Yard Ideas Blog

Brenda shared a single shot of her South Daytona front yard with a simple (and politely worded) request: “Make Me Pretty, Please.” Okay, Brenda, let’s give it a whirl. First, a look at the yard... Read More

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? Read More

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. Read More

For gardeners in many climates, winter is the landscape’s off-season. The trees have dropped their leaves, the perennials have gone dormant, the thick insulating layer of mulch has been put down in the beds, and the lawn mower has been taken to the shop for its annual tune-up. But that doesn’t have to mean that you’re resigned to just twiddling those green thumbs until spring. Read More

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. Read More

Stacy Carpenter from Raceland, KY has a familiar dilemma. She bought a new home recently and wants to put her own stamp on the front yard landscape, but doesn’t know where to begin. She’s turned to the YardShare community for help, posting a series of photos and asking for suggestions. Read More

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 Read More

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. Read More

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... Read More

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. Read More