by Cheryl O'Brien

Created on: October 05, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

A Backyard That Works For You!

Designing your backyard need not be complicated or expensive. In its simplicity a backyard needs to reflect you, your family and your lifestyle. Consider how you would like to use your backyard.

Creating a space for children

Do you have small children who need a space to play outdoors? Would you like to grow some vegetables or herbs? Do you have or would you like some pets that will need some space? Do you enjoy outdoor entertaining? Would you like a screen from a neighbour's view?

When considering a space for children to play it need not be a large space, a well-designed play unit will be the heart of this space and with a little ingenuity it will give little ones many years of enjoyment while blending into the overall design of the backyard. A simple cubby house with a slide and furnished with tiny pieces of household equipment will engage little imaginations for hours while giving them a space to call their own. Cubby house design plans are freely available from many websites on the Internet.

Blend the cubby house in with its surrounds by planting a garden around it that will provide plenty of visual, olfactory, taste and mind stimulation for your children.

Grow edible goodies right by the cubby house to encourage the kids to interact with their mini-environment in every way. Mint, parsley & rosemary will grow profusely in pots and placed near the cubby house will discourage insects from entering the cubby while providing a pleasant scent with the added benefit of being tasty to nibble too.

Be adventurous in your design and allow traditionally seperate areas of a backyard to blend into one another. Plant flowers along with your vegetables and fruit. Calendula, lavendar, and marigold can all help to discourage various insects from attacking vegies while giving stimulation to the senses with their pleasant flowers and strong scents.

Screening your backyard.

To screen off unpleasant neighbours, or scenery you could use any number of techniques including planting a hedge of fruit trees which in turn provides the brilliant displays of flowers and fruit; building a trellis on which to grow a variety of vine fruits and vegetables, such as passionfruit, grapes, chokoes, pumpkins, melons, giving your garden upward space; screens can also be made from more traditional fencing materials. Do discuss your screening requirements with your local hardware merchant.

Water features

Water features were once considered to be too expensive and difficult

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