Outdoor play is critical for children, so it’s crucial to keep them in mind when designing your yards. For those living in or near a city, creating an outdoor space for your children can feel daunting. Whether you have minimal space or unique desires for your kids, the following will help you get the ball rolling with your project. An outdoor space is an opportunity for you and your child to experience nature, so why not make this a focal point. Natural materials can look more attractive and help to integrate the play area with the native surroundings.

Yard games, like corn hole and horseshoes, are played in narrow strips of yard, and provide great entertainment for all ages. This could be an inventive solution to odd-shaped spaces or unused side yards. Use the vertical spaces when you’re trying to maximize usable area in your yard. Unique elements, like an outdoor chalkboard or dart board, are perfect options. They take up little to no room, and can provide hours of entertainment.

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Create multi-level play areas that fit into your space’s topography. Work with what you have, and in the end you’ll have an inventive space that fits in with the natural landscape. Multi-level areas can include features like slides and climbing walls.

Include a gardening area. This is a great opportunity to introduce your children to new activities they can enjoy in your backyard. This activity doesn’t take up much space, and taking care of plants can add to your child’s education, especially if you area homeschooling parent.

Make space for active play. An empty area of hardscape or yard allows your child to evolve in their interests. Hardscape will be better for biking and skating, whereas grass can provide a cushion for more risky activities.

Have fun and be creative, but most of all enjoy the outdoors!

Dale Corpus offers information on the Tri-Valley California real estate market including homes in San Ramon, Pleasantville real estate, Livermore, Danville and surrounding areas. 

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Easiest Flowers to Grow in your Garden

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4 Design Tips to Enjoy Garden Views from Inside the Home

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Gardening definitely has its fair share of difficulties, so every once in a while it’s nice to rely on flowers that thrive with minimal time and effort. Here are some easy flowers to grow that are suitable for nearly any backyard.

Aster

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With more than 250 varieties, you’re bound to find a cultivar that’s suited to your space. The extensive range of sizes and colors available makes this plant one of the most popular late-season bloomers.

Daylily

This summer bloomer is cherished for its reliability. And with thousands of cultivars out there, gardeners have almost limitless options. Though individual blossoms last just a day, many hybrids flower repeatedly all season long.

Yarrow

Yarrow produces long-lasting, easy to grow flowers that come into their own once the weather is consistently warm. Suited to most growing conditions, yarrow provides a long season of blooms all the way into fall.

Sedum

You’ll notice that this plant’s flower heads are made up of little star-shaped blooms. Since the plants range from 3 inches to 3 feet high, some species work well as ground covers, while others make excellent border plants.

Coneflower

Its sweet honey nature has made coneflower a garden staple. Growing about 2 to 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, this colorful bloomer is the perfect companion plant in just about any garden, and tolerates drought. Give it well-draining soil and watch it thrive in full sun as well as partial shade.

Hosta

The ultimate low-care shade plant, hosta cultivars come with endless varieties of leaf shapes, patterns, textures and colors. Easily divided, hosta is perfect for the budget-minded. It forms a dense, leafy clump, with blossoms rising up to 3 feet above the foliage. Some hostas tolerate sun, but partial shade produces the most handsome, longest-lasting foliage.

Bee Balm

This unusual beauty grows up to 4 feet tall and starts flowering in midsummer, inviting hummingbirds, butterflies and bees to your backyard. Plants come with pink, red, white or purple blooms and reseed readily.

Pansy

This colorful bloomer is best known for the whiskered “faces” that mark many of the flowers. The majority of pansy varieties are annuals, though some live longer. Most perform best in cooler weather, so in warm climates, some cultivars are grown as winter annuals.

Peony

A peony’s fresh, heady scent simply can’t be beat. In late spring, bushy plants burst with lush, showy purple, white, red, yellow or pink blooms that make this flower a favorite choice to use in colorful beds and bouquets. Hundreds of peony hybrids are available.

Sunflower

There’s something about a sunflower’s bright face that makes you feel good. These easy flowers to grow range from red to yellow to white.

It’s easier than you might think to grow flowers from seed.  You only need a few basic supplies to make it a success. If you choose flowers that are easy to grow from seed it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. The biggest challenge you’ll face is not getting carried away and planting more seeds than you have space for. Finally, growing your own flowers from seed is fun, and seeing those little seedlings thrive is hugely rewarding.

More: 4 Design Tips to Enjoy a Garden from the Inside

Dale Corpus offers information on the Tri-Valley California real estate market including homes in San Ramon, Pleasantville real estate, Livermore, Danville and surrounding areas. 

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A room that has an amazing view out of the windows can totally change the overall look and feel. Not every one of us however can have those views that look like a piece of art outside of giant windows. Many times, we are constrained to existing plots but one way we can improve the view out of our windows is with some smart landscaping design.

If you are starting completely from scratch with your landscape or working with one that needs a few adjustments and improvements here are some design tips to help you make the most of the views outside your windows from inside your home.

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First, take a look through your windows

First, take a moment to pause and study the view out of your windows from inside of your home. What is the spot that is most easily and prominently seen through the windows from inside your home?

In addition to considering how you can make it more picturesque is taking into consideration if there are certain areas that may benefit from a little more privacy. Or maybe you might want to consider the significant investment of larger windows to more easily enjoy your future view of your beautiful garden.

Think about spaces like the foreground and background

When an artist begins painting, they think about how the composition will be set up. In the same way, your window is like a painting hung on your wall. You want to separate elements of your landscape close to the viewer from those that are further back.

Items that are closer to the viewer/the window are all about more detail as this will be more noticed. Things like grouping a cluster of small pots or bringing in tiny elements like a fountain will help to frame the foreground of your picturesque view.

Larger elements belong in the foreground. Items like large hedges work better at a greater distance from the viewer. This helps to draw the gaze deeper into the garden.

Add in some focal points

When looking out of a window a focal point provides a place for your eye to settle and rest on the view. This can include a decorative birdbath that is like an art piece, a fire pit, a seating area, and the like.

You want to make sure you find the right placement and align the focal point along a site line either within your garden or from the view of the window. You want to make sure that the element is enough to stand out against the rest of the landscape. This means that it creates a contrast from its surroundings.

Don’t forget about the winter

When planning out a lush landscape most of us are doing so in the spring and summer but if you are doing it to help improve the views from your windows inside the home you will be enjoying those views more often during the colder months.

Don’t forget to include plants that will look great all year long. Include some that will have bright branches, berries, or winter flowers. This will keep the view picturesque all year long, especially during those times when you spend long hours inside.

Dale Corpus offers information on the Tri-Valley California real estate market including homes in San Ramon, Pleasantville real estate, Livermore, Danville and surrounding areas. 

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Whether you have lived in the area for years or are planning a trip to Pleasanton or its surrounding areas, it is great to find a new favorite dining place. Here are some fantastic fan favorites and what savory dishes you will want to eat when you arrive.

Best Places to Eat in Pleasanton, California

Gay Nineties Pizza

Set in a historic building from 1864, this pizzeria has been named the best in the Tri-Valley Herald since 1997. The menu includes a variety of savory pasta dishes, salads, and mouth-watering specialty pizzas. Gluten-free pizza is available on the menu, offering an option for everyone. Besides the warm and friendly feel of the restaurant, the generous, hearty pizza toppings and deliciously warm, chewy crust make this pizza outstanding and keep customers coming back for more!

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Oyo 

This restaurant offers authentic South American dining including curries and Lo-Mein from Eastern Asia, Jerk Chicken and Rundown Fish from the Caribbean, Pepper Pot from West Africa, and South American Paella. Live music is offered every Thursday night to bring together all your senses while enjoying your meal and entertainment. During the Pandemic, Oyo’s is offering promotions including family package meals for take-out, packaged meats and seafood to cook at home and patio and street dining. If you’re looking for some new flavors to liven up your senses, try Oyo and see what South American dining is about.

Hap’s Original

This upscale, New York Steak and Seafood Restaurant offers a fine dining experience with locally sourced produce and fresh ingredients. The ambiance is warm and inviting, and the live music in the evening brings the establishment alive. Hap’s has a wine selection of over 300 wines from around the world with a focus on the Napa Valley Region, California wines, and French Champagnes. From Hap’s Signature Prime Rib to savory Australian Lamb Chops, there’s a rich beef, pork, and poultry menu to choose from. Whether you want to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy the stellar cuisine and music, you will want to make a reservation to ensure there is a space saved for you in this fine establishment.

Lokanta Mediterranean Grill and Bar 

In a beautiful brick restaurant, with nicely set streetside dining to take in beautiful, warm evenings, Lokanta Mediterranean Grill and Bar offers upscale Anatolian, Greek and Mediterranean Cuisine. Serving brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert specialties such as Spanakopita, made with Filo dough, spinach, onion, and feta cheese; Grilled Octopus, with celery, garbanzo beans, parsley, and lemon vinaigrette dressing; and Baklava, made with pistachios – there are unique taste sensations to satisfy and amaze the taste buds. The specialty beer and wine menu has plenty of options to pair with the sensational tastes.

Whether you’re looking for outstanding traditional dining or ethnic eating experiences, you are certain to find something to please your senses in Pleasanton’s exceptional establishments.

And remember! I work the entire Pleasanton Real Estate Area!  Give me a call!

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