by Dee Donelson

It’s seems to be a never ending process to get to the yard of your dreams without the help of a professional. So ask yourself, what would a professional ask you? They will want to know what you want to use the space for; what types of structures do you like, wood, wrought iron, etc.; and your budget. Once you answer those questions for yourself, you are off and running.

Look at your yard as both a complete work and in sections. You may want to have a theme or thread of a theme that works itself from front to back throughout your yard. You might also want to have one theme in the front yard and another in the backyard. By breaking the space down, you can determine what is most important to you and bite off one section at a time to work on.

There are several things you may want to consider for aesthetics. One is to establish an entrance of some kind by using flowerbeds or hedges or even a wood garden arbor of some sort. You can also use gates and fencing to segment areas. This can be a beautiful solution to partitioning swimming pools and gardens.

A different feel can be brought into your yard with a garden pergola. They are traditionally larger than an arbor and a bit more regal looking. A lot of guys prefer pergolas as they tend to look a bit manlier. However, both are great to let your favorite vine weave through to create an overhead canopy of shade. These larger items can also be set off with smaller garden and yard art.

One of the things that plague most homeowners is storage of tools for lawn and garden. Though many homes come with attached or detached garages, most people prefer to park their cars in the garage as opposed to using it as a storage facility for lawn equipment and garden tools. A good solution for storage is a simple tool shed and they can be bought in wood or vinyl.

For those with larger yards that use small tractors to mow their yards, you will be pleased to know that they now make some very attractive alternatives for bigger storage units. The vinyl ones are extremely durable and more attractive than ever. This also gives you additional space for other items that might be able to live outside of your home.

A greenhouse is also something that you may want to incorporate into your overall yard design. It will allow you the option of growing your own food or flowers on a year round basis and comes in many attractive shapes and sizes. Having access to a home garden greenhouse makes since these days with all the tainted produce, and if you want to enjoy it without the worry this is a way to do so.

After making all the hard decisions in regard to your main focal points, the rest is easy. You simply fill in the blanks around them with your favorite things whether in planters, beds of some sort or planted in the ground. Of course you can mix it up as well.

Some people just can’t seem to visualize the end result. If you happen to be one of those people, check out the library, magazines or online to see if you can find something that looks close to what you want to create and move on from there. Taking action is the only way you will get this project completed.

About the Author: Many people love the trellis arbor as an entrance into their gardens. You can also use the cedar trellis as a way to tie in with your garden dcor.