How to Plan Backyard Design & Landscaping

Your lawn is the first thing that people see when they come to your home. For many people, this means that they focus their attention on creating a beautiful lawn in the front and often neglect the backyard. This is a mistake. You can turn your backyard into a haven for you and your family to enjoy.

To create a hidden paradise, you need only to discover where to find ideas for backyard design and landscaping tips to give it a life of its own.

Creating Your Special Retreat

One of the first steps in creating a backyard space is to figure out what you want it to become. Do you want it to be a place for family fun? A place where you can relax on the weekends or during the evening hours? Or simply a place that allows you to enjoy grilling outdoors? Your backyard fills many possible roles and can be an extension of your living space where you can feel completely at home.

Think Outside the Box

Whether you are creating an outdoor space for family fun nights or as a retreat from the stress you deal with daily; green grass, trees, and plant life is what makes your landscaping look appealing. Without these items, you have a dirt patch. Who wants that? When planning your plant life, you may want to put a creative spin on the way you think about it. You may want to build up along the fence line, especially if you have a small backyard space, but you do not have to stop there. For instance, instead of building traditional flower beds, why not get rid of the “box” and instead use mint or other herbs to create the flower bed. It will smell great, be useful in other ways. It will also add greenery to a pathway.

Plan Your Entryway

We often don’t think of “entering” our backyard. By creating an entrance, you give it a life of its own. You can plant trees beside the steps coming off your deck or patio so that once through, the backyard appears to open up and welcome you. You may use a gate or a trellis if you do not want trees that close to your home. The trick is to have a little separation, especially if you are hoping to create a haven for yourself that includes a hammock, water feature, and more. You can easily come up with creative backyard landscaping ideas, including entryways that will transform the way you view your lawn.

Add the Right Lighting

Your garden or backyard space is the ideal area to create a unique atmosphere. The easiest way to do this is to add lighting. If you have a covered patio or deck, you can add softly glowing, hanging lanterns to give your space a romantic look for those quiet evenings with your family. Tiki torches are also great since they offer spots of brighter light, which will flicker in the breeze will instantly lift up your backyard design. You can add scents to them, such as citronella, to keep insects at bay when you are outdoors. Many homeowners are now creating a contemporary look by adding lighting under the deck. It casts light up and around the edges and is ideal for pool areas where you have raised platform for your lawn chairs, table-set, or grill area.

Hide Boring Areas

Every lawn has an area that grass does not seem to grow well. It is simply a fact of nature. Grass doesn’t grow in shaded areas, dry areas, or areas with the wrong soil mixture. Instead of fighting Mother Nature, why not take advantage of the opportunity that she provides? You can add a small deck area to cover the fact that grass doesn’t grow there, add a few decorative concrete slabs and lawn chairs. You can also leave it natural and plant moss in that area. Moss grows in shadowy areas. If you choose the right type, it will stay green all year long.

Bask in Your Special Retreat

Part of the joy of owning a home is being able to enjoy going outdoors without intruding on other people’s space. By turning your own backyard into a retreat for yourself, you will be enjoying one of life’s simplest pleasures; becoming one with nature. Therefore, you should put forth the effort to spice up a boring pool area, give yourself a burn pit, and create a grill space that makes you king, or queen, of backyard barbecuing.