Backyards are no longer just a home’s exterior. They have become an important part of any home. They are outdoor living spaces that many people use to entertain friends and family and also a place where they can unwind and relax after a hectic week.
There are many ways to create a backyard getaway. Whether you are looking to create a space where you can escape to find peace and quiet or throw fabulous parties, there are many incredible ideas that you can use to create a backyard that you love.
The Best Ideas for a Great Backyard
Here is a look at 9 of the best ways to create the ultimate backyard for your home:
- Deck up your deck – Define different activity zones within your deck to make it a destination. With multiple levels, you can carve out separate spaces for relaxing and dining. You can cover a pergola with beautiful vines and abundant potted plants to bring your garden up onto the deck so that the structure blends into the landscape.
- Create the perfect patio – With the perfect design, you can make your patio a welcoming extension of your house where you can enjoy fresh air and cool breezes. With fantastic planning, you can turn your patio into a seasonal room that gives you comfort and relaxation. The surfaces of a patio are usually brick or stone. If you choose concrete, consider adding color and texture to give it a natural look. Add container gardens, planting beds and weather-proof furniture to add style to the outdoor space.
- Add an outdoor kitchen – If you love eating outdoors or grill at least two times a week from spring through fall, an outdoor kitchen is a must. You do not need to get a fancy grill. All you need is a countertop for food prep as well as a separate side burner, closed storage, and other conveniences to ensure that you have a fantastic outdoor cooking experience. To make pre and cleaning even easier, you should definitely add a fridge and sink. Now you can make food that will leave your guests salivating for more. Now you will have guests bring their own food over just so you can cook it in your incredible set up. You may even have the nearby barbecue restaurant asking you to cook for them!
- Get the privacy you want – You can make your outdoor space feel more like an oasis by adding an enclosure. For patios, garden walls, and fences are a salient way to ensure privacy. However, you can also use pergolas, lattice, and landscaping to define outdoor spaces and screen the views of houses around you.
- Create a shady hideaway – A little shade is always welcome, especially during the summer months. Your deck or patio will be even more enjoyable if it can provide you relief from the sun. You can create shade spots with the help of umbrellas, retractable awnings, mature trees, or even arbors and pergolas that have beautiful vines growing on them.
- Get the perfect furniture – When it comes to outdoor furniture, there are more choices than ever. Traditional wood, cast or wrought iron and cast or wrought aluminum are classics that always appeal. You will find new weatherproof, synthetic outdoor furniture in today’s market and they offer the same comfort, style and durability of anything that you may have in your home.
- Use outdoor structures to define spaces – You can add another level of luxury to your outdoor oasis with a gazebo. Whether it is built on the landscape, set near a pool or attached to the deck, it is an outdoor room that offers a protected space for relaxing, cooking or dining. You can define activity zones in your outdoor space with arbors, trellises, or pergolas. They offer a marvelous way to create focal points, transition from one area to another or divide areas based on their function.
- Add a spa or hot tub – To make your backyard your luxurious retreat, you can add a spa or hot tub and enjoy long, relaxing soak at the end of a hectic and stressful day. There are many things you need to consider before adding one of these – privacy, the best location for the tub or spa, access to the house and whether you want the spa in a sunny or shaded area. Once you figure all this out, you can enjoy the luxury of a spa in your backyard.
- Plan your outdoor lighting – To make sure that you get to enjoy your backyard paradise even after the sun goes down, outdoor lighting is vital. The most basic is porch lights that illuminate the way to your house and provide ambient lighting. Low-voltage lights and solar-powered accent lights are wonderful options to add drama and interest to your backyard landscape and to highlight paths.
Creating your personal oasis in your backyard is not difficult as long as you have a sparkling design and concrete planning. Your backyard can be the space that you cherish the most when you make it a place where you can entertain loved ones and relax and unwind in solitude whenever you want to.
A gazebo or pergola in a backyard is undoubtedly a prized possession for many. All it takes is a bit of care and maintenance to help keep a pergola in top shape for a long time. If you are looking for ways to maintain or restore a pergola and keep it in astounding shape for years to come, here are a few basic tips that can help.
From structure to shade, from utility to oomph factor, a pergola is a golden way to add beauty and character to your garden. While some pergolas may be more decorative than functional, they make your outdoor room cozy and inviting.
However, like the flowering buds in your garden, your pergola too needs upkeep and maintenance. If you clean and maintain a pergola, it will give you years of shade and comfort.
Most pergolas are open structures that 
A garden shed is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity that allows you to enjoy more storage space for your gardening tools and implements rather than using your garage for storage. You can easily invest in a panelized garden shed that you can erect yourself. Not only is such a shed aesthetically pleasing, it also is quite functional.
DIY panelized garden sheds come with pre-cut panels that already have 
It is important to use shelf space prudently. Anything that is small and organic, such as mulch or dirt should first go into waterproof packaging and then onto the shelf. This will prevent the shed’s floor from damage.
Similarly, pots, watering cans, fertilizer, and herbicides should also go onto a shelf. Make sure you label the shelf, so that you know what goes where. Place other small items in transparent plastic boxes with lids. Label the boxes on all sides, so that you know what they are for.
Place these in a systematic manner on the shelves. Boxes that hold items you need regularly for your garden maintenance and upkeep should be placed on lower shelves, while those you use sparingly or rarely should be placed on higher shelves.
Your wheelbarrow should be propped up against the wall, so that it is not in the way when you enter the shed.
Those days when the weather was warm and the sun was shining have become a distant memory. As you look around your garden, you notice the golden orange leaves falling lazily onto the ground and shrubs turning bare. With the nights closing in quicker, rain falling more often and the air getting cold it is time to overwinter the plants, put away the barbecue, winterize your gazebo, and cover the outdoor furniture with a waterproof covering that can withstand the harsh cold, wet, and freezing elements.
Here are some tips to help you prepare your garden to welcome the cold winter months.
However, you should still take measures to winterize your gazebo before you decide to head indoors into the warmth for winter. This way, your gazebo will not sustain expensive winter damage (warping or splintering of wood) and you will be able to use it when spring and summer come the next year.
Make it point to plant the seeds in early spring so that in the middle of winter, you will see a splash of color in your garden. Some flowers that are perfect for winter months include 
Spending time outdoors in your garden can be a constructive and altruistic hobby that provides hours of pleasure. However, many avid gardeners find that purchasing new vegetable seeds, flower seeds, and buying more fertilizer each growing year can be expensive.
By collecting and saving seeds from your flowering and vegetable plants, you will be able to save money that can be used for other garden needs such as a new garden shed, 
This can happen, for instance, if you have both bush and pole beans in your garden or short and tall varieties of marigold. To avoid cross pollination, you should plant the different varieties far from each other. You can also select the particular flower you want to take the seeds from and cover it with a plastic bag and hand pollinate it.
When it comes to fruits and vegetables with pulp, such as tomatoes, eggplant, and cucumber, you need to slice the vegetable open and scoop out the pulp and seed mix.
Place them in a glass container and add water. Stir and let rest so that the viable vegetable seeds drop to the bottom and the pulp and lighter seeds float to the top.
Remove these and repeat the process until all of the pulp is removed. Wash the vegetable seeds and dry them well before storing.
Wooden sheds and furniture all require the right care to ensure that they have a long life. Caring for your wooden outdoor structures not only increases their lifespan but also gives them a well maintained, aesthetically pleasing look.
Wood is one of the most beautiful of all materials to construct with and can convey a look of refined elegance. Most of the time, minimal and regular maintenance, prior knowledge of the problems that can occur, and a sharp eye can decrease the costs from damage caused by negligence.
Some things you can do to prevent rot in wooden sheds is to use decay resistant and pressure treated wood. When 
Use a planer and sander to create smooth surfaces and then polish it for that perfect finish.Wooden flooring can be sanded several times depending on the thickness of the wear and tear and your floor will last for several years.
For general care just clean your wooden outdoor furniture with some soapy water. Use mild cleaners otherwise you might damage the finish. If it needs extra cleaning sand it lightly and brush away any dust that might remain on the surface.
After you have cleaned it you now have the option to either oil it, paint it, or leave it as is so it transitions and ages naturally into that weathered look.
Your garden shed sometimes ends up looking like a junkyard where you simply store items that you can’t find an appropriate place for anywhere else in your home or probably garage.
In all that mess, you probably won’t be able to locate that trusty trowel you’ve been searching for, or that rake that you just can’t seem to find, meaning that you will find it easier to just head to the store and buy a new one.
If your shed is beginning to look like a chaotic mess, it may be the right time to get into shed organization. The end of summer is a great time to clean out and organize your shed. Here are some handy tips to make your shed organization project a breeze.
If you have too many duplicates of a certain item, they need to go. Anything that has been rusted or is broken and you haven’t gotten around to repairing them yet also needs to be thrown out. If there are a few items that can be recycled, keep them in a separate pile.
Use clear plastic shoe boxes to store plant markets, twine, and hand tools. Keep these at eye level so all it takes is a glance to know what’s in there. Remember to label here too!
Create some room at the back of your shed for long-handed tools such as shovels and rakes. If you have some extra space, you can use hooks screwed onto the wall to hang any medium-length tools. You can even throw in a few lightweight tools into a pair of tall rubber boots.
A clear plastic bag is a fabulous place to store gloves, seed packers, and miscellaneous hand tools. For an 
An overcrowded garage can make it difficult to park the cars your family owns. Moreover, it becomes difficult to locate tools, gardening equipment, and other items all stored together in the garage. Instead, you can build a storage shed that will contain the space to neatly organize gardening equipment and yard tools which will also increase the value of the property.
You are now ready to add vinyl siding to the exterior of the shed. Begin applying the siding from the edges with the decorative trim and work your way to the center.
Spending time outdoors in your garden is a wonderful way to enjoy the warmer months. However, this is when many people also schedule a vacation. While it is possible to leave your pets in special facilities, ensuring that your garden does not wither away when you are on vacation is much more complex. However, with proper planning you can come back to a 
