Building your dream backyard can be a rewarding experience. You get to create a special place for you and your family where you can make memories and enjoy spending time together. To start off, you need a plan that will guide your efforts. On the plan, you need to sketch where everything you need to make your backyard space functional will go. Before buying any materials or starting to dig, take some time to visualize what you want the finished garden to look like. Once your plan is complete, make a list of all the materials and tools you may need to accomplish what you set out to do.
Below are some tips on what you should consider when planning your dreamy backyard makeover.
Get the Proper Equipment
The proper equipment needed to build your dream backyard will depend on what changes you plan to make in the existing backyard. If you only want to landscape the lawn and flower bed areas, you may not need to buy any specialized equipment. The basics found in your toolshed, like a shovel, rake, hoe, watering can or garden hose, shears, and of course, gloves and safety glasses, will be sufficient to cope with most straightforward landscaping projects.
If you plan to alter any of your hardscaping features or build some new ones, you may need more heavy-duty, specialized tools before you can build your dream backyard. For instance, if you want to fix or build a deck in your garden, you will need things like a saw, hammer, level, drill, measuring tape, decking boards, railings, and posts.
For building a concrete patio, you will need a concrete mixer, wheelbarrow, stakes, concrete forms, rebar, and concrete mix.
Depending on the size of your lawn, you may get away with just a regular lawnmower, but if you have acres of beautifully manicured grass area, you may need the Kubota tractor package lawn care equipment package to whip your grass into shape.
To compile a more accurate list, you can decide what you need according to your plan.
Don’t Forget About Hardscaping
You deserve a place for relaxing and chilling after work. So, create a space that everyone can enjoy. There is much to consider when deciding where all the pieces must go, but as long as you keep everything functional, you will pull the whole outdoor look together. If your plan fails, there is always a local hardscaping company on standby to assist you in your endeavors.
You may want to add a patio or a fire pit for those long winter nights you can spend by the fire to help build your dream backyard. In fact, you may even decide that you want to build an entire outside kitchen complete with a brick oven.
Before your imagination runs away with you and you start building the biggest patio you ever owned, check with your municipal laws to see if you need any permits for your construction project.
Get Proper Sewage
If you are one of the lucky people who has a huge backyard where you host parties regularly for more than 30 people at a time, you may need to build an additional sewage system before you can build your dream backyard. For instance, if you want to install a water feature, a pool, or a hot tub, you may need more than your current sewage system to handle the increased volume of wastewater.
Having a beautiful garden with many plants takes a lot of water. To save your water bill, you may want to install a system that treats wastewater from the dishwasher or recycles the grey water from sinks, showers, and baths at home. The cleaned, recycled water may be used for watering purposes.
Since you already plan to dig up the backyard to implement changes, it is a great time to improve your sewage system at the same time. To decide which type of sewage system is best for you will depend on your specific needs and circumstances. It is important to consult with a qualified engineer or contractor before doing any work yourself. (Just in case you under or overestimate your needs.)
One thing we should have mentioned while talking about sewage and drains is the benefit of installing an agricultural drain in your dream garden. Of course, it applies only to those who have a large property because there is no point in installing agricultural drains in a small, terraced house garden.
Agricultural drains are convenient if you have a large lawn, but find that in spring, after all the snow melts, part of your garden or lawn turns into a swamp. The water stands for many days, and that part of your garden becomes unusable during those months. Installing an agricultural drain to dry off the waterlogged area may be just the solution you need.
Pay Attention to Small Details
While you sketch out a plan to take care of all the big stuff you need to build your dream backyard, don’t forget to pay attention to details. You may have an existing patio or pathways in the garden. Take a look at what condition they are in. Are there a multitude of cracks appearing on the surface so that your patio looks like a spider web? Is your driveway smooth or full of bumps?
Taking care of those areas while doing the major garden renovation will kill two birds with one stone. All it takes is looking up a concrete pumping business to order some for the resurfacing of the patio. While you Google trades, look up a company that handles asphalt repair for that driveway. This way, you will only have one mess to put up with instead of dealing with it once your new garden is in use.
Keep Things Tidy
Unfortunately, while you build your dream backyard, you will likely make quite a mess. Luckily, we have tips for you to help you keep the mess under control. Remember, it is always better to clean as you go than to leave the mess till the end of the build, hoping to hire a waste disposal company to help you clean up.
Prevention is always better than cure, so instead of waiting for dirt to build up, schedule regular cleaning times to remove any accumulated dirt and dust. You can do that with a power washer or hire a professional cleaning company.
It is always a good idea to protect your grass by using a tarp while doing any kind of renovation at your home. The tarp will protect your lawn from being squashed by many feet and covered by a mountain of building dust as you build your dream backyard. If you don’t own a handy tarp, you can pick one up at a local hardware store.
Make sure you keep your tools clean by giving them a good rinse and washing them at the end of each day. The same goes for your workspace. A cluster of tools may be dangerous to other workers. Put all tools away when you are not using them.
Don’t forget to sweep the floor to collect excessive dirt and debris. The same goes for your shoes. You can wear boots or shoe covers to prevent tracking dirt with you everywhere you go, especially before you enter the house.
Don’t Be Afraid to Expand Your Hard!
Many garden owners have a part of their garden they hardly ever visit. Often, that part is at the back of the house and overgrown with vegetation. When designing your dream backyard, make a plan to clean out that neglected corner. You might be surprised how much space you can reclaim. If you feel that it would be too big a job for you to handle alone, hire a local brush clearing company to help you.
Once that space is cleaned out, reassess your plans, and you may be pleasantly surprised to find that now you have space to extend that patio and create more space for entertainment.
Get Your Garden and Plants in Shape
As you build your dream backyard, don’t forget to observe the flowers and plants you already have. When you are finished with all building projects and your patio looks bright, new, and clean, make sure that the rest of the garden is also looking the same way.
Take stock and decide whether you need to tidy them up or completely replant them. Most of the time, your plants can stay where they are unless you do a complete garden overhaul.
Look for any obvious flaws like broken or dead branches on the trees, tall weeds, and grass that is way too long. These flaws can easily be fixed. If you don’t take care of these little things, then your garden will never look its best, even
if you revamp everything else.
To let your garden look its best, remove all the necessary eyesores. First, make sure you remove any spent perennials and check that the remaining flowers don’t have any dead heads among them. Removing flowers that are past their prime will make your whole garden look neater, and it’s good for the plants, too.
Now, you can turn your attention to the shrubs. Prune any dead branches and trim down the overgrowth. It will instantly make your garden look neater and fresh. Attend to the grass. Mow the lawn and trim the edges. Crisp edges around the paths and patio create a nice, orderly look. Lastly, pull out the weeds from the flower beds and lawn.
Concentrate on taking out the biggest ones first. If you omit to take out a couple of small clovers growing among the ground cover, nobody will notice.
Take a walk around the garden, taking a turn to walk underneath your trees. If your head can touch the branches, it may be time to trim them. Trees can be quite tricky to trim; they are usually large, and even if you are trimming just a branch, it may be too large for you to handle safely. For professional tree trimming, contact your local tree services.
Get Some Shade
If your dream garden does not have any trees, you may need to plant some. Trees bring many benefits to your garden. From the aesthetic point of view, trees add height to your garden, creating that polished, layered landscaped look. Adding a tree as a focal point will add visual interest even to a small garden.
Adding trees to your garden provides a structure where all the other plants make sense. Trees anchor plants around them and provide a sense of scale.
Carefully chosen trees can add color to your garden throughout the seasons. Asking professionals from tree companies for advice on which type of tree would be the best fit for your dream backyard is a good idea.
Trees also provide space for wildlife to gather and thrive, making your backyard come alive with bird songs and the buzzing of pollinating insects.
Another more subtle advantage of planting trees in your garden is that they provide privacy and help block out your neighbor’s yard from your view.
If you don’t want to plant ornamental trees while you build your dream backyard, perhaps you could consider planting a fruit tree. This way, you will have a tree all year round and be able to gather fruit in summer or early autumn.
Of course, once you have a tree in the garden, you may need to build a wooden bench to place beneath it. Using wood to make the bench would be most fitting as wood is a natural material that will blend organically with the backdrop of your tree. To buy reclaimed wood for your bench, you may need to contact lumber companies.
So, these are our tips on how to build your dream backyard. When you first start thinking about the project, it may seem like it is too much. However, if you take each step at a time, starting with a plan, making sure you have proper tools for the job, doing some maintenance or building extensions to your hardscaped features, making sure that your sewage needs are taken care of and paying attention to details as to what else needs fixing while your dream back yard is taking shape, the whole project can be completed sooner and with less stress than you think.
Here is to your brand-new dream backyard.
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