Whether your backyard is very large or very small, it’s a great idea to put some effort into landscaping that special area behind your home. Landscaping is a skilled profession, but some DIY individuals can attain a great-looking area on their own with some ideas of simple backyard landscaping.
1. Colorful Mulch Garden Beds
This landscape design idea is very easy, and it really packs a big punch in your backyard. Make your garden beds and sparsely add some small boulders and some green shrubs in them. Then add colored mulch in the vacant areas of the garden bed to brighten up your entire backyard.
Red mulch is the brightest color that is readily available, and it makes your flower beds really pop. For the maximum effect, don’t put too many shrubs or plants in it, but leave them spaced far apart, so the mulch takes center stage of your project.
2. Add A Beautiful Fire Pit
When you are considering a fire pit, it’s best to build one that will stand the test of time for many years to come instead of purchasing an inexpensive metal fire pit that will eventually rust out and need replacing. Make a fire pit by purchasing curved pavers and laying one layer on the ground to form a circle of the size you wish.
Put another layer on top of the first one while staggering the spaces between them, so they don’t line up with the first layer. Add a third layer staggering the spaces between them to match up to the first layer.
The weight of the pavers will hold them in place without the need for using messy concrete to hold them together. You can use the same idea with smaller and lighter materials, but you will need to secure each of the two last layers to the one before it with concrete.
3. Create a Simple Rock Garden Backyard Landscaping
A simple rock garden is a great project for your backyard. Place a few large boulders in an area and then add small colored rocks on the ground near it in a good-sized area for the most impact. Add some solar-powered lights randomly to light up your rock garden at night.
If you happen to have an area on your lawn where some of your grass is dead, this is a way to cover it up so it isn’t seen and to make a visual impact as well. The rocks also will keep weeds at bay, because the weed seeds can’t germinate without light.
4. Tire Planters on a Fence
This backyard landscaping idea gives you bright pops of color in your backyard for areas of interest. Secure some old tires and spray paint each one in a bright color. Blue, red, and green are great colors for this project. Then attach the tires to a fence, wall, or tree and fill the bottom inside of the tires with mulch and add some colorful flowering plants that are in season.
You can change the plants out when they die back for fresh plants that are in season. Some good choices of flowers are begonia, lantana, fuchsia, lobelia, petunia, and million bells.
5. Create a Vertical Garden
Vertical gardens can enhance the look of fences and walls that you already have in your backyard. It’s a simple concept that looks nice and neat. You can use an over-the-door plastic shoe organizer and attach it to your fence or wall. Then fill the pockets with potting soil and add plants to them.
Mix it up with different types and colors of plants, such as some of the many types of hosts in varying shades of green, blue-gray hues, and yellows.
6. Add Some Lighting
The simple task of the addition of outdoor lighting can change the ambiance of your entire backyard. You can use path lights to illuminate walkways and landscape lighting as well. Choose one feature in your lawn to make a focal point, such as a large tree or shrub, and use an up light that shines upward on the tree at night for a great lighting project.
Consider adding colorful LED rope lights around your patio to spark some imagination. If you are afraid of your electric bill increasing with your new lights, then choose LED lights that are solar-powered.
7. A Wagon Planter Box
You can recycle an old wagon into a planter box. Drill holes in the bottom of the wagon for drainage, and add your potting soil and flowers or plants to it. You can move the wagon by rolling it to change the area it is in, so the flowers and plants get the right amount of sunshine or shade. You may instead decide to attach your wagon planter box to a tree, wall, or fence for a permanent area for it to reside.
8. Add a Pergola
You can add a pergola over a seating area in your backyard. It gives you some shade, but it still allows enough sunlight underneath it to make a perfect seating area. Place a large planter on each end of the pergola and fill it with plants to brighten up your area, or attach hanging baskets filled with trailing flowers to the top of the pergola. Pergolas can be made of wood, vinyl, or metal, so you can choose what it looks like.
9. Create a Tree Stump Planter
Do you happen to have an old tree stump in your backyard? Instead of grinding it down to get rid of it–and costing quite a bit in the process, you can use a drill to remove the wood in the center of the stump and fill it with potting soil and colorful flowers for a one-of-a-kind personalized planter. Consider planting some of the same types of flowers around the tree stump in the ground to echo the same colors for a splendid appearance.
10. Build a Tree Bench
You can build a tree bench with an octagon shape that surrounds a large tree in your backyard. It gives you a wonderful shady area to sit and be one with nature. It does take some skill to make the pieces fit together correctly and get the same appearance as the tree benches that you sometimes see in parks. Instead, you can just add a wooden bench to your lawn in any area for a nice sitting area.
11. Make a Stepping Stone Path
You can easily create a stepping stone path with any type of stone or slate that you wish. Leave spaces between the pieces so grass can grow there for more interest and mix it up using different sizes of materials for the best outcome. Add some path lights to the sides of your pathway to light it up at night.
12. Fencing Off Sections
You can add a wooden picket fence to divide your backyard into sections. It can be to create a playground section for the kids, fencing around a garden bed, or fencing around a seating area to define the different areas of your backyard. Or you can add a short stretch of picket fence within a garden bed for climbing roses to have a support system.
These are just a few ideas for simple backyard landscaping with a wow factor. At Warren Professional Services, we have been beautifying homeowners’ backyards for many years by creating something special for them to showcase their landscape design. Contact us today so we can customize your backyard landscape design in Wentzville!