Having a backyard for play, entertaining and gardening is one of the great pleasures of homeownership. Keeping your yard looking inviting and attractive can help to increase the value of your home. Over the years, your yard may need updating to make the most of its features and to provide a good environment for your activities. Here are 3 additions you can make to your yard to maximize its usefulness.
Define Areas With Edging
Much like a home uses walls to designate a bedroom is separate from the kitchen, you can separate areas of your backyard with edging. Using edging to define your landscaped areas can make your yard look neater and more attractive. Edging can highlight colorful flowerbeds, contain mulch materials and prevent the spread of grass. You can find a wide array of edging materials, including wood, metal, concrete, plastic, stone, and brick to suit and complement the appearance of your home. You can change the look of your yard areas in just a single weekend with today’s lawn edging materials. Edging comes in many different colors and materials but you should be consistent throughout your backyard with what type you use. If you use black around the grass, then you should use black around any other part that needs edging.
Add Different Texture
One of the most visually appealing designs in a backyard is that of the many textures available. If your backyard is a single sheet of grass from one corner to the next, then you can benefit from this design update. This can be as simple as framing your grass with a flower bed. Depending on the energy and feeling that you’re going for in your backyard, you could even dedicate a space to a sand and rock garden. One great way to add texture is to separate how the space is supposed to be used. For example, instead of putting a fire pit on top of your grassy area, consider building out a gravel space where people sit around the fire pit. This will add order to your backyard design and create more clear separations on where people should be sitting vs playing. When separating areas with texture, also consider using edging so that the separation is clear and clean.
Construct A Backyard Fire Pit
If you want to utilize your backyard for social gatherings then you may want to consider adding a backyard fire pit. There’s nothing that recalls the serenity of the great outdoors like a backyard fire pit. Your fire pit can be the perfect conversation circle for outdoor parties on cool summer evenings or autumn get-togethers. You can purchase a pre-made fire pit that has pretty glass rocks surrounding the flames or if you want a more functional fire pit, some even come with grilling plates on top of the pit for easy fire cooking.
If you don’t want to buy a pre-made fire pit, then you may be interested in a more customized design such as one that is built specifically to your liking. Hiring a professional is certainly the easiest and fastest, but you can also make one on your own. A fire pit is easy to construct with materials from your local home improvement center and will provide years of good times and pleasant memories for your family and friends. A shovel, gravel, brick, and a suitable area in your yard are all you need to create an attractive fire pit for your backyard. After you clear any surrounding items that could catch fire, cover the area with gravel. Then you can stack the bricks in a circle or square formation, whatever you prefer. Typically, brick formations are cemented together but as long as you aren’t sitting on the fire pit or clicking it or bumping into it, you should be fine with letting the weight of the bricks hold them in place.
Add A Screen For Additional Privacy
Relaxing, playing games, and entertaining outdoors in your yard are great ways to spend time at home. However, many yards don’t have sufficient screening to ensure good privacy. This absence can make you feel like you are on display during your outdoor activities. You can improve the privacy in your yard for family time or entertaining, with lattice screening. It is becoming increasingly popular to install a lattice screen in a small section of the backyard, for example where a table might be. That way you can have the added privacy and wind barrier where you want it without blocking in the rest of your backyard. Choose a suitable color for your screening such as redwood brown, white, forest green, or a color that matches your home. You can then plant climbing roses or vines around the base of the screening to climb up the slats for a relaxing, natural look. If you get a more mature plant, then you will likely be able to weave the plant through the lattice rungs in whatever design you’d like without waiting for your new plants to grow. That way you have the privacy you want in the first season.
Having a home with a yard can be a great asset to your quality of life. However, yards occasionally need updating to fit your current lifestyle. A little labor and a few materials can make a big difference in your yard. These three ideas will help you to utilize your outdoor space more efficiently and more pleasantly.