The pandemic taught us one thing: we need our homes to be a sanctuary. Whether you’re using the backyard to exercise, to entertain, or to play with your kids, it’s time we all stop neglecting that patch of land we have at the back of our house.
It’s hard to maintain your home and backyard when there are only a few hours a day left for you to tend to it. If you look at it now, it’ll most likely be full of fallen leaves, unruly grass, dead weeds, and dirt. There’s nothing much you can do about these unless you take matters into your own hands and cover it up.
Most homeowners think that they have to spend thousands of dollars to cover up their backyard. Well, that depends on how large your yard is. If you only have a few square feet of extra space at the back of your house, there is no reason why you should not be able to cover it up with only a couple of hundreds of dollars.
The only thing that matters is what you want to do with it. Before you decide what materials to use for the backyard, ask yourself this question: “What activities will I do in the backyard?” Are your kids going to use it as a playground? Are you going to use it to entertain guests? How about outdoor exercises? What kind of materials do you need if you are going for either one of these activities?
Turfgrass
Turfgrass laying is probably the easiest project to cover up your backyard. Turf has many benefits over traditional grass. It promotes safety for children as they play in the backyard. It is also the best cover-up if you plan to use your backyard to exercise.
Turfgrass is easy to install, easier to maintain compared to actual grass, and prevents soil erosion. It is the most practical way to cover up the backyard because it is weatherproof, which means you do not have to worry about it during the rainy and summer season. Even during the winter months, turfgrass can survive.
Grass
If you have time in your hands, you should also look into planting grass. It requires more labour than money, so this is a frugal option for those who do not have the budget for turfgrass but wants to have that look.
To grow grass in the backyard, you need at least six months. This is enough time to build a compost pile, rake the compost over the entire yard, till the compost into the soil, rake the soil, scatter grass seeds, and watch the grass grow. The seeds will sprout; it will begin at around seven to 14 days after planting the seeds.
Make sure to keep the soil moist but not drowning in water during the first week of growing grass. You can check with your local agricultural department what grass should grow in your area. Use caution when choosing the kind of grass that you will grow in your backyard. If the agricultural ministry divided the area into hardiness zones, check out what type of grass you should start to grow.
Creepers
Another kind of dirt cover-up that will be good for your backyard is the creepers. Traditionally, you can use creeping thyme, mini Kenilworth ivy, and blue star creeper if you can find those in your local garden shop. If not, ask your neighbours for trimmings and cuttings. They will also usually advise you on what plants are great for ground cover in your area.
When choosing creepers, you have to be careful about invasive species that will grow unruly and crawl beyond your land’s boundary. Some examples of these are periwinkle and English ivy.
Recycled Bricks, Pavers, and Concrete
If you are not necessarily into plants and grass, you can choose to pave your backyard with recycled bricks and concrete. These two materials are 100% recyclable. They will make your backyard eco-friendly. Where can you get these materials? You can visit local hardware and gardening stores. Most of them might have access to old concrete and bricks removed from sidewalks, driveways, and pathways.
To install them, you have to remove at least three inches of soil from your backyard. Add one to two inches of sand before you arrange the bricks and recycled concrete on top. You can fill in the cracks with cement, more sand, or crushed gravel. To make your backyard aesthetically beautiful, add potted plants, a table, and chairs.
There is every reason for you to focus on designing your backyard to make it a more livable space. Since the pandemic started, you and your family might have stayed more in your home than ever before. This is the time to complete your backyard’s whole look.
