Live Your Best Backyard Life This Summer

As people stick close to home this summer, the backyard is back in a big way. From outdoor projectors to fire pits to updated dining areas, outside spaces are the new “in” place to be.

There are many ways to maximize your backyard – or for that matter, your front yard, side yard or patio – to enjoy outdoor living. To get started, think about how you’d like to use the space. Do you mostly want to grill and eat outside with family and a few friends at a larger table? Do you want a nook for reading a book? Would you like to create a staycation of sorts with a water feature?

Once you have set goals and expectations, then you can create points of interest. Here are some ways to set up functional, beautiful outdoor living spaces:

• Form a sense of identity for each space, whether it’s a spot for dining, a respite for relaxation or an area for a small group of people. Your outdoor fireplace or fire pit will likely have a different look and vibe than your outdoor kitchen or office.
• Connect outdoor spaces with some kind of unifying element. You can have different points of interest, but your outdoor landscape shouldn’t look piecemeal. Consider a gateway path that goes from one area to another, similar to a hallway an interior house that links a kitchen to a family room. Landscape features like pergolas, pillars and gates can both define and marry outdoor vignettes.
• Enhance the ambiance with outdoor lighting. String and party lights are popular right now, and with good reason: they lend literal brightness and a sense of fun and whimsy. Lighting up a tree near a patio is another type of illumination that enhances a landscape and sets a mood.
• Bring a little of the inside out, with weatherproof home accents like outdoor rugs, pillows and cushions. Add knickknacks to the décor for a room-like flair. Choose pieces with a dose of color to match or complement your greenery and flowers.
• Speaking of flowers, use containers for extra visual interest, filling them with summer-thriving plants that provide color, pattern, texture and shape. Bonus: some blooms offer fragrance that elevates the outdoor living experience even more.

You can get started this year using your outdoor areas in a new and engaging way and, while you’re out there, think about any other features you’d like to add. That’s one of the beautiful things about landscape design: you can always build on the beauty you have.

Meanwhile, as we reach the mid-point of an unusual summer, living outside is a reminder of the connections people have with nature and, in nature, with one another. Enjoy the season while it’s here!

Robert Milani is a senior landscape architect with Bertog Landscape Co. in Wheeling.