Contest offers chance to win backyard makeover

BRADENTON - You keep the blinds closed in the windows facing your backyard because the thought of going back there and doing battle against the grass and weeds with the lawn mower and edger is just too much to contemplate.

A little waterfall in the front yard of Dave and Lisa Burns's house.

Or maybe you're afraid house guests will see that your Florida yard has "gone native" in a big way and everyone will know that you - GASP! - aren't taking good care back there.

Well, Dave and Lisa Burns' company Backyard Getaway can't solve all your problems, but their contest might help quite a bit. Lisa Burns said she was thinking along the lines of the home makeover shows on TV and that helped inspire the "Ultimate Backyard Makeover Contest."

One lucky homeowner can win a $16,000 backyard makeover. Even better, the winner will get a two-day stay at the Best Western in Sarasota while the Burnses and a group of other local businesses and contractors work their magic. When you come home, you'll have a new backyard that you can be proud of, Lisa Burns said.

Dave Burns gave a tour of his own front- and backyard, which are showplaces of the Burnses' skills and knowledge. He and his wife are working hard to drum up business. "I was getting worried, but it's starting to pick up," he said.

In one part of their backyard, koi ranging in size from small to large swim in a pond, and little waterfalls create a rustic atmosphere.

Dave and Lisa Burns in front of their house in Bradenton.

The contest winner will get a small pond, Lisa Burns said, but with goldfish. The ponds are pretty easy to maintain, and the water recirculates through a filter that needs to be changed, but maintenance requires about 10 minutes a week, she said.

For the Backyard Makeover contest, those who enter must submit a 100-word essay on why they need a backyard makeover, plus a photograph of their current backyard. The contest runs through Aug. 31., and the winner will be announced on Sept. 23.

The Burnses will pick the top 10 entries after the deadline, and then people will get to vote on those 10 entries through a system that will ensure that no one votes more than once a day. The work will take place in October. The top vote-getter gets a new backyard.

With the right materials and a skilled contractor, just about any yard can go from blah to beautiful, and Dave Burns sees the work as a challenge.

"I've always wanted to find an ugly yard and work on it," he said.