Space is precious, and if you own your own property, you have a responsibility to get the most out of it. Whether you have a lot of outdoor space or just a small backyard, there’s so much you can do with your land so that you can enjoy your home even more and, in some cases, even help the local environment and community around you.
Here are a few tips to help you craft a stunning backyard, as well as to get more use out of the exterior space you have.
Design Your Perfect Backyard
One of the most obvious things you can do with your exterior space is to create a backyard where you and your family can relax and enjoy the outdoors. Sure, you might not spend a lot of time outside in winter, but this is a good time to design and make your dream backyard a reality.
First, think about what you’ll use your backyard for and why you want it. If you have kids or pets who like large, flat areas to run around on, a lawn is probably one of your best options. While lawns can be environmentally unfriendly, there are loads of options to help you create a lawn that is easier to maintain and that requires less water. Just using local grass can do wonders for your lawn’s water needs, or simply consider other options like a moss lawn.
If you like to eat outside or host BBQs, don’t forget about a cooking and eating place. A flat, fireproof surface is best for this. Concrete will work perfectly well, but paving stones are often more attractive. If you have wooden decking, be aware of any sparks that could come from a BBQ, especially if you use charcoal.
Flowerbeds, shrubs, and other plants can add some color and life to your backyard. Even if you have a smaller yard with no soil, potted plants can make it feel like a green oasis.
Create a Driveway
If you don’t have a driveway or a garage but you do have the space for it, then getting off-road parking should absolutely be a priority. Parking on the street can work perfectly fine, but it’s much less convenient than having a dedicated space to park on your property.
When you park on the street, you might lose the space outside your house quite often. If you have kids to get into the house or a load of groceries to carry in, the last thing you want is to have to walk half a mile just to get back into your own home because your street is full of other cars. While some areas have reserved parking for residents, off-road parking is still often more protected.
Another potential issue with parking on the street is safety and security. Your car is automatically more accessible to potential thieves, vandals, and even accidents. Parking it off the road provides a bit more protection.
A gravel driveway is an inexpensive and relatively eco-friendly option for easy parking on your property. Or you can get a paved driveway or, for more protected parking, invest in a garage to store your car in overnight.
Creating a Home for Local Biodiversity
One of the most important things you can do with your exterior space, especially if you have a lot of space going around, is to think about local plants and animals.
Some people create a wild border around their backyard, where they plant local wildflowers that encourage insects, especially pollinators, into their garden. In more urban areas, these small patches of wild growth can do so much to the local insects, small animals, and plants in the area.
Ponds can also be wonderful little habitats. While fish ponds are undeniably pretty, small frog or newt ponds can also be nice little havens for your family and local wildlife looking for a home. If you have a pond or any other water features, make sure your kids and pets aren’t unsupervised near it.
Rocks, bushes, and other natural features can also provide small habitats in your backyard. Whether you like the wild look or a more cultivated backyard, there are ways you can encourage the local environment to thrive in your area.
Growing Fruit and Veg
Growing your own fruit and vegetables can be one of the most rewarding ways to source your food. Unless you have a lot of land, you’re unlikely to become completely self-sufficient, especially over the winter months when fewer things are able to grow.
But you can cut down on the amount of supermarket fruit and vegetables that you need. This can eventually save you money, but more importantly, you get fresh, organic, and delicious food right in your own backyard.
Raised beds are a relatively easy way to grow a lot of vegetables, and you can get really good yields if you pay attention to what plants grow best in your area and how to get the most out of them. Even better, you can scale your gardening according to your needs and your abilities, growing your vegetable production over a few years until you’ve used up your space.
There’s something truly special about not only cooking from scratch, but cooking things you’ve grown yourself.
Garden Sheds and Structures
Another way to use the exterior space of your property is to set up garden sheds and structures. Greenhouses allow you to grow different types of fruit and vegetables, as well as extend your growing season, so you get better yields.
Sheds allow you to store things securely in your backyard, so they’re easy to access. You can also build workshops if you do a lot of tinkering or crafting and don’t want to mess up your home.
You can get prefabs and build simple sheds and structures yourself, although you’ll need to invest in powertools like a cordless nail gun to make it quicker and easier to build these structures. If you’re connecting them to power and plumbing, it does help to get a professional involved so you know it’ll work correctly.
