While some believe that the importance of lawns is decreasing, the modern American homeowner disagrees. 79% of home buyers site a backyard as a critical feature when shopping for property.
This makes sense when you consider that there are a plethora of benefits to relaxing outside, including the benefits of vitamin D from sunlight and stress reduction from gardening and lawn maintenance. To make your space as restful as possible, you’ll need to invest in modern backyard design features. Read on to make your outdoor living space as awesome as it can be.
1. Fabulous Flower Gardens
No outdoor living space would be complete without a timeless flower garden. You can choose the flowers that you most like and cultivate them based on the amount of sun or shade that you have. Make sure that you place flowers that need more sunlight in areas that get the most shine. You can plant those that require more shade behind fences or under trellises.
Classic sunflowers, roses, and carnations never go out of style. In addition, though, you should plant some more unique flowers to express your individuality. Bleeding hearts, marigolds, Himalayan poppies, and milkweed are a few of the best options open to you.
2. Grow Some Veggies
If you want to grow something delicious to eat, there are tons of vegetables that you can cultivate in your garden. Whether you put them in the same place as your flowers is up to you. Creating two gardens in different areas of your yard may be a great way to fill your space and make it look cohesive.
Growing lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes is a great way to create a fresh salad. You can add grilled chicken to these veggies for protein and dig in. You can also grow bell peppers, radishes, and squash so that you have something to cook (or eat raw) as a delicious snack.
3. Incorporate Vines and Trellises
We brushed earlier on how trellises are a great way to shade flowers that shouldn’t be in direct sunlight. You can make these trellises more opaque (and beautiful) by twining vines through them. Consider using those that don’t have flowers, such as ivy, to create a nice contrast with the floral garden that you have.
Ivy also looks great when grown over stone, so if you want your trellis to match a stone wall or accent, this is a great way to go. If you really want vines that bloom, baby’s breath and jasmine are good choices.
4. Rock and Roll With Rock Gardens
Building a rock garden is a fun way to get creative. These features make for an amazing yard centerpiece that goes with a fountain or well. You can also use them as a divider between your flower and vegetable gardens.
Pair these beach pebbles with larger flagstone to create some variety in your rock garden. If you like arts and crafts, you can also paint some regularly-sized garden rocks in various colors and styles. Add them to your garden in the shapes of stars, diamonds, circles, or rectangles.
5. Add a Central Water Feature
Fountains and wells are the perfect centerpieces for your yard and look awesome when surrounded by different types of stone. If you’re dedicated and want a waterfall or pond, it’s possible to DIY these features too. You can figure out what water feature makes the best focal point by browsing images on Pinterest and making notes of what you like best.
If this sounds complex and you’re low on time, a store-bought birdbath will do the trick until you can spend time on creating a more intricate water feature. This is also a great way to attract birds to your yard if you’re a fan of watching them. For added motivation for birds, add a bird feeder and place it right next to the birdbath.
6. Heat Up Your Space With a Fire Pit
Does the idea of a campfire on a warm summer night appeal to you? Do you want to call your friends over and make s’mores while chatting over a warm open flame?
If the answer to these questions is ‘yes,’ a fire pit may be the perfect design feature for your yard. You can build one by digging a hole in the ground and lining it with fireproof bricks. Make sure that the bricks protrude from the ground to stop the spread of potentially dangerous flames onto your lawn. Grab some firewood, stoke the fire, and get grilling!
7. Perfect Your Patio Seating Area
Finally, your lawn should be a sanctuary where you can sit and read on warm summer days. Get some comfy chairs that you can curl up with a good book in. Arrange them on your patio in an aesthetically pleasing configuration if you have an outdoor seating space.
If you don’t have a patio, that’s also okay- you can line an area of your yard with some attractive wood and place your chairs on that. This will keep them flat and comfortable while you relax. You won’t need to worry about wobbling around, and assuming that you have a side table for drinks, you won’t need to worry about spills, either.
Grow Your Modern Backyard Design Today
Now that you have some of the best modern backyard design ideas out there, it’s time to begin sprucing up your space. Check out the ‘home improvement’ tab on our home page for some tips on how to make your outdoor decor as eye-catching and unique as possible.
You can also use our search function to look into any topics related to landscaping, so what are you waiting for? Start browsing and planning your renovations ASAP!
