When you have to do battle with your lawn mower, wage war against weeds and generally struggle continuously to maintain your outdoor spaces, it’s hard to relax in your own backyard. However, there’s hardly a point in having a landscape if you can’t find a way to enjoy it.
If you need help balancing beauty and functionality in your yard, this post is for you. These tricks will help you create a beautiful and pleasant outside space with minimal effort and maximal joy.
Invest in Plants That Love Your Climate
Not all plants love to live in all environments and trying to force plants into your landscape is like asking to do more work than necessary in your yard. While xeriscaping is very much in style, thanks to greater widespread awareness of the water consumption of traditional landscaping techniques, if you live in a particularly humid and rainy part of the world, xeriscaping might not be the best option. Similarly, if you live in a hot and arid region, it’s not worth your while to shoot for a lush, green landscape.
Before you begin making changes to your existing landscaping, you should schedule a trip to a more rural area of your region. For instance, you might head to a large state park or conservation area near your home. These locations tend to include native flora, which grow happily under the soil, light, temperature and precipitation conditions where you live. You should take inspiration from this native landscape and plant similar greenery in your yard.
Splurge on Professional Yard Help
Some gardening chores are meditative and soothing — and some are just a pain. You should try listing out all your yard-related responsibilities into two columns: the ones you enjoy and the ones you would rather never do again. Then, you should hire professionals to take over the latter group.
In truth, professional yard care doesn’t cost all that much more than DIY yard care, especially once you factor in the money you spend on equipment and the time you waste. Cities from Miami to Seattle to Memphis have customizable lawn care services for you to take advantage of, so you can spend more time enjoying your beautiful yard.
Reflect on What Makes You Happy
Different things make different people happy, so no article can tell you exactly how to make your backyard a joy-bringing place for you. To discover your dream garden, try to spend some time reflecting — and perhaps researching — what yard features would increase your sense of satisfaction when you spend time outdoors. For instance, if you are an entertainer at heart, you might try to fit in an outdoor kitchen, where you can cook for and spend time with guests. Then again, if solitude is what you seek, you might devote a corner of your yard to a Zen garden, neat and complete with a running water feature. It’s okay to take a little time to daydream of your ideal landscape, so you can try your best to make that landscape your reality.
DIY Fun Yard Décor
If you aren’t the crafty type, you can skip this section and start fixing your landscape right away. However, if you have the time, energy and interest in adding homemade decorative touches around your yard, you might consider any of the following simple and affordable projects:
- Personalized doormat. This DIY requires a plain doormat, some stencils and a witty catchphrase that’s all your own.
- Custom signage. There are dozens of ways to make a sign that you can hang up outside to add some flavor to your sitting and relaxing areas.
Window boxes. Wooden window boxes are a classic way to bring your garden to where you can see it.- Simple chimes. Windchimes are more expensive than you think — especially considering that you can make your own using throwaway materials.
- Native wreath. Wreaths aren’t only for the winter holidays. You can change your wreath with the seasons and even craft it from the greenery growing in your yard.
- Plant containers. Plants can grow in almost anything, which means you only need to look at containers creatively to find the next décor for your patio.
- Tabletop firepit. Fire tables are all the rage, and you can make your own, slightly smaller version with this DIY.
It doesn’t take a fortune to create a yard you can love. In fact, just by altering the types of plants in your yard and outsourcing a few of the less enjoyable tasks, you can begin to feel more at peace with your outdoor space — and a bit of homemade décor doesn’t hurt, either.
