10 Things to Add to Your Backyard Before Summer

As the days get longer and the weather warms up, it simply makes sense to want to spend more time outside. But turning your yard into a functional outdoor living space doesn’t happen overnight or without a little bit of elbow grease. Or does it?

With the right additions—a high-end beverage cooler here, some aesthetic solar lighting there—it’s relatively easy to create the deck, patio, or porch of your dreams. And as temperatures continue to climb and tempt you to head back indoors, a DIY pool or portable misting fan can keep even the hottest days more comfortable. The following list of 10 backyard upgrades you can score with a simple click or some weekend warrioring contains everything you need to make the most of your summer.

With restaurant-quality performance in a residential footprint, the Gozney Arc XL uses a thoughtfully designed lateral gas burner to replicate a traditional wood-fired rolling flame, churning out perfectly cooked 16-inch pies in 60 seconds or less. Able to reach temperatures up to 950 degrees Fahrenheit, this sleek oven features a thick, 20-millimeter stone floor and a built-in digital thermometer for precise heat control. If you love the Arc XL’s premium design but have a smaller space, check out our Arc Lite review to see how the more compact 12-inch version stacks up.

Get the Gozney pizza oven at Ace Hardware, The Home Depot, BBQ Guys, or Gozney, starting at $899.99.

As the top pick in our best cantilever umbrellas guide, the Purple Leaf double-top 360-degree cantilever umbrella provides plenty of shade without the clutter of a central pole. The dual canopy is made from high-density, UV-resistant polyester that withstands wind up to 20 miles per hour, and the tilt mechanism is easy to adjust via foot pedal for 360 degrees of rotation. Note that the heavy-duty weighted base is sold separately, though, so you’ll need to add one to complete your setup.

Get the Purple Leaf cantilever umbrella at Amazon or Purple Leaf, starting at $362.00.

At only 5 pounds and about the size of a basketball, the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Pro offers a portable way to beat the heat wherever your travels take you. The outdoor misting fan uses dry-touch evaporative mist to lower surrounding temperatures by as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit, pulling in water directly from an integrated tank. It features a built-in carrying handle, five speed settings (including a high-powered BreezeBoost mode), and can run continuously using its detachable cord or for up to 29 hours via battery power. 

Get the Shark misting fan at Amazon or Shark, starting at $149.99.

If you’re up for a project you can finish over a weekend, the first step is scheduling this 390-gallon stock tank from CountyLine for delivery or pickup. Made in the USA from rust-resistant galvanized steel, this ultra-durable tub features reinforced 360-degree ribbing and smooth, rounded edges that make it ideal for a trendy DIY stock tank pool. By pairing it with a standard pool pump and a slow-release chlorine dispenser, you can create a refreshing oasis that’s easy to wipe clean of dirt and algae. For more on supplies and steps, see our guide on how to build your stock tank pool.

Get the CountyLine stock tank pool at Tractor Supply Co. for $359.99.

Thanks to its massive size, high-quality build, and reasonable price, this cedar garden bed from Veikous earned the top spot in our lineup of the best raised garden beds. Crafted from warp-resistant cedar and available in a variety of finishes, it can hold up to 837 pounds and stands 28.5 inches tall to eliminate bending and squatting. At just under 6 feet long, this heavy-duty planter offers 9.59 cubic feet of potting space with a 13.7-inch depth, so vegetables like carrots and onions have ample room for their roots to develop. It also has slat-based drainage gaps and an included fabric liner to keep soil aerated and intact. 

Get the Veikous raised garden bed at Amazon, Tractor Supply Co., The Home Depot, or Veikous, starting at $149.00.

Managing a lawn or garden usually means wrestling with multiple hoses and timers, but the Aiper IrriSense 2 Smart Irrigation System simplifies things by packing a controller, sprinkler, electric valve, and nutrient feeder into a single compact tower. In our hands-on testing of the IrriSense, this sleek device earned an impressive 4.9/5 rating for its quick setup and accurate zone mapping. The system can cover up to 4,800 square feet and has built-in weather detection that automatically skips scheduled cycles during rain or high winds to minimize wasted water.

Get the Aiper smart irrigation system at Amazon or Aiper, starting at $399.99.

Designed to provide you with a truly cinematic view of backyard visitors, the Birdify Metal 2 features an upgraded 4K sensor and a 120-degree wide-angle lens. To make birdwatching educational as well as entertaining, it comes with Birdify’s OrniSense AI built in (no subscription required), which can instantly identify over 6,000 species and send you facts about each one. On the outside, the IP66 waterproof metal housing protects the 1.8-liter seed hopper from squirrels, and the 9000mAh battery is powered by an integrated solar panel so the camera can operate all day and night.

Get the Birdify bird feeder at Amazon or Birdify, starting at $259.99.

This dual-zone beverage cooler from Tylza is an excellent way to turn a standard patio into a fully functional outdoor kitchen. Constructed from 304 stainless steel with an IPX4 waterproof rating, you can install it as either a built-in unit or a freestanding fridge. The dual-layer design features self-closing drawers that open and close silently, and the compressor runs at a quiet 30 to 40 decibels. You can set each drawer to between 37 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit to keep up to 145 standard cans of sodas, cervezas, water, or wine perfectly chilled alongside a selection of your favorite snacks. 

Get the Tylza beverage cooler at Amazon for $749.99.

Earning the top spot in our solar string lights test, the Brightech Ambience Pro lights make it easy to illuminate your fenceline or full patio without worrying about access to an outlet. This 27-foot commercial-grade strand features 12 shatterproof Edison bulbs that cast a warm, vintage glow across a 20-foot area, and longer lengths are available if your space is even larger. In our hands-on review, the oversize solar panel stored enough power for about 5 or 6 hours of operation after turning the lights on automatically at dusk. 

Get the Brightech solar string lights at Amazon, The Home Depot, Target, or Brightech, starting at $26.52.

As fans of wood pellet fuel, we were incredibly impressed by the Pit Boss in our tests of the best smokeless fire pits. Constructed with a double-wall steel design and coated with an attractive high-temperature black sand finish, this 34.4-pound unit delivered one of the hottest smoke-free burns of any model. Although it also works with wood chips or chunks, we really enjoyed the clean output created by pellets, which produce only about half as much ash as a bundle of logs. Plus, if you’ve already got a pellet grill on your patio, you have everything you need to start a fire once the cooking is done.  

Get the Pit Boss smokeless fire pit at Amazon, Lowe’s, Wayfair, Walmart, or Pit Boss, starting at $160.80. 

 

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