs last fall. Pick up tulips at your local grocery store this spring and summer to enjoy in a tall, straight-edged, vase – perfect for your kitchen countertop or coffee table. In-ground tulips should be planted in the fall about 6-8 weeks before the ground freezes.
Recommended Care: As you prep for fall planting, don’t forget to pick up bulb fertilizer that will provide your tulips with the nutrients they need for a beautiful spring bloom. Keep snacking rabbits and deer away from your new blooms by using The AND Approach. Also consider installing a chicken wire fencing to create a physical barrier from animals. If these steps don’t work, apply a liquid fence product from your local garden center along the edges of your tulip garden bed.
Florence, Italy:
Central Italy’s Tuscan region is known for some of the world’s most recognizable art, culture and landscapes, especially its iconic rose gardens. Bring the romance of the Italian countryside home by adding roses to your landscaping. Roses require six hours of sunlight or more each day, so choose a sunny area of your yard or garden where they will thrive.
When pruning, be sure to use curved-blade pruning shears and wear a pair of gardening gloves that are thick enough to withstand pricks from rose thorns. Hand-picked roses make perfect floral arrangements. Trade a store-bought bouquet for your homegrown blooms to gift friends and family – just prune the perfect stems and choose a vase or jar.
Recommended Care: Add a rose-specific product to your care regimen to give your flowers the nutrients they need to produce blooms, and protect them from common pest problems.
Barcelona, Spain:
Dreaming of basking under the warm rays of the Spanish sun? Recreate Mediterranean vibes with sun-loving succulents that add the perfect touch of earth tones to your decor. While you wait for the weather to warm up, plant your succulents in movable pots to enjoy inside now and outside later.
Succulents grow best in pots with drain holes in the bottom, which allows for water to drain easily and the plant roots to dry quickly and comfortably. Water succulents only when the soil is completely dry and be sure to pour enough water each time to completely drench the soil.
Recommended Care: Succulents don’t like their roots wet, so plant them in either a succulent-specific potting mix or create your own by mixing sand with a high quality potting mix from your local garden center.
Turks & Caicos:
Missing the sound of waves crashing and sand between your toes? Turning your backyard deck or patio into an island oasis is simpler than you think.
Incorporate relaxing lounge chairs and an outdoor umbrella and style-up furniture pieces you already have by adding tropical decorative pillows. What’s next? Pick colorful flowers that grow best in your region to create island vibes that last throughout the season. Finish your space with a fan to keep the air moving like your favorite seaside destinations and relax with the wind in your hair.
Recommended Products: For backyard protection, apply a backyard insect control product according to label directions for pest-free lounging. Before you head outdoors, apply EPA-approved bug repellent for added protection from mosquitoes.
