Sam Hickey, Author at Creekstone Outdoors

24 Aug

Creekstone End of Summer/Labor Day Blowout!

For two days only, Creekstone Outdoor Living is hosting an End of Summer and Labor Day Blowout sale! This is the perfect time to stock up on all your backyard barbecue needs for the rest of the year. Take advantage of incredible markdowns on brands and services at Creekstone Outdoors!

Celebrate Labor Day at Creekstone Outdoors

Shop our beautiful retail showroom and let our friendly design team help bring your backyard vision to life with our special deals on in-stock inventory and services.

Where?

Creekstone Outdoor Living

3555 Rayford Road #60, Spring, Texas 77386

When?

August 31st and September 1st: All day!

(We will be closed on Labor Day (September 3rd)

What?

An end of summer and Labor Day celebration with special deals on all in-stock inventory! Join us for some delicious food cooking on the grills on September 1st.

You’re Invited

Creekstone carries only the highest quality products, sure to last for years to come. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to get started on the backyard of your dreams, then mark your calendar! Our end of summer and Labor Day sale is the perfect time to shop our selection of grills and accessories or speak with a member of our design team about building an outdoor kitchen or living room. Contact us for more information about our End of Summer and Labor Day Blowout sale.

17 Aug

7 Kid Friendly Backyard Ideas

Do you have a perfectly landscaped yard? Or is your yard neglected and not used at all? If you have kids, your backyard can be a wonderful place to help inspire creativity and play. But how do you go about getting a kid-friendly backyard? There are plenty of ways to keep everyone happy and your backyard in use.

Making Your Backyard Kid Friendly

Your backyard can be adult and kid-friendly without too much stress or hassle. By making a few changes you can have a backyard that kids will want to spend all day in making memories. Share on X Here are seven great ideas for making your backyard perfect for all ages.

A House for Play
The Right Size
Get Them Gardening
Water Features
Backyard Toys
A Place for Art
An Outdoor Kitchen

1) A House for Play

A backyard room is perfect for play! Your yard might already have some great little nooks or corners to create the perfect secret room for your kiddo, but if not, a pool house, trellis, or a pergola covered with vining plants can create the perfect nook for your little one to hideout, read a book, or engage in imaginary play.

2) The Right Size

Your kids need furniture that is the right size for them! Give them a special area under your covered patio with pint-sized seating and a table. With so many options available, you can find some kid-sized decor that matches your overall look and feel–or let them choose the new seating and dining area they would like!

3) Get Them Gardening

Kids can learn so much from gardening. Setting up a little garden area for your kids helps teach them patience, how to care for something, and can also help them learn to like various fruits and veggies! Some kid-friendly plants are tomatoes, radishes, carrots, different herbs, and strawberries.

4) Water Features

Kids love to play in the water–especially in the summertime when they are home from school and the weather is so hot! If you already have a pool, a waterslide is a great addition, but if you don’t, there are other ways to add water to your backyard. A splash pad, a stream or creek, or waterfall are easy ways to add some water fun for your kids.

5) Backyard Toys

Consider adding a playground area to your backyard for hours of endless play! Swings, a slide, balance beams, and a sandbox equipped with shovels, buckets, and molds are other great ideas to make your backyard more kid-friendly.

6) A Place for Art

The outdoors can be a terrific inspiration for art! Make your backyard kid-friendly by setting up an art area for them to paint, draw, and create. Set aside an area for an art easel or table for them to use to paint pictures and draw things they see outside. With all the flowers, butterflies, and birds, there is no shortage of things to be your child’s muse.

7) An Outdoor Kitchen

Adding an outdoor kitchen to your backyard is another way of making your backyard kid friendly. Not only will you better be able to watch your kiddos while they are enjoying their outside time, but you can also get them to help cook and experiment with meal time.

A Backyard Kids Will Love

There is no reason that you can’t turn your backyard into a place that everyone of all ages will love to spend time. By adding one (or a few) of the above suggestions to your outdoor space, you can create a backyard kids will love to spend time in.

Contact us to learn more kid-friendly backyard ideas.

10 Aug

7 Beautiful Flowering Shrubs to Add Color and Aroma to Your Outdoor Oasis

There is nothing better than the smell of colorful flowers delighting your senses! Whether your yard is large and spacious or cozy and small, it is always the perfect size for colorful and fragrant shrubs! You can enjoy colorful and fragrant flowering shrubs year round. Share on X

Flowering Shrubs for Fragrance & Color

You can easily plant flowering shrubs in the ground or in decorative planters to add aroma, ambiance, and fragrance to your yard. Here are seven beautiful flowering shrubs you need to add to your yard to help create the perfect outdoor oasis.

1) Amazing Azaleas

Azaleas grow effortlessly here in Texas and add a burst of color and scent to your outdoor space. There are several colors to choose from, along with fragrances ranging from sweet and fruity, to a dark and sultry spice.

2) Heavenly Honeysuckle

Remember when you were a kid and would pull apart honeysuckle to lick? Honeysuckle is a wonderfully fragrant plant and makes a perfect addition to your backyard space. Their sweet and fragrant nectar is a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies and comes in colors from white, yellow, pink, and red.

3) Striking Star Jasmine

Star jasmine is an evergreen vine that blossoms fragrant white blossoms every spring. Perfect to grow along a pergola or arbor. Star jasmine is hearty and will last for years to come. There are also other, equally wonderful jasmine plants with other color blossoms, like Carolina jasmine and their bright yellow blooms.

4) Gorgeous Gardenia

The gardenia is a prized flowering shrub that is native from China, Japan, and Africa, and it grows perfectly in the humid Texas heat. Their gorgeous and highly fragrant white flowers are long-blooming, while their dark-green foliage will last the whole year through.

5) Lovely Lilacs

Lilacs are known for their heady scents and exuberant blooms of purple, mauve, white, or yellow. These lovely shrubs originally come from France and are renowned for their large sweet-scented blossoms. They prefer well-drained soil and will flower for three weeks during the late spring.

6) Magical Mexican Orange Blossom

Commonly called the Mexican Orange Blossom, the Aztec Pearl is an evergreen shrub with glossy, dark-green leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom in the late spring. These decorative shrubs work perfect to add color throughout your outdoor kitchen or pool area, and their scent is sure to bring the butterflies.

7) Vivacious Viburnum

The viburnum is so versatile and comes in close to 200 species, ranging in both evergreen and deciduous forms. They come in a variety of heights, as well as number of different colors. Some viburnum flower in mid-winter and all offer gorgeous fall foliage, too.

Fragrance & Color with Flowering Shrubs

Whether you choose to plant some smaller flowering shrubs in decorative planters or choose vines to accent your arbor, you can enjoy their pop of color and sweet perfume all year round. Choose plants that are hearty growers for your zone, and be sure to choose various flowering times to overlap blooms.

To learn more about which flowering shrubs will add color and fragrance to your outdoor oasis, Contact Us.

03 Aug

7 Backyard Barbecue Dishes to Try This Summer

Summer is the perfect time to get together with family and friends and enjoy a backyard barbecue. Don’t bore your guests with the same old brisket or grilled chicken recipe you cook up every time they come, instead, impress them by cooking up a new summer-fresh meal that will tempt their taste buds and get them begging for seconds. Try something new and expand your culinary wheelhouse for your next backyard barbecue. Share on X

Delicious Backyard Barbecue Ideas

There are so many amazing backyard barbecue recipes out there these days. Try grilling up one of these perfect summertime barbecue recipes on your new grill or outdoor kitchen.

1) Crazy for Kabobs

Everyone loves kabobs and it is easy to set up a “build your own kabob” station for your guests! Marinate steak, chicken, fish, or other proteins overnight to get them ready and flavorful. Have veggies available, like bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini chunks, baby potatoes, and corn for people to slide on their skewers and let you grill. Cook directly over heat for 10-15 minutes, or until done.

2) Honey Soy Grilled Pork Chops

Super easy and delicious are these grilled honey soy pork chops. Marinate eight pork chops overnight in a ½ cup of honey,1 cup low sodium soy sauce, 4 minced garlic cloves, and some red pepper flakes for two hours. Heat grill and cook eight minutes per side. Let rest five minutes before serving.

3) Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken

Nobody wants boring chicken! Spice up the night with this scrumptious tequila lime chicken. Marinate eight chicken breasts for 2-8 hours in:

1 cup tequila
1 cup olive oil
Juice of 4 limes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
4 Tbsp agave nectar
1 bunch of cilantro

Cook chicken on grill over medium heat until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Remove and let rest for five minutes before serving.

4) Stuffed Burgers

Surprise your guests by stuffing their burgers! Add an ounce or so of cheese, chopped jalapenos, bacon, or whatever else you can think of into your burgers to make them juicy and mouthwatering. Make sure to seal your goodies in well so they don’t seep out the sides of the burger and spoil the surprise!

5) Grilled Pizza

Grilled pizza is amazing to serve at your next backyard barbecue! Just roll out your dough (homemade or store-bought), drizzle it with olive oil and salt and grill for two minutes. Add your favorite toppings and continue to cook until it is done (another two to five minutes). There is nothing better than spending time with loved ones and enjoying a grilled pizza.

6) Veggies Galore

Your grill isn’t there just for cooking meats. Vegetables taste amazing when grilled to perfection in your outdoor kitchen or over your charcoal grill. Mushrooms, corn, zucchini, asparagus, and peppers are just a few examples of vegetables that go great on the grill. Coat them with oil, salt, and pepper (or marinate them overnight), and cook until tender-crisp.

7) Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

Fish tastes great on the grill! Grill your fish over medium heat until done (most fish needs to be cooked 10 minutes per inch of thickness), and serve with a summer pineapple salsa. Mix together 2 cups fresh cubed pineapple, 2 green onions, ¼ cup chopped green pepper, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, 4 teaspoons lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve over your fish (it also tastes yummy on tortilla chips, too).

Backyard Barbecue Dishes to Try This Summer

Don’t hesitate! Now that you have so many options for dinner, go ahead and call your friends and get that backyard barbecue scheduled! And to make those vittles taste even more spectacular, consider picking up a new Big Green Egg, Lynx, or Fire Magic Grill, today!

To learn more about the best backyard barbecue dishes to try this summer, Contact Us.

27 Jul

Relaxing Backyard Ideas For a Tranquil Space

Whether you have a small backyard or a spacious sprawling one, your backyard is meant to be a retreat from the hustle and bustle of every day. It is easy to make your backyard the perfect place to unwind, relax and enjoy some peace and quiet. Choosing the right outdoor elements can provide ambiance and privacy to transform your backyard into a tranquil oasis. Share on X

Relaxing Backyard Ideas

Start spending more time relaxing in your own private paradise with these six proven ways of creating a peaceful backyard:

1) Comfortable Seating

Getting comfortable seating is the first step in creating a relaxing backyard space. Couches, loungers, and oversized chairs set up under your covered patio or deck gives you a place to let you stretch out, relax and enjoy the fresh air. The more comfortable the seating, the more likely you are to spend time relaxing in your outdoor room.

2) Add a Spark for Tranquility

Fire always adds a relaxing ambiance to anyone’s yard. Having an outdoor fireplace or fire pit is sure to add warmth to your yard, making it a perfect place to sit and get comfy with your loved ones.

3) Just Add Water

A water feature in your yard instantly adds enjoyment to your outdoor living space. The sound of water has been found to have a soothing and calming effect on people. Consider adding a waterfall, bubblers, koi pond, or water fountain to your backyard to help shield your yard from the sounds of cars driving by or those noisy neighbors.

4) A landscape for an Escape

The right backyard landscaping will help set a mood in your backyard and help transport you to a relaxing oasis. Choose plants natural to your area that will thrive and grow with ease. Make sure to have a mix of trees, shrubs, and flowers that are adapted to your climate.

5) Secret Spaces

An integral part of creating a relaxing backyard is to have areas of privacy. A path to a secluded part of the yard with carefully placed plants or an arbor can prove the perfect place to relax with a book or a glass of wine on the weekends.

6) Mood Lighting

Outdoor lighting can set the mood and keep you relaxing in your backyard through the night hours. Lighting can be added through candles, floating pool globes, landscape lighting, or overhead lighting in your pergola or arbor.

Setting the Mood

With the above relaxing backyard ideas, you don’t have to travel far to find the perfect place to relax–just go outside. Create your own sanctuary by adding a few features like water, fire, and comfortable seating, to create the perfect place to sit, relax, and unwind.
To learn more ideas for creating a relaxing backyard, Contact Us.

Previous page 1 … 23 24 25 26 27 … 39 Next page

Author Archives: Sam Hickey