Although many people have a tendency to see their backyards as yet another tedious chore to tack on to the already growing list of household chores, I like to think of mine as my own private hideaway. I will grant you there is work involved in maintaining a beautiful backyard, but I prefer to see it as a distraction from the responsibilities I encounter from the moment I wake up until I lay my head on the pillow at night.
It almost doesn’t matter what noise is going on around me, once I jump into my backyard work clothes, I step outside and my entire mental state is transformed. If you are one of those who can only see the work ahead of you, rather than a world of endless possibility, might I suggest you allow your creativity to go to work before you expend an ounce of energy whacking weeds or trimming bushes.
To accomplish this, pull up your bench and let your mind wander. What did you say? You don’t own one in your collection of backyard furniture? Lounging on a quality bench such as the Oxford Garden Chadwick Bench, in my opinion, is a prerequisite for allowing your imagination to run wild and for solving the most seemingly difficult equations.
Now that your bench and you have become inseparable, you can take steps to transform your yard that keeps trying to become a jungle into the place where you too can get away from it all.
These are some things that are important to most gardeners:
- Creating clear distinction between one area and another (repeat as necessary)
- Giving the garden a burst of color all season
- Maintaining a weed-free garden
By dividing your yard into sections, nothing is all that daunting:
Landscaping
- For heavy traffic areas, create walkways (pavers perhaps rather than grass?)
- After determining what goes where (eating area, play area, gaze upon its beauty area), create balance between soft plants and shade trees
- For something to focus on, create sharp lines between your lawn, your relaxation area and your play area
Planting
- Think of each season as a time to offer new colors by alternating what blooms when
- In addition to rich colors, think of rich textures that complement the colors
- Be mindful of what requires lots of fertilizer and what doesn’t
Weeds (Not that Word Again!)
- They are like a cold that lingers; we all get them, none of us wants them
- They’re less formidable when they are little
- Fertilize your grass regularly to keep it healthy and strong, choking out weeds
Yard work requires a watchful eye. As soon as one section looks the way you want it, another area wants attention and asks to be improved upon. Perhaps today you see a plot of grass in one area, tomorrow you might realize this is an ideal area for a couple of benches. Furniture is a great way to create a natural division as well as to establish a nice place in which to relax. Maybe a meandering walkway works better. Gravel, pavers and concrete offer a great walkway, without the maintenance of grass.
There are a myriad ways to create borders between different areas, for example, a play area and your – outdoor living room. Maybe you like formal borders and want to use plastic or wood edging to accomplish this. I create the edges by keeping the lines between grass and beds clean by trimming lawn edges and pushing soil and mulch back into the beds. You will see me regularly pruning flowers and shrubs to keep things presentable. I would love to tell you that I don’t get visited by a plethora of animals whose only mission, it seems, is to eat anything in their path. It is a never-ending battle, I admit.
For those bald patches created by wildlife, I will incorporate a healthy mix of ground cover to create a natural look, one that doesn’t seem too manicured. I then graduate my plantings; smaller plants in front, then larger ones the further back you go. I do this with a combination of perennials and shrubs, first smaller, then larger. This offers bursts of color interspersed with texture, but the shift is a gradual effect. My goal is to always have something in bloom all season long, mixed with lots of green. If you are uncertain what grows best in your climate, your local nursery can help you find what is ideal for your planting zone. To make the most of your purchases, be mindful of what areas on your property receive direct, partial and all-day sun exposure, and place plants according to their needs.
Although weeds can be a four-letter word, pulling them isn’t as daunting as maintaining a beautiful lawn. With the exception of winter, weeds do grow quickly and you may have to use a weed killer on occasion in between using fertilizer. If this goes against your environmentally conscious nature (as the run off does end up in our waterways), then instead, you can opt for pulling them out, rather than killing with a harmful chemical. The larger your plot of land, surely the more work that it will take, but it will be so worth it!
If the thought of pulling weeds is tantamount to having a root canal, there are many low-maintenance alternatives to consider. Again, an Internet search or a visit to your local nursery can yield many answers. I try not to think of my backyard as work, but rather an outdoor extension of my peaceful home. I personally love having a place I can go to get away from it all. This could mean an area to entertain with friends and family, a section to contemplate the vastness of life, or a place to take a nap after I have done said yard work. I am also mindful of my furniture. Storage benches, like the Suncast Resin Patio Storage Bench, can serve two functions; a place for shut-eye and one to put all your garden tools.
And when you are done pulling, designing, reshaping your yard and maintaining it, it is important not to forget the most important thing. Enjoy your yard! Ideally, your work should be minimal in comparison to the amount of time you spend relaxing with your family, friends and pets.
About Stan Horst
Having spent years building cabinets and other wood furniture, Stan Horst developed a keen eye for quality construction and aesthetics. On his website Betterbenches.com, youíll find all kinds of benches reviewed. Stan and his wife, along with their two teenage children and dog live in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He and Deb run a well-known VA rental cabins resort, which keeps them constantly in tune with nature. When they arenít entertaining folks from across the globe, you can find them enjoying the great outdoors with activities that include camping, hiking and spending time in his garden.
