Projects to upgrade your backyard

Your backyard is your personal part of the great outdoors, and that means different things to different people. For some, a backyard is a retreat from the bustle of the world. For others, it provides the opportunity to bring the world home.

It can be a place to play, a food and flower garden area, an open-air gym, or all of these. It’s a blank slate to craft whatever picture you want.

Backyard upgrade projects range from inexpensive and DIY-friendly, like planting a garden or building a trellis, to major operations like installing a pool or building a fireplace. Some are one-offs, but many aren’t. It’s common for one project to lead to another as you gradually create your retreat or gathering space.

Here are some upgrades you can do this year to get things started.

Start your backyard makeover by establishing in-ground gardens, placing container gardens around the yard and planting trees and shrubs.

Plants and gardens subdivide your yard into specific areas, and they take a while to grow. Planting is also one of the least costly backyard projects, as long as you don’t mind doing the work.

If you want to group plants into mutually supportive companion clusters, container gardens are a good way to go. You can build containers out of wood, or buy easy-to-assemble container kits online.

Check out these 10 raised bed garden ideas.

If water pools in your yard or digs deep trenches as it flows from one place to another, make drainage control one of your priorities. Backfill depressions with dirt and topsoil, level uneven ground with a rake and shovel, and install French drains where standing water collects. Control drainage gives you more real estate for planting and building.

Here’s how to achieve better yard drainage.

If you do a lot of gardening, you’ll need a shed to store your tools and supplies. You can build a simple plywood shed with a composite roof, or purchase one and drop it onto a gravel or concrete foundation.

Here are 24 tips for turning a shed into a tiny hideaway.

The most common ways to establish permanent seating areas in your backyard are by building a patio or a deck.

A patio is easier. Excavate an area in the yard to a depth of about 15cm, backfill with drain rock and tamped sand, lay concrete or stone pavers or bricks, backfill with sand and add a border.

For sloping or irregular terrain, a deck might be a better choice. You probably won’t need a permit if you build low enough to the ground to avoid railings.

Learn how to build and pour your own modern concrete patio.

Planting trees provides shade, but it takes years. If you want the shade ASAP, build a structure. It can be a pergola with a slatted open roof, or a gazebo, with a solid roof. Both projects are DIY-friendly, although a gazebo calls for more carpentry skills.

If you prefer, go the easy route and purchase a pre-fab gazebo kit that assembles in a couple of hours.

We show you how to add a pergola.

Nothing brings more relaxation to your home than an outdoor spa. If you have the budget, you can build one in-ground, or opt for an above-ground model. No outdoor spa is complete without decking, which you can make yourself. You’ll need at least 0.7 square metres for an outdoor spa. Add at least 600mm on either side for decking.

Your idea of a comfortable space may include warmth for chilly nights, like a fire pit. You can go the simple route and purchase a portable wood-burning or propane fire pit, then make a sitting area around it. With a little more time, money and space, you can build a permanent stone fire pit from a kit, or for the full experience (and cost) build an outdoor fireplace.

Entertain outdoors with this DIY backyard fire pit.

Lighting adds a lot to any landscape. Low-voltage landscape lighting is easy to install. You place the lights and dig shallow trenches for the wires leading to the transformer, which plugs into any available exterior 120-volt receptacle.

Solar lighting is even easier, although you must place them where there’s plenty of sunlight for recharging.

Here are more exterior lighting tips.

There are so many fencing options are available, including wood, composite and vinyl privacy fence. The cost depends on height and design. If you value privacy most of all, go with a flat panel or shadowbox design at least 1.8 metres high.

Find 10 privacy fence ideas for your yard.