Landscaping By Design: 7 Ways to Make the Backyard Garden of Your Dreams Happen

June is the perfect time to realize your long held dream of having a backyard garden. It might feel overwhelming at times, trying to figure out what kind of landscaping you’re looking to do in your backyard that will compliment the design scheme of your outdoor furniture and  pillow and cushion covers. Fear not, for we have come to the rescue with seven helpful considerations to keep in mind when beginning the adventure of realizing the backyard of your dreams.

Picture Perfect

Curating a catalogue of photos is the essential first step in finding the creative inspiration you need to realize the perfect backyard landscape. Websites like Pinterest are a great place to start. You’ll find thousands of picture perfect gardens to choose from to build your dream garden vision board. When you do, keep a few things in mind:

• Recurring colors found in the flowers, vegetables, or accenting features.
• Garden styles you find yourself circling back to (Modern, Traditional, Cottage or Woodland are all common).
• The types of plants that interest you. Maybe you like roses. Or succulents? Structural evergreens? Beautiful flowering tree shrubs?
• The types of accenting features that make the whole garden pop. These include but are not limited to stone pathways, bird baths, water features, rock edging.

Style

As you start to build a vision board of eye-catching photos, you’re going to start seeing a pattern in the type of style you like. By curating these photos, you’ll find yourself at the corner of style and backyard practicality with the picture of a dream garden that best suits your sensibilities. Just keep that cross street in mind. You don’t want to let your ambition of what you want preclude the realistic, practical possibilities you have to work with. The best gardens come from a place of creative innovation. 

Tipping the Scales

The next step in the process is a little more tricky. Measure out the space you’re looking to alot and draw a scale plan. It’s actually a lot easier than you think. Properly planning your garden takes time. That means you need to know the exact dimensions in order to plan what plants and other materials you will choose. 

• Start by measuring the perimeter. 
• Using graph paper, mark down the measurements. In doing this, you’ll be able to scale down that size based on the squares in the paper.
• Use Google Maps for a birds eye view of your backyard. This will give you a larger perspective as to what is possible vs. what is plausible.
• Finally, you can even consult with a site surveyor for an expert’s opinion on essential boundary information.

What are you already working with?

Make notes about the conditions and characteristics of your backyard and mark them accordingly in your scale plan. 

• Make a note of where the sun rises and sets. The best way to do this is to mark the cardinal directions on your scale plan in relation to your backyard. This will help determine where plants are placed.
• Mark off industrial areas. This is important in noting where they cross over, or even under, your property.
• Mark off permanent fixtures. These include but are not limited to air conditioning units, sprinkler systems, and electrical units.
• Take note of directional winds. This will affect the life and longevity of plants.
• Mark terrain notes. These include but are not limited to changes in slope or grain in your backyard area. 
• Be resourceful. A garden is a perfect way to highlight attractive views and eclipse eyesores. You may even decide on a fence privacy screen to help keep prying eyes from peering into your now-luxurious backyard.

Wildest Dreams

Now that you have all the basics, you can start creating an inventory list of things you want your garden to have. These items will help bring your vision to fruition. 

• Patio Areas: chairs, tables, chaise lounges, and ottomans
• Barbeque Area: outdoor kitchen features, grills, dining tables, and chairs
• Water Features: fountains, waterfalls, and bird baths
• Vegetation: plants, fruit trees and bushes, flowers, and vegetables
• Innovation: greenhouses, hydroponic solutions, terraced, and vertical planting

While you likely won’t be able to include everything you want, it will help you whittle your list down to everything you need, including custom covers that will keep your hand picked accessories protected.

Research Work Makes the Dream Work

After you’ve settled on everything, it’s important to research the materials and prices in order to ensure you have the ways and means to properly and adequately execute your project when it finally gets rolling. Measure outdoor furniture to ensure that your sectional cover fits perfectly. Make sure you’re well informed about the differences between hardscape materials and natural life that you’ll eventually be growing. 

Making a Masterpiece

Consider drawing out your design scheme before putting into action. This will help to better conceptualize your vision when the big day finally arrives. And don’t worry about it looking picture perfect. You don’t have to be a professional artist to create an effective and creative first draft. A rough sketch goes a long way no matter how clean it is. Finally, remember to have fun. The moment you and your backyard have been waiting for is right around the corner.