Backyard Ideas for New Homes, Creating a lush environment in your big or small yard may seem like a challenge, especially if you are on a budget, but the amount of money you spend on the outdoor area isn’t what makes your new home yard attractive. With a little investment of time, you can create a dazzling backyard from found objects, strategic placement of plants and inexpensive decor to fit your budget.
Backyard design offers endless possibilities to establish outdoor living spaces tailored to fit individual preferences and lifestyles. Whether it’s a small space or a large one, there are numerous ideas to turn your backyard into a perfect spot for relaxation and entertainment.
From landscaping plans to outdoor furniture choices, the best part about backyard design is that there are countless options available to suit your specific needs and tastes. In this article, we will explore some great backyard ideas for new homes that offer visual interest, personal style, and practical functions.
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Planters For The Landscape Designer
Inexpensive planters purchased at the dollar store may look plain, but you can add a spark of creativity with a little paint to create one-of-a-kind planters to show off flowering native plants or lush green foliage. Bright colours also add a distinct style to your yard. Think yellows, reds and purples for a vibrant show of colour. Hand-paint designs on the planters or use stencils to create bold colours in geometric designs.
Found Objects As A Focal Point
Found objects like metal shelving, old bed springs, buckets and bins add style to any yard. Whether you choose to use them in the garden or simply as a backdrop for a few strategic plants, a coat of fresh paint in the colour of your choice brings life and personality to your yard.
Old paint cans painted in lively colours make wonderful planters. Be sure to drill holes for drainage or display plants in small pots set inside the can. Place a rock inside the cans to elevate the plant pots and prevent toppling in the wind.
Trellises For The Outdoor Space
Create trellises from cedar poles, scrap wood or a piece of latticework. Lattice can be painted in any colour you wish and is an inexpensive alternative to purchasing already-made trellises. As the backdrop to a garden bed or against a wall, lattice makes a great trellis for climbing plants.
Discarded fence sections make wonderful trellises for flowering vines and can be attached to the back of raised beds or simply erected to form a corner for a small planting. Two sections of fence placed at right angles makes a delightful backdrop for sprawling flowers like cosmos or tall stately flowers like hollyhocks.
Natural Elements For Your Dream Backyard
Use natural materials like stones or logs for borders to flower beds, as focal points in the yard or even to create a seating area. Natural twigs provide the basis for plant supports or simple trellises or can be used to make twig wreaths to display in your backyard. Taking advantage of the natural elements found in your area provides the material to design an attractive outdoor oasis without the cost of purchasing supplies.
Many backyard projects of garden design take days—if not weeks—to complete, and require a lot of expertise and materials. Don’t despair if you don’t have the time or patience to build a full stone patio or wooden deck, or create an award-winning rose garden; there are plenty of small-scale, easy backyard landscaping ideas that will improve your space even if you are a landscaping novice.
Tire Swing
Want to give your kids a place to play, but not up to building an entire play structure? Install a tire swing. Find an old tire in fairly good shape without an exposed steel belt. Wash it off with a high-pressure hose and drill a couple small holes in one side to drain rainwater. Tie a thick piece of rope around the tire with the holes on the bottom using a square knot, or other stable knots.
Double up the knot to make sure the swing is secure. Tie the swing to a solid tree branch, using a double knot to hold it in place. Cinch the knots tightly and leave a foot of extra rope in case the knot slips slightly as it settles. Take a few small swings to test the tire swing; if it holds you, it will hold your kids.
Fire Pit
A fire pit is little more than a hole in the ground, but it will give you many hours of outdoor enjoyment. To build a fire pit, assemble a circle of stones about two feet in diameter. Mark the area where the stones go by sticking a spade into the ground in several places around the circle, then remove the stones. Dig a foot-deep trench as wide as your stone circle, then fill it halfway full with gravel.
Pat the gravel down and assemble a ring of stones around it. Apply a zig-zag bead of masonry caulk on top of the first stone ring, and arrange a second ring of stones on top, so the seams don’t line up. Continue to build the fire pit upwards until it reaches your desired height. About a foot above the surrounding ground level is a good height for a fire pit.
Plant a Tree
Planting a tree is an easy way to improve your backyard. It provides shade, attractive foliage, fruit, flowers or all of the above. Select a hardy native tree and find a relatively flat spot, clear of any power lines or other overhanging obstacles that could get in the way. Dig a hole as deep as the root ball and about three times as wide.
Cut away any burlap around the root ball and place the tree in the hole. Have a friend hold the tree in place while you fill the hole up to the top of the roots with soil. Combine the soil with decomposed compost or manure to nourish the tree. Add a root-promoting fertilizer, and keep the soil damp by watering it every day or every other day for the first couple of weeks to allow the tree to establish itself.
Home Backyard Ideas
A few weekend projects can change the look of your backyard and transform it into your personal oasis. DIY backyard projects bring families together. Learn new construction skills and design methods, and add eye appeal and value to your home with some simple backyard projects.
Butterfly Gardens Are Great Backyard Design Ideas
A small 4×4- foot above-ground garden is ideal for attracting butterflies. Select a large sunny area to plant your garden. Build up the sides of the beds with railroad planks, stones or bricks, and fill in the area with good potting soil. Plants like honeysuckle, spicebush and hawthorn provide bush nectar to butterflies. Make puddles in the sand around the bushes for butterflies to bathe in, and make a garden path with flagstones leading from your home to the butterfly garden.
Yard Games
Section off a portion of your yard for game playing. Bocce ball is a game that friends and family will enjoy playing on sunny days. Bocce ball play requires a long runway, similar to a bowling alley lane. Clear away grass in a 20-foot section of yard at least 5-feet wide. Fill up the runway with smooth concrete to make a smooth area to roll the bocce balls and play the games.
Place rickets in your yard and create a playing maze for a rousing game of croquet. Make a giant size checkerboard with two different coloured tiles, which is enjoyable for a large party or family gathering.
Mini Beach For A Backyard Makeover
A miniature beach makes a peaceful escape right in your own backyard. Choose a corner of your yard to make a beach area. After painting your fence to make the fence look like the beach, add gravel to a wide area in front of it to serve as the base for your beach sand. Heap up beach sand in makeshift dunes. Driftwood and pampas grass make your beach area look real. Move a large fire pit into your “beach” area to enjoy a twilight fire with loved ones.
Planter Fountains
Amongst your potted plants, add a planter fountain. Fountains make a pretty sound as the water feature moves around. Make planter fountains from large pots that have small bubbling fountains placed inside them. Choose a planter fountain made from a ceramic material. Alternatively, recycle an old wooden bucket or some other interesting container you may already have in your yard.
Important Considerations
Backyard design remains a popular trend among homeowners who are looking for ways to transform their outdoor spaces into an extension of their homes for a little quiet time. Whether it’s a small backyard or a large one, creating outdoor living spaces is a good way to enhance the appeal and function of a new home.
From incorporating specific need features such as a garden to adding personal style elements like favourite plants, there are great ideas for every backyard size and shape. Some of the most popular small backyard ideas include vertical gardens, outdoor dining areas, and built-in seating areas.
Meanwhile, a large backyard offers plenty of opportunities for structural features such as decks, patios, and an outdoor dining area. Another good idea is to add visual interest to your backyard by using planters to decorate areas with colourful flowers.
The best approach to backyard design is to have a solid plan that incorporates your specific needs, personal tastes, and budget. By working with professionals, you can create a backyard design that is both functional and visually appealing while reflecting your unique personality.
