My dad always believed your home is an extension of yourself. He always treasured how our yard looked, so we would redecorate it whenever the season changed. Helping customize a seemingly enormous house and lawn was exhausting work for anyone, let alone for a young kid. However, I didn’t mind the labor because I was having a blast with my old man. Those memories come flooding back when our backyard trees shed leaves, the first snow of late Autumn begins to fall or our yard comes back to life after the frigid months finally end. I still cherish them to this day, which is why I intend to keep this family tradition alive with my son. If your outdoor space doesn’t age harmoniously with nature, use these ideas I learned from my dad to customize your yard to match the changing seasons.
Buy Hardy Furniture
Rule number one to make your yard as aesthetically versatile as possible is to outfit it with weather-resistant furniture. Customizing your outdoor space as the season changes doesn’t mean bringing out new tables and chairs multiple times a year — ensure you have a set that can function in the spring, summer, fall and winter. Wood should be top of your list. It’s generally prone to moisture damage, but acacia, bamboo, eucalyptus, rattan and teak are the exceptions. These woods can last long and stay beautiful with proper care. Plastic also makes a sturdy outdoor furniture material. It comes in various colors and lends itself to spray repainting to restore its charm when it fades. Ultraviolet light-resistant plastic furniture is more immune to discoloration. Aluminum is another solid option — it’s lightweight, allowing you to move the pieces around as you see fit.
Invest in a Fire Pit
A fire pit is a definite center of attention. It helps establish your desired patio ambience, renders your outdoor space usable all year round and is a spectacular source of illumination artificial
lights can’t replicate. If you usually experience prolonged hot weather, consider a portable fire pit you can conveniently store when the night is muggy and bring out when the temperature drops.
Add a Pergola
Introducing a pergola to your yard opens more seating possibilities. My father used it as our designed outdoor area for dining and entertainment. The beams and columns are perfect for growing vines, enabling you to inject greenery into your finished outdoor space. Regarding weather protection, a pergola can provide shade without completely blocking natural light, keeping sunny months lively and making them bearable. Attach fabric to it to shield you from precipitation and keep your activity going despite harsh elements. You can even build it yourself and save hundreds of bucks if you have the tools, skill and bandwidth to construct it.
Think About Outdoor Lighting
Well-thought-out lighting can reinforce your yard’s seasonal beauty. Rope lights energize fixtures like a gazebo during spring. Festive string lights can make summer gatherings more inviting. Up lights emphasize the height of trees, while downlights brighten up the pathways during fall’s short days. Glowing candles on tables and in lanterns add drama to wintry evenings. My dad didn’t have as many lighting options in his day, but he would’ve gone nuts with today’s choices.
Plant Seasonal Crops
Some fruits and vegetables symbolize specific seasons. Why not grow them at home so they naturally decorate your yard? For spring, display baskets of your bountiful harvest of cabbage, lettuce and rhubarb at your front door. They grow fast and take up little space, so begin planting them when it’s cool. Nothing screams summer more than blackberries, bell peppers, blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini. With his green thumb, my dad grew some in pots and incorporated them into our yard’s summer look. Pumpkins are a staple of Halloween and Thanksgiving, making them quintessentially autumnal. They’re also beginner friendly, so you can grow a bunch of these orange goodies in time for the
holidays.
Display a Garden Flag
My father was a huge fan of garden flags. These decorative elements make your yard design seasonally on point. They’re visual representations of what year it is or your garden plants. A flag can also express the holidays you hold dear.They aren’t tacky when used correctly — for example, they should complement your existing decorations. Leave no gap in where you place them or they may become an eyesore. You can change garden flags every few months without buying new ones. Some come in colorfast dye that stays vibrant after many washes. They’re also customizable, so you can bring your unique ideas to life and tailor them to your property.
Do Lawn Art
Lawn care is many men’s favorite household chore, aside from grilling. If you’re a creative person who knows your way around a lawn mower — like my old man was — an edge trimmer
and a weed whacker, turn your yard into your canvas. Making seasonal symbols — like an egg for spring or a snowflake for winter — from grass is a fun project. It’s an opportunity to get your hands dirty, which is a healthy, productive way to reduce stress after a busy work week. Lawn art can increase your home’s curb appeal, making your yard the neighborhood’s envy. Such a head-turner can be a testament to your hard work and source of pride.
Nail Your Accents
Embellishing your front steps, lawn or porch with thoughtful ornaments gives your yard a noticeable makeover whenever seasons change. Conventional terra cotta clay pots exist quietly in the background. On the other hand, high-end pottery — like decorative bowls, whimsical statuettes and crafty vases — arrest the eye. You can fill decorative pots with pebbles, pinecones or plants to bring some life to your backyard.
Use Annual Plants
Annuals are more reliable decorative features than perennials, blooming quickly and profusely to beautify an otherwise barren landscape with striking colors matching the season. They come
in a vast array of hues, sizes and patterns, giving you considerable latitude in customizing your outdoor space. Although annuals only bloom once, they can last until frost. Their blooming window can span three seasons, so you can get plenty of mileage out of them. In comparison, perennial plants have more growing seasons but only last weeks at a time. When they die in late fall or early winter, some may sow themselves and germinate independently. Until they bloom again, consider using faux flowers to keep your yard warm and gorgeous. Quality options are indistinguishable from the real thing, so observers won’t know the difference.
Make Your Yard Aesthetically Timeless
Matching the look of changing seasons can be a challenging endeavor. However, it’s worth the effort if you take pride in your home exterior’s appearance. There are no shortcuts to enchanting yard design, but hopefully, these wonderful ideas give you inspiration.
