Yard Ideas Blog

Sunrooms occupy the no man’s land between the indoors and outdoors – and they can wreck your landscaping if you don’t watch out! The room itself may be architecturally stunning and add square footage and value to your home. But, since it is tacked on to your existing house, the surrounding landscape... Read More

Blue (and shades of blue) is one of the most restful colors in the garden. Imagine fields of bluebonnets or the purple haze of lavender (another shade of blue) in bloom. You can have the same calming effect in your yard through the growing seasons by planting flowers of pure blue and shades of blue. Read More

Have you been toiling over problems with soil? Have a shady region of the yard where you just can’t keep plants alive? Are you enticed by the possibility of having frogs, fish, and lily pads as part of your garden? A water garden might be just what you need. Read More

One of the great things about being a YardShare member is that you get to see examples of model yards created by professional yard designers. It is fun working with graph paper and a mechanical pencil to draw up a layout the old fashioned way; but the 3D imaging software the pros use is pretty cool! Read More

A living or “green” roof is becoming an eco-status symbol with corporations across the U.S. A soil and plant-based roof minimizes water runoff, reduces the urban “heat island” effect, and helps protect against soil erosion. Some homeowners are taking the trend residential as well. Read More

I love potager gardens! What are potager gardens, you ask? A potager garden is a vegetable garden that focuses on looks as much as taste. These quaint 16th-century French-style gardens have very recently become popular, and it’s easy to see why. Read More

Mulching is one of the easiest and most beneficial gardening practices. Mulching can help you conserve water, prevent weed growth, and return nutrients to your soil. It can also serve as a nice landscaping tool. Read More

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, it’s possible that we’ll see a shift in how residential areas are made accessible. It’s not hard to imagine McMansions with wide, elaborately decorated granite wheel chair ramps. Read More

Vonnie from Texas has the right idea when it comes to creating a private patio space that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Planning an affordable outdoor living space requires looking beyond the initial stages and having an idea of how things can look once you’ve added all the embellishments. Read More

If you’ve ever tried to grow a lush, productive vegetable or flower garden in your yard—which you hoped would be the envy of your neighbors—only to have pale, lifeless plants emerge from the earth and struggle to hang on, then you may need to practice composting. Read More