As spring starts to unfold, we all start remembering how pleasant it is just to be outside. We begin to look around our backyards and think of ways to make it more livable or pretty or fragrant. Once you get the idea to do something with your back yard, it’s either hard to get started or hard to stop from purchasing things you think will immediately transform your back yard. Before you spend spend time and money or get discouraged at your lack of progress, here are nine steps you can take to see your back yard transformed into the space of your dreams.
Have an Ideation Session — Brainstorm!
It’s really important to take time to discuss and ponder what you want, and include your household family in that discussion. Develop some clear and specific ideas of how you want your outdoor living space to look and what you want your yard to provide in terms of beauty, entertaining, level of ongoing maintenance, and so forth. Make sure the ideas you consider address your highest priority, problem, or need — for instance, privacy may be more important than a garden. Also your ideas can be very personal. For example, a father and son decided to replicate the Great Wall of China as part of their back yard design. Another couple built an attractive walking track to substitute for the community greenway they frequented. Remember this is YOUR space. If you need inspiration we suggest you review the blog post Outdoor Living Space: Six Ways to Plan and Start and the five-page worksheet, Getting Started — Research, Prep and Design. Schedule as many brainstorming sessions as necessary.
Write Down Your Top Five Ideas
List the top five ideas that come out of your sessions. Hopefully the top five includes your most important priority or problem. Post them in your home in a prominent and frequented spot — the front of your refrigerator, for instance. Then take some time to imagine how one idea or another may look — daydream. Think about how each idea may be impacted by the seasons and how YOU like to experience those seasons.
Narrow Your List to Three
Decide which ideas you and your family will implement — we recommend you narrow it down to three projects, to start. Be honest and realistic about the biggest issue you have in your yard or what is going to bring you the most use or joy. Your complete yard transformation won’t happen all in one season so tackle, for you, the most important project first. It is reasonable that you’ll be able to accomplish about three projects a year as the weather permits. Then use the coming winter season to plan next summer’s “transform your back yard” projects.
Mock up the Back Yard
Using stakes, string, hoses, etc. mock up the various elements of your projects into position, using string and stakes for straight lines and hoses for curved ones. This exercise is an important part of the plan – it’s a practical way to make sure there is room for everything, that placement of each project is optimal, and that all the elements work in harmony. Really, think of it as generating a floor plan for your yard. Leave the mock up in place for a couple of days to give you time to walk around it and look at it at different times of the day and weather conditions. It’s also a great time to change your mind about something, before any digging has been done, concrete poured, gardens planted, etc.
Solicit Opinions
This may be optional for some, but we found it helpful to ask some close friends their opinions of our ideas and yard mock up. You might wish to ask friends or family who have experience in the types of projects you are considering, or whose creativity you value. This also may be the point in time you want to consult an independent professional. We hired Dan Chitwood in the Roanoke area to give us ideas for our back yard. Although we didn’t implement every suggestion he provided, he gave us a plan which we have used as a general guide moving forward. If no one comes to mind, we would be happy to help you. Just remember that we are not professional landscape designers, but we always have opinions to share based on our experience creating our own outdoor living space.
Commit “Transform Your Back Yard” Projects to Paper
Make a rough drawing of your lot and house. Note the actual measurements of your lot, the position of your house and include any easements, the location of water lines or spigots, electrical lines or outlets and anything else that should be considered.
- Some of this information can be found on your plat survey that you should have received with all of the paperwork when you bought your house.
- Easement information can be acquired from your local zoning and code office. Remember, there are different easements and set-backs for elements such as privacy fences, garden sheds, utility right-of-ways, and so forth so describe to the your local zoning and code office your project plan to learn the specifics of your project complying with local codes.
- For planning purposes, and ALWAYS before you start digging up substantial earth, call 811 and have all of your underground utilities marked on your property. Without doing this critical step, a favorite idea of yours may not be viable due to the location of immovable utilities underground. That being said, we did have a gas line moved because of where we wanted our privacy fence to be placed. So don’t be discouraged if your current utility locations conflict with your yard transformation until you talk with the utility company. Note: If you do not have utilities marked before you dig and you damage a utility line, you will be responsible to the utility company for the cost of the repairs.
Now start measuring the outlines of your deck, patio, pool, sandbox, play area, gardens, etc. and position their appropriate location on your rough drawing. This will give you a “birds eye view” of what your potential yard transformation will look like and you can decide if you have too many or too little elements.
Develop Your Budget
Whether you intend to do the work yourself (DIY) or hire someone to do it for you, it is important that you have a budget. We recommend you read the blog post A Patio Budgeting Guide so you can calculate a workable budget. Adjustments may need to be made as to element priority or project timing depending on the cost estimates you receive from vendors, suppliers, and installers. The goal is to weigh, of the three projects you’ll do in the first season, which is the most important, then the next, and then the third. Then, if you have to make compromises to stay within your total budget, you’ll have an idea of what to scale back on first. It’s better to be realistic on the front end rather than disappointed on the backend. But remember this: there is more than one solution to a design problem. Try not to compromise on your number one element, but don’t give up on elements two and three. Just think of a creative way to bring those elements to fruition and stay within your budget. Nothing is more dissatisfying than an incomplete backyard project.
Develop your Timeline
Communication of project plans between yourself as a DIYer and all your vendors is key to making all projects come off without a hitch. You need to know the critical paths to ensure a successful outcome. From our experience, for example, we learned that it would be better to pour our concrete patio first and then install the fence. Otherwise, we stood a good chance of having to remove some of the fence to make room for the concrete equipment and then re-installing the fence adding to the overall cost of the project. You can read about that project here: Privacy Fence for Your Patio.
To Transform Your Back Yard, Break Ground
There is something very exciting when your backyard project finally starts — to see your ideas become real. But stay flexible. During each phase of your project there may need to be adjustments — very few projects get to completion without some hick-up. Sometimes a seemingly negative issue may end up being a happy mistake after you plan a work-around to a potentially better solution than originally planned. Be open minded and stay creative. And stay focused on your goal.
Transform Your Back Yard: Nine Key Steps
In a nutshell, here are the nine steps you can DIY to transform your yard into you best outdoor living space:
- Have an Ideation Session(s) — Brainstorm
- Write Down the Top Five
- Narrow it Down to Three
- Mock up the Back Yard
- Solicit Opinions
- Commit the Projects to Paper
- Develop Your Budget
- Develop Your Timeline
- Break Ground
Measure Twice, Cut Once
There is an old adage that says, “measure twice, cut once.” In other words, your project will be more successful with less errors and heartache if you spend time on the front end to think about your project and create as detailed a plan as possible. Details are important to avoid missteps that could cost time and money. Value the planning stage and you’ll be happier with your finished project.
While you may not yet see it during the planning stage, when you transform your back yard into the dynamic outdoor living space that you can’t wait to throughly enjoy, you’ll come to understand our adage: every day is Friday on the patio!
Transform Your Back Yard FAQs
How do you landscape for beginners?
- Determine and list landscape needs and wants
- Think about location — study the sun and wind patterns
- Spend time in your landscape
- Start small
- Find a focal point
- Focus on scale and pacing
- Be open to change
What are the five steps of landscape planning?
- Conducting a site inventory and analysis
- Determining your needs
- Creating functional diagrams
- Developing conceptual design plans
- Drawing a final design plan
How do I create a landscape layout?
How much value does a nice backyard add?
It is estimated that well-designed patios not only add 8-10% to home value, but also earn an ROI of over 80%.
Please Leave a Comment: Transform Your Back Yard
Leave a comment below and tell us if this information was of value to you or let us know what we missed and can add to this post. Have you started planning to transform your back yard? Have you used a process to help you make decisions? If your project is underway, has your process helped keep your project on-track and on-budget? Please post a photo so we can see what’s happening or your finished project.
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OK, So I decided to clear out a bed along a wall. I pulled, cut, & hoed a long patch of established bromeliads (I live in Florida) with snake plant (mother-in-law tongue). I don’t know what else was in there, but I’ve had quite the week of suffering with very itchy tiny blisters along both arms & on 1 knee. Lesson learned: wear gloves, long sleeves & long pants with sturdy shoes on a project like this!
Carrie: So sorry you learned the hard way. Because ticks are a threat here in Virginia we always “suit up” when working in our garden. Our favorite “suit” is a pair of denim or painter overalls — covers everything and looks good when dirty. And we also bought some steel toed boots just in case something heavy slips through our fingers and lands on our toes. Sounds like you need one of Julie’s Cosmopolitan cocktails to help with your recovery. Check out “Patio Food” on livingonthepatio.com.