Outdoor Living Ideas

Looking for ways to stay cool this summer while still enjoying your backyard? This patio umbrella has a twist that lets it offer more than simple shade. It features three built-in nozzles (located on the umbrella’s support ribs) that spray a gentle mist down to cool off anyone underneath.

A flexible conduit runs from each nozzle down the rust-resistant nine-foot aluminum pole to a hose connector, where you can plug in any standard garden hose. In addition, the 11-foot canopy provides 95 square feet of shade, so you can hide from the sun on those hot days. The canopy is made from weather-resistant polyester that should give you years of use.

The price is $199 from Hammacher Schlemmer:

Cool Mist Patio Umbrella

Looking for some outdoor seating that’s a little more interesting than plain and straight benches? These benches and settees from Weatherend Estate’s Fox Island Grouping can be configured and arranged in different ways to create lots of different seating options.

The curves of the benches gives them a unique style, and the set looks fairly comfortable to sit on, for wooden furniture anyway. It wouldn’t take too many pieces to create a seating area that could accommodate lots of guests during your backyard barbeque parties.

http://www.weatherend.com

What is it with all those silly garden gnomes invading the yards of homes across America, anyway? If you’re with me and can’t imagine why anyone would decorate with such a thing, then you might get a kick out of this little statue. It features two “gnome-be-gone” creatures carting off one of your typical garden gnomes.

“Watch with amusement as the one and only Gnome-Be-Gone frees your garden of a kitsch little Euro invader. Who does he think he is, wearing tiny red dunce caps and pushing inefficient wooden wheelbarrows? Tuck a few made-in-the-USA Gnome-Be-Gones into your flowerbeds and watch the demented yard goblins get toted away.”

The price for the little statue is $125 from Uncommon Goods.

Gnome-be-Gones

Pathway lighting is a must if you’re going to do any entertaining in your yard after dark, or even just for safety when people are coming home at night. You want the way to the front door well lit to prevent accidents.

Now I’ve seen all sorts of solar-powered path lights (the big perk with solar is that you don’t have to run any wires; just hook up the solar panels and let the sun power your lights), but I haven’t seen too many that can turn different colors.

These colorful solar lights change through all the hues of the rainbow. They automatically turn on at dusk and provide up to 8 hours of their soft colorful light show.

They’re available from Eco Lights and start around $115.

If you’re looking for a gift (Hey, Mother’s Day isn’t that far off) for an irreverent gardener (or maybe someone who doesn’t bother with lawn maintenance at all), this cute stepping stone could be a fun one.

“Weeds for Sale, Pick Your Own.”

How many people’s yards does that describe well?

The stepping stone is for sale at the Online Discount Mart for $20.

The biggest downside of owning your own swimming pool is the maintenance. Anything that can automate the process takes some of the load off your shoulders, and if it’s eco-friendly by being solar-powered, so much the better.

This solar pool purifier from Smart Home is supposed to reduce the need for chlorine by 80%, which means less fussing with balancing the chemicals for you (and less of that chlorine smell around the water). The device requires little maintenance (it just floats around the pool releasing mineral ions that eliminate algae and bacteria but are harmless to humans), and since it’s powered by the sun, it won’t add anything to your monthly energy bill.

The price is just under $270:

Solar Powered Pool Purifier