Give Your Yard a Nice Spring Cleaning and Landscaping and You’re Set for Your Yard Living

Unlike the Northern Hemisphere currently dealing with the cold autumn days and preparing for a harsh winter, we southerners have plenty of sunny days ahead to make full use of and tease friends and relatives who live in the northern parts of the world. Springtime is often associated with cleaning, and with the season halfway through, you still have the right amount of time to tackle some chores and set the ground for summer. I’m not talking only about your home, but also its extension – the yard. Though we somehow seem to overlook the importance of landscaping (with some praiseworthy exceptions of course), it’s good to consider the yard as the spot for a makeover too, not just the interior.

As much as I’ve always enjoyed staying out in my yard, just forgetting about the rest of the world and either focusing on a book or meditating, I never gave yard decorating much thought. Not that I didn’t want to, since I’ve had my share of admiring celebs’ luxurious and comfortable outdoor living rooms, but I didn’t consider it top priority. This was until I had to deal with a sewage pump situation, so my yard desperately needed a makeover. I didn’t do most of the decorating at once because I wasn’t sure what would work and what to avoid, so I found it best to start with the addition of dimension and texture by elevating the steps. From then on it was time to include greenery in the game, ornamental trees in particular.

I’ve been a fan of yard ornaments for long, but seeing the layers and layers of decorative items people put, ending up creating visual clutter and distraction from the beauty of greenery, made me fear committing the same yard style faux pas which is not the case when you rely on the charm of ornamental trees. It’s that kind of beauty that never goes out of fashion and there are all sorts of trees to satisfy everyone’s taste. Not knowing much about trees beforehand, I had to learn some basics to be able to choose accordingly, taking size, flowering, shade and location into consideration.

Stones are another great detail that just emphasises the natural beauty, and I made up an area full of landscaping stones varying in sizes, shapes and hues. Of course, nothing like breaking away from a monotonous look like the addition of flowers but I always make sure I choose ones that don’t require a lot of care, perfect for every season. Only after I’ve finished with the natural part did I start looking more into different designs of dining setting to create an intimate area surrounded by shrubs where we could enjoy our breakfast in the fresh air and morning sun. Creating the yard of my dreams felt like creating a masterpiece and the process still isn’t over. It’s also helped me learn how to be more eco-aware by using yard debris made of branches and clippings to make my own compost and fertilise the plants with no toxins.