• A tire swing is an easy project to entertain your children.Tire Swing image by Luke Haverkamp from Fotolia.com
  
  Many backyard projects take days---if not weeks---to complete, and require a lot of expertise and materials. Don't despair if you don't have the time or patience to build a full stone patio or wooden deck, or create an award-winning rose garden; there are plenty of small-scale, easy backyard projects that will improve your space even if you are a landscaping novice.
  
  

Tire Swing

• Want to give your kids a place to play, but not up to building an entire play structure? Install a tire swing. Find an old tire in fairly good shape without an exposed steel belt. Wash it off with a high-pressure hose and drill a couple small holes in one side to drain rainwater. Tie a thick piece of rope around the tire with the holes on the bottom using a square knot, or other stable knot. Double up the knot to make sure the swing is secure. Tie the swing to a solid tree branch, using a double knot to hold it in place. Cinch the knots tightly and leave a foot of extra rope in case the knot slips slightly as it settles. Take a few small swings to test the tire swing; if it holds you, it will hold your kids.
  
  

Fire Pit

• A fire pit is little more than a hole in the ground, but it will give you many hours of outdoor enjoyment. To build a fire pit, assemble a circle of stones about two feet in diameter. Mark the area where the stones go by sticking a spade into the ground in several places around the circle, then remove the stones. Dig a foot-deep trench as wide as your stone circle, then fill it halfway full with gravel. Pat the gravel down and assemble a ring of stones around it. Apply a zig-zag bead of masonry caulk on top of the first stone ring, and arrange a second ring of stones on top, so the seams don't line up. Continue to build the fire pit upwards until it reaches your desired height. About a foot above the surrounding round level is a good height for a fire pit.
  
  

Plant a Tree

• Planting a tree is an easy way to improve your backyard. It provides shade, attractive foliage, fruit, flowers or all of the above. Select a hardy native tree and find a relatively flat spot, clear of any power lines or other overhanging obstacles that could get in the way. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and about three times as wide. Cut away any burlap around the root ball and place the tree in the hole. Have a friend hold the tree in place while you fill the hole up to the top of the roots with soil. Combine the soil with decomposed compost or manure to nourish the tree. Add a root-promoting fertilizer, and keep the soil damp by watering it every day or every other day for the first couple weeks to allow the tree to establish itself.