"natural" yards, pictures, and ideas...
Let It Snow!
Winter eats up a full quarter of the calendar, but too many gardeners give it exactly zero percent consideration when planning their landscapes. It’s a time when the garden just shuts down under a blanket of white, right? I mean, why landscape for the winter when Jack Frost automatically gives you the kind of scenery that Karen W gets in her Michigan yard every year, right?...
Pond Perfection
There’s nothing quite like a pond in the landscape. Gorgeous focal feature, destination spot, miniature ecosystem of aquatic plants and animals. Lucky for DIYers, it’s also relatively easy to pull off. If you’re pondering a pond for your garden, take a quick peek at how some of your fellow YardSharers have done it....
Psst! Hey, Man...Got Any Weeds?
They are every landscaper's nemesis, every backyard gardener's mortal enemy. Their very existence, intrusive and even invasive, is one of the main motivators for any outdoor renovation. But no matter what you do, or how much time or money you spend, they always seem to rise from the dead and wreak havoc again, like some machete-wielding serial killer in a cheesy horror flick....
Outdoor Kitchens: Rock On!
In our last article on outdoor kitchen construction, we explored the ins and outs of framing a BBQ island. Whether you opt for concrete block or steel studs for your island’s inner framework, the outer skin that you use to cover that skeleton is what makes the difference in your finished landscape. I hope you love this article ...
Walk This Way
Creating a landscape to be gazed at from afar is all well and good. Presenting that sensational view from the street or from the house is one of the main goals of just about any yard transformation. But gardens are also meant to be enjoyed on a more personal level. Intricate leaf patterns, unusual foliage textures, and the detailed colors of blooms and flowers can only be fully appreciated from up close. ...
Landscaping with Trees
Ah, the trees. They bud out to let us know spring is coming, they shade us in the summer, they put on their own little fireworks show in fall, and even when they’re bare, they provide interest and structure in the dead of winter. But not all of us are blessed with tall mature trees in the landscape like WhackyWaco in Plano, TX. Check out those live oaks and tell me they’re not the focal point of that front yard......
Be a Cottage Garden Renegade
It is easy to be intimidated by all the gardening and landscaping information out there. Books, magazines, websites, and how-to TV shows promise to teach you all the fundamentals of good design in one fell swoop and leave you ready to give your yard a full makeover in the time it takes to turn a page, click a link, or sit through to the next commercial break....
Killer Looks For Concrete
Concrete. It’s cold, it’s grey, it’s boring. Hold onto those suppositions for just a moment. It’s been calculated that concrete is the second-most-consumed substance on earth, behind only water. Or think about it this way: there is almost one ton of concrete produced for every single human on the planet… EVERY SINGLE YEAR....
Are You Water-Wise? A Look at Xeriscapes
There is no commodity more precious to us yard lovers than water. But with many areas around the country experiencing severe drought conditions in recent years, professional landscapers and backyard gardeners alike have had to find ways to make the absolute most out of every drop....
Just Add Water
In the Biblical story of creation, water shows up on the universe’s very first to-do list on, like, the third day. So why is it that so many backyard landscapers forget to include it entirely?...
