Planning an Outdoor Space with Mother Nature

When planning an outdoor space, let nature be your guide. Your outdoor living space should be where lifestyle and nature meet. During the planning process, survey your yard and find the natural features you enjoy. Those features can include flowering plants and bushes, trees, a particular view, a pond, stones or even a rolling hill.

The appeal of an outdoor living design space is the natural environment. Your favourite characteristics should be incorporated into the design. Natural features of your landscape can be beautiful as well as functional. The following are some ideas for how to integrate nature into your outdoor space design.

Trees can be utilized for shade. They can also be used to frame views in your yard or to tie up a swing or hammock. Trees will naturally offer varying heights for visual interest.

Flowering plants, shrubs and bushes can provide boundaries used to define different spaces and establish walkways. They also provide privacy from neighbors and parts of the yard you don’t necessarily want on display such as hoses or storage areas.

Grass is the perfect, lush and colorful flooring material for kids who want space to run around and play. Grass can also serve as coverage, hiding private getaways, while adding a 'natural, unaltered' feel to the landscape.

Vines and climbing plants such as wisteria can be placed over a pergola for natural, organic shade and it can be placed on a fence or wall for additional color and texture, as well as privacy.

Views around your home should serve as a focal point for your outdoor living space. The location of your space can be determined by the scenery in your yard or the direction of the sunrise or sunset.

Integrating the natural features of your landscape into your outdoor design will help blend the space with the environment. This integration supports a sustainable lifestyle. Sustainability is minimizing the negative impact you place on the environment. A smaller disturbance to your yard means less landscaping and more money in your pocket.

There is no need to demolish your yard to build an outdoor living space. Natural features will work to complement your new space with texture, color and unique visual interest. Investing in sustainable practices while designing your outdoor living space will leave you and your yard feeling good.