Whether you live in town on a small city lot or you have plenty of room to roam, having an area outside to relax, gather some sunshine, socialize with family and friends, or enjoy nature is so important.  

Spring is just around the corner, and although it really has been a mild winter, I am looking forward to sunny, spring days and the chance to roam outside or just relax in my back yard.

But, my back yard really needs some TLC, so that I am not embarrassed to have others over. Plus, I think when you have a lovely outdoor space, it really invites you to come outside and enjoy the view. A bare yard can be a bit depressing, don’t you think?

I have been looking for different ideas to add some beauty to my yard, and I have found some really great ways to spruce up the space and make it more inviting.  I can’t wait to incorporate some of these ideas into my outside living area.

Here are 8 ways to create lovely spaces in your yard 

• Create different zones or areas to make the space more functional and defined. You can have a lounging area, cooking area, and eating area. By placing furniture and other items strategically, you make the yard more of an extension of your home. Built-in furniture is becoming more prevalent, but if that isn’t in the budget then just organize or rearrange what you have or can afford. Building or buying a fire pit with surrounding seating makes a really nice socializing area. Pergolas are nice for helping define space, as well.

• Proper lighting is a must if you plan on enjoying your yard at night. Identify the areas of your yard that you want to highlight and come up with a lighting plan. Make sure you do this at night to get a good idea of what areas of your yard you want to utilize more.

• If you have kids, as most of us do, then you don’t want the kid’s play equipment and toys to overtake the yard. Making the yard accessible and inviting to the kids is important too, however, so having an outside, weatherproof toy box is great for managing the outdoor toys that can so easily get scattered around. Organizing the play equipment in a neat and orderly way will help with the visual perception; a bike rack is great if you have a lot of bikes laying around and don’t have a garage space to contain them.

• I love nature, so I love to have things growing around me. Adding some plants to your yard can make a world of difference. It can be in the form of a lovely flower garden, a functional vegetable garden, some bushes strategically placed or even just adding some lovely potted or hanging plants. A vine-draped trellis can add a lovely, inexpensive accent to your yard.

• Privacy is a must if you live in close contact with others. You can create some privacy with sufficient fencing in the yard or even lattices or privacy screens.  It helps to keep the view private around neighbors and can help with defining spaces that we talked about earlier.

• Having a nice, shady spot to cool off is perfect. Whether it be under a nice garden umbrella and seating area or placing a hammock under some trees can be the difference of whether you keep enjoying the outside as the weather heats up.

• If you enjoy watching wildlife you might want to consider putting in a nice little backyard pond or a beautiful butterfly garden. The pond will attract frogs, birds, butterflies and other little critters, like beneficial dragonflies. Planting a butterfly garden will attract butterflies and bees, which are in need of our help right now. How peaceful would it be to sit outside listening to the trickling water and watching the butterflies drift from flower to flower?

• Laying down a beautiful paved walkway makes a really nice touch in a yard. You can easily learn to do it yourself, or if you have extra funds, you can pay someone to install on for you. It can be a really nice focal point in your yard.

I hope this gives you lots of great ideas of ways that you can create a lovely and enjoyable yard that you and everyone in your home will want to indulge in.  What other ideas do you have for creating loveliness in your outdoor space?