June 15th

By Mutt Mulligan

Green Space for Backyard Games

There are a myriad of ways that green spaces versus paved, hot surfaces help make life just a little better, especially in Summer.   An article came out from Martha Stewart that reminds us that green space allows us to play an assortment of traditional summer-time games in the backyard.  Here are some fun games to play this summer and then a link to more information from this article:

Croquet

Born on English lawns in the mid-19th century, this game conjures images of refined garden parties, but expect a day filled with rollicking competition.

Equipment: Nine wickets, two stakes and four colored balls (blue, red, black and yellow), plus one mallet per player (or teams can share one).

Badminton

British officers first played this game — an adaptation of a sport called battledore and shuttlecock — in the 1860s in colonial India. It’s now an Olympic sport but still fun for backyard athletes.

Equipment: Lightweight rackets, a net and shuttlecocks (also called shuttles or birdies; they were traditionally made of feathers but are now commonly found with plastic skirts).

 More information here.