Outdoor space informs the appearance of your household and exterior design is just as important as interior design. While you do not have as much elbow space to get crazy with the appearance of your yard as you do with the interior, there are still countless creative solutions to create a captivating oasis of comfort. In the day and age when eco-friendly living has become ubiquitous, some especially nifty tricks have become quite prominent and, if you are interested to learn more about them, here are some green solutions for a perfect backyard getaway.
Ditch the exotics and go native
If we are to discuss green solutions for a beautiful backyard, we first have to mention one of the most reasonable, cost-effective and energy-saving methods to create a sustainable paradise behind your house. This, of course, entails going native with the plant life. Exotic plants and trees might look beautiful, but they are usually expensive due to import costs, and this goes without accounting for the resources you’ll have to waste to sustain its exuberance. The best thing you can do is choose an assortment of local plants that are robust, easy to maintain and which are adapted to your particular climate, soil, parasites and microorganisms. Every region in the world has its own unique and gorgeous floral biome, so start the research and knock yourself out.
Create a vertical garden
Vertical gardens can add a level of astonishing beauty to your backyard’s lush assembly of greenery, and even though your instincts may tell you that this might require too much work, it is actually fairly easy to set one up. All you need is at least one vertical garden unit which you can hang on an arbitrarily chosen section of the backyard wall. Of course, the best vertical garden units are also easy to rearrange whenever you are in the mood to mix things up a bit, and you’ll want this modularity in case some renovation needs to be done on your home’s exterior. Vertical gardens are a good way to camouflage some visually unappealing parts of the house and they serve as a completely natural and eco-friendly insulator of temperature and sound.
Sustainable wood for organic appeal
Wood is a precious resource, so if you require some panels and planks to create sturdy outdoor elements such as back porch, gazebo, water barrel or a compost bin, you should probably take a chance with the closest retailer that deals in recycled/reusable materials. Then you can finally assemble these elements with a clear conscience and have a sustainable yard with wonderful organic appeal. Rain-collecting barrels are not only useful in a tried-and-true eco-friendly way, but they are also a nice piece of ornamentation with bucolic charm. The water from the said rain-collector can be used to water the plants mentioned above. Finally, a compost bin is a must in a sustainable yard and a good visual reminder of how much you can do to aid in the natural processes of your immediate ecosystem.
There was a time when eco-friendly options to create a harmonious yard were few and far between, and while the world of sustainable landscaping has become particularly prominent lately, some of the best solutions were actually always there – the local plant life being the most convenient example. The point of it all is that, with some knowledge of what is deemed ‘green’, you can easily rely on your own instincts and creative flair to assemble the yard that you have always wanted. You do not have to sacrifice your vision for eco-utilitarianism.
Author Bio: Amelia Atkins is an author at Smooth Decorator and a fresh architecture student. The love for architecture and design runs in her family and she knew what she wanted to do from a very young age. You can often find her with a notepad in hand, just looking at the clouds, dreaming about the next skyscraper. Twitter / Facebook.
