To a lot of people, a backyard isn’t much more than a place to let the dog out, a spot for kids to play, and grass to mow. If that sounds like your backyard, we’d love to introduce you to some possibilities for turning your backyard into something that’s so much more.
Whether backyard projects are meant to add function, beauty, or both, they’re also going to add a lot of enjoyment to a property and pride in it. On top of that, they can add value to a home because great landscaping means greater curb appeal, making a property more attractive to neighbors and prospective homebuyers alike.
What kind of backyard landscaping projects you do really depends on what you have to work with and your personal preferences and needs. Following are 11 ideas that we’ve seen to be pleasers time and time again.
Add Color and Variety with Lots of Plants
Break up that sea of green grass by adding plants and flowers in various locations around the yard. Something that’s quite popular is creating circular “islands” with tall plants in the middle surrounded by colorful flowers, but it’s really up to you when it comes to deciding what works best.
Create Wandering Paths
Give yourself a place to take a relaxing stroll and/or to visit and highlight your favorite features in the backyard. You can go with traditional pavers, crushed rock, or flat stones that create a natural look, among other options. Dedicated pathways also help prevent trampling and erosion in places you don’t want them.
Enjoy Outdoor Decks and Patios
Decks and patios are perhaps the most popular and most highly sought outdoor upgrades. Create something unique that both fits with and enhances your property and which meets your needs for relaxation, entertainment, and more.
Build Around Trees
When you build decks, patios, and other permanent structures in your backyard, you don’t always have to take out the trees in the places you’re going to build. Consider saving trees by building around them instead; you’ll also be adding beauty, shade, and a unique look to your project.
Make a Gazebo for Your Own Private Getaway
A gazebo doesn’t just look nice; it also provides a shaded location to enjoy summer days without all the sweat and sunscreen. Gazebos are great places to locate spas or furniture for outdoor dining as well. Building a stone pathway to a gazebo adds a particularly attractive effect.
Relax with a Garden Swing
Swings aren’t just for kids. Putting a garden swing in a favorite spot creates a wonderful incentive to get outside to read, doze, or just enjoy some much-needed quiet time.
Decorative Lighting Adds Function and Security
Night lighting isn’t just to keep burglars, vandals, and trespassers away from the driveway and the front door. When you add landscape lighting to your backyard, you extend the use of outdoor spaces, have the opportunity to highlight especially attractive features or create lovely visual effects, and create additional deterrents to criminals. Worried about your energy bills or flooding your yard with unwanted light? Motion sensors and timers are ways to address those concerns.
Create Theme-Based Gardens
You can create gardens that imitate the styles of particular countries, regions, or time periods. Other options include designing gardens and flower beds to create particular color or shape effects.
Enjoy the Night with Fire Pits and Outdoor Fireplaces
Sitting around a campfire is something so many people love. When you have a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace in your yard, you’ve got a great way to have your own private campfire completely under control and available whenever you want it. Whether it’s additional warmth on a cool night, ambience, or just plain beauty you’re after, fire features deliver. They can enhance decks, patios, and even pools and other water features, and they make strong selling points and conversation pieces.
Add Beauty and Serenity with Water Features
Water features, like fire features, are highly desirable additions to yards. Features such as fountains, waterfalls, and ponds add atmosphere and beauty, and, like fire features, they are a compelling selling point. When you pair them with outdoor pools, water features (and fire features, too) can establish effects ranging from soothing to inspiring to jaw-dropping.
Make an Outdoor Kitchen Part of Your Outdoor Paradise
Don’t limit your outdoor cooking to just a portable charcoal or gas grill, or even a built-in grill. Now, you have options such as pizza ovens, wet bars, wine refrigerators, and more. Full counters can round it all out, and adjustable screening protects from sun, wind, and annoying insects so that you can enjoy your outdoor living space any time of the year.
Professional Landscape Design for Whatcom County
The 11 backyard landscaping ideas above aren’t even close to all the possibilities there are. They’re just a sampling of some of the most popular, but we can discuss literally dozens more with you, and we can also work with you to bring your own unique ideas to real-life perfection.
At Puget Construction and Landscape, our professional landscapers focus on turning Whatcom homeowners’ landscapes into dreamscapes, all while being mindful of our beautiful region’s unique ecological concerns.
Ready to get going on that dreamscape? It’s easy!
