It doesn’t take a large budget to take your back yard garden from boring to beautiful! With a few simple tips and ideas you can create a welcoming outdoor haven for your family and friends to enjoy for many years to come.
The Transformation
First, pick out the most obvious place to position a focal seating area. Walk your yard and feel for uneven terrain, look for shade and privacy, and decide where it is most convenient to permanently place an outdoor area. Once you have found the best place for your main outdoor living area, there are inexpensive and easy ways to accessorize.
1. An old dining set-The great thing about an old dining set is even if you don’t happen to have one you aren’t currently using, you can pick one up inexpensively at a yard sale or second hand store. The chairs do not have to match each other or the table. Paint all the pieces the same color with weather proof paint.
2. An outdoor rug-This can be used to anchor the main seating area. Laying pavers or concrete for a paved area is expensive and time consuming. A simple, decorative outdoor rug can provide the same affect. Plus, if you find the area you picked is not exactly the most conducive for your outdoor living plans, you can pick up and move the whole area.
3. Accessories-Decorating your new area could not be simpler. You can purchase discount plants and flowers-even imitation greenery-at almost any nursery, arts and crafts store or large retailer that carries seasonal plant items. Use your empty glass containers from flower arrangements as planters. A few simple tricks for lighting your area are to wrap your votive holders with matching ribbons to unify your individual theme, or use tea lights in brown paper bags-cut the paper bags down to half or one quarter tall so it does not lean over the flame. Even clear, holiday light strands can be conspicuously strung for ambient lighting.
4. Privacy-The easiest and least expensive way to create a privacy barrier is with a trellis and quick growing vines. You can get a large piece of lattice to work as a trellis for less money. Use four to five of them side by side. Four by four posts can be placed in the ground the width of the lattice pieces, mount the lattice to the posts securely, then plant a hearty, annual vine such as clematis under each piece of lattice. Before you know it, you will have privacy, shade and free, decorative flowers.
5. A fire pit-Pick the area you want the fire pit; and make it a safe distance from other furniture and yard accessories. Dig up the grass in a seven feet circular area; dig up the dirt down to eight inches from the surface; place four inches of pea gravel or river rock in pit, then four inches of sand; lay a circle of 12 inch high landscape pavers of your choice in a circle leaving an outside edge of the sand area around the fire pit; use a level to make sure all pavers are level with each other, if not, adjust sand under the unlevel pavers to even out; put a layer of extra gravel inside pavers around the entire bottom surface of pit. Also, you can buy a metal grate that is the same circumference of your paver circle to make your pit a grill and a cooking spot for a large pot if you want to try your hand at a clambake or low country boil.
6. Games-To keep the kids entertained, invest in a few staples like horseshoes and croquet. You can find these on clearance at retail stores at the end of the season or at yard sales if you’re lucky.
The Place to Be
Now that you have transformed your garden into a hospitable living area, it’s time to party. To make your outdoor space memorable, there are five basics to keep in mind: music, food, drinks, ambiance and socializing.
For any type of even you host, it is super easy to create your own DJ mix customized for the occasion. Food and drinks can be expensive, but remember, if you make your event a potluck, the guests share the cooking load and the expense of feeding everyone.
Ambience can be created by having a bag of balloons blown up at a retailer for a small fee, then attaching each balloon to chairs, flower pots and rocks placed around the garden strategically. For patriotic themes, take small flags and line the flower bed borders, driveways, and sidewalks.
If you remember to keep your cool, resolve to enjoy your guests and not worry about the work, hosting in your new outdoor living space will be a breeze. Your garden will become a welcoming oasis to your family and friends in need of an escape.
Image: Flickr.com/Gardening in a Minute
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