Blending Decks into Yards and Landscapes

The past twenty-five years has witnessed a phenomenal boom in the construction of big outdoor decks. Most of them are downright ugly. Many are unimaginative rectangles built with now-graying green lumber in a dull array of parallel lines. In an era of eight-foot privacy fences, plenty of homeowners don’t care how ordinary their backyard refuges might appear to the neighbors. Some of us, however, want to achieve a lovely flow from treated wood to lot-line woods, and wouldn’t dream of installing head-high solid blockades to hide our handiwork.

You can have your sprawling wooden deck, your table and chairs, the big umbrella, a giant $2,000 barbecue station, and even one of those hideous plastic weatherproof storage bins – you can have all this, and a beautiful backyard, too. Let the Jones’s next door stare all they want; theirs will be a look of admiration tinged with envy.

Stain or paint your wood deck.
It’s true that treated lumber can be left to mellow for years, to that dreary shade of gray which says, “I have no imagination at all.” You deserve better. Have you seen any all-white decks and railings lately? The look is traditional Colonial, but its beauty has returned to fashion after years out of vogue. Your home could be one of several styles, but the elegance of snow-white painted or stained wood will still be the perfect complement.

If your taste turns to more earthy shades, use one of the better grade semi-transparent stains to add rich color to your deck, instead of the white. You may need to power-wash and bleach before adding finishes. If you do use stain, please don’t match the color of the house! Carrying one color scheme too far makes everything tend to clump together visually. White is the exception.

Landscape for visual appeal.
Add a curving walk of pre-cast brick pavers in earth tones, leading at least a dozen feet into the back yard, for grounding. Carry your rail design along this walk by adding a matching free-standing section or two as accent. Plant strong shades of green to hide the deck’s open sides using juniper, yew, holly, or similar evergreens to highlight white wood all year long. In spring and summer, use brilliant flowers like impatiens or petunias to add a flash of color to this classic wintry scheme. This approach works well with stained wood, too. You might need a bit more color in that case.

Dress your deck in mulch skirting.
Create pleasing contours that ease the transition from lawn to lumber. Put that neglected old roto-tiller to work for a weekend. Use a garden hose (no water) to mark interesting and easy-to-trim curves in the lawn on one or more sides of your deck. This method softens all the harsh lines created by your deck’s rigid right angles. Use chalk or any biodegradable powder to outline the curves created by the hose, right on the existing grass. A perimeter of three to six feet away from your deck is fine, and simpler to maintain.

Use a spade to cut the line you’ve drawn, remove the sod and set it aside, then break up the newly exposed garden area for manageable planting. Be careful working around bushes or trees you’ve already added or saved. Then bring in colorful mulch and some decorative stones to make it all look gorgeous. Sprinkle with flowering perennials for maintenance-free beauty from spring to fall. Vary the breadth and height of permanent plantings for variety.

Add a touch of class with lighting accents.
On those warm summer nights, you’ll want to enjoy your backyard retreat until it’s time for sleep. Don’t rely on the fire-flies for lighting, and don’t let your glaring security lights provide the only illumination there. You’ll want to entertain your friends in a soothing atmosphere of muted and variable lighting.

Use an elegant sconce where the back door lets out onto your deck, in place of whatever the original builder placed there. With the switch turned off, you can make this swap yourself (test for power with a special “pen” available at the store where you buy the new light). Somewhere on or near your deck you should have an outdoor outlet available. If you do, then add more lighting.

Your choices for accent lighting have broadened considerably in the last two decades. Most will plug into that existing outlet, and provide outdoor-grade wiring for several fixtures. You can hang these low-wattage lamps in a variety of ways: from corner poles, along railing sections, at the base of the rails, or even in your new surrounding garden areas. For larger decks, try a mixture of these ideas.

With a couple hours of reasonably simple electrical work, you can also install a pole-mounted outdoor lamp with beveled glass for less than $300. Locate this fixture near the end of the walk you created, to offer visitors an invitation to explore your lawn for romantic evening strolls. Most post-lamps include a small bar extending perpendicular to the pole, which gives you a place to hang a basket overflowing with flowers or one of those cute little theme-flags, as you prefer.

Don’t stop there!
Over time, as your budget allows, soften your deck’s harsh planes with ornamental trees like Japanese maple, weeping cherry or flowering dogwood . Place these outside the garden areas, but close enough to the deck to act as embracing accents. Add a decorative wrought-iron bench or two (about $140 each) to create intimate conversational areas.

For more adventurous (and expensive) landscape features, consider blending a re-circulating pool and waterfall into an appropriate nook nearby. These can range from a few hundred dollars (you do the work) to a few thousand dollars when you hire professionals. The soothing sound of water flowing, and the drama of lilies and orange koi will repay your investment nicely.

A final touch of elegance can be achieved using one of the many kinds of real or pre-cast stone wall designs as a counterpoint to wood and shrubbery. Even a small, strategically-placed edging just a foot or two tall can make a dramatic difference in the flow of your landscape design. Use more mulch and basic plantings to carry your theme throughout.

Professional landscape firms can offer design services and fancy software assistance in the quest to blend your backyard deck into an appealing yard design, if you have thousands to spare. If a tight budget limits your cash outlays, invest time and hard work instead, to achieve the same effect for a fraction of the cost. Let your imagination guide you from boring rectangles to extraordinary visual appeal for your back yard.

Author: Jim Bessey, Helium Senior Steward

For more articles written by this author, go to Helium or for more information and blogging on home improvements, go to D’zyne.

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