Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Several simple outdoor landscaping ideas for the garden and yard can be achieved in just one weekend. You could have recently moved into a new home or have resided at the same location for many years and decide the landscape requires a little pizazz.

There are new do it yourself kits now available, for example building your own gazebo that can take just a couple of hours to assemble and look like a million dollars. Visit your neighborhood garden center they may have displays and helpful employees to steer you in the right direction.

It is important to do a simple sketch with measurements of your outdoor space. Note where the doors and windows of your home are. Decide what locations you want to change. Do you want an area for the kids? Would you like a vegetable garden or an outdoor kitchen? How about a small koi pond?

Make sure that you are aware of the amount of work your landscaping entails. For those who do not enjoy mowing a lawn or if there is a lack of natural rain having a lawn can be a tedious and sometimes difficult task to maintain. Items such as rock gardens or flowerbeds are just as visually enticing as having a lush, dark green space in your back yard. There are some families that enjoy having decorative artifacts such as a birdbath, fountain or even statues while others prefer to stick with an arrangement of complementary flowers or stone designs.

Do a little research on the types of plants that will do well in your area. If you live in the Southwest you will probably not plant the same flowers and trees that do well in the Pacific Northwest or on the East coast. The local nursery would be a great source of advice and will have in stock most of the plants you may want.

Easy care, low maintenance plants and construction materials is what you should look for if you do not want to be chained to your backyard. Most of us want a place to barbecue and entertain but don’t like the raking, weeding, trimming etc.

Unless you have to have a lawn for your children to frolic on try to lose it. It is such a time and water waster. Play areas can be created with sand or bark. Look into “rubber bark” that is made out of recycled tire and lasts long and looks great.

Just because you are not an expert gardener does not mean you cannot plan out beautiful and easy outdoor landscaping ideas for the yard and garden. You will build your confidence, as well as your muscles, when you have completed your backyard project.