A beautiful backyard enhances the senses and transforms a house into a home. Vibrant colors, textures, and designs attract birds, squirrels, bees and other happy visitors.
However, a wonderful backyard never happens by itself. Left to its own devices, nature does not lean toward symmetry, contrast, focal points, or other aesthetical tricks that humans have used to create a sense of harmony and beauty. So, while nature will supply the raw materials, creating a lovely backyard requires ingenuity, design principles, and plenty of hard work.
Some ways to bring out the hidden beauty of your backyard include taking care of the soil, trying out eye-catching DIY projects, adding colorful flowers, controlling fast-growing weeds, removing unsightly clutter, and adding design elements. Although these are all simple ideas by themselves, together they create a wonderful overall effect.
Taking Care of the Soil
The most common soil problem is soil erosion. If you have soil erosion issues, you may need some products, like mulch or blankets, to help control it. According to the Granite Seed company, which specializes in erosion control and seed planting products, “Erosion control products help ensure the success of your seeding project by protecting the seedbed from wind and water erosion, and also by providing an environment that is conducive to seed germination and plant establishment.”
Trying out Eye-Catching DIY Projects
Many innovative do-it-yourself (DIY) projects can help you revamp your backyard. You’ll feel inspired to start your own project by reviewing a few pictures and suggestions on blogs and in home improvement magazines. You’ll be amazed at how creative people have transformed their backyards with some innovative themes by simply using simple everyday things like tables, chairs, swings, barrels, crates, and wooden pallets. Just follow a few tutorials to change the look and feel of your backyard.
Adding Colorful Flowers
Depending on how much space you have to work with, you should either consider planting flowers or adding potted plants.
Flowers provide focal points and a pleasant contrast with a green lawn. Consider planting either annuals or perennials. Marigolds and sunflowers add a splash of color to any backyard. Potted plants may work well, too. Green Mountain Boxwood, Japanese Pieris, Bergenia, Golden Creeping Jenny are some attractive options for boxed containers.
Controlling Fast-Growing Weeds
If you’re planning on planting flowers, focus on removing weeds first as these compost plants will compete for nutrients with the flowers you’d like to sprout in your garden. Weeds tend to consume the bulk of nutrients in the soil.
Removing Unsightly Clutter
If you have a small backyard, then clutter of any kind will ruin all your aesthetic efforts. Even a little clutter is enough to detract from the harmony of a space. Clutter can come in many forms from random gardening tools to just having too many potted plants in the same area.
Introducing Design Elements
You can introduce design elements through colorful flowers or flowering plants. You can, for instance, organize flowers by color. If you need more orange, grow orange marigolds, calendula, or orange chard. If you need more purple, grow purple basil, rhubarb, or rosemary. If you need more blue, grow sages with blue flowers.
Another way to add design elements is to create a shape from a group of flowers. For instance, you can plant purple kale in a heart-shaped cluster.
Besides using flowers to add design elements to your garden, think about creating design themes with garden statues, stone paths, red rock borders, and colorful garden boxes. You may even want to consider a garden pond.
Create Your Own Sacred Space
Although it will take considerable planning and effort to have a beautiful backyard, it will be worthwhile when you sit outdoors with your iced tea and feel the quiet peace of your artful creation.
