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.

Landscaping is about patience. Secondly, it is about budget. There is such a thing as a Landscape Triangle that incorporates time, money, and knowledge. Without one, the other two are more difficult to work through in regards to having your dream garden. For example, smaller plants (which may be less expensive) take longer to establish themselves than larger plants, but if you give it time and know where and how to plant them, then you can have that fabulous garden over the long term.

First, make a design of what you would like for your garden to look like in about 5 years or even 10 years. Think long term when planning the design, buying plants, and building around the area. If you do not have this knowledge, then you might consider hiring a landscaper or at least consulting with one before you buy that first plant. A designer can provide you with information about your “dream garden” such as how fast certain plants grow, what plants might work well in your area/climate/soil, and long term care of those plants. Some do-it-yourselfers often plant too many small plants in one area, so as they mature, they crowd themselves right out of room.

One consideration when planning your design, especially when on a budget, is to figure out the cost per square feet of each plant. For example, you pass by the $20 hosta and instead pick the $4 primrose because you are on a budget. Did you save money? If a primrose ultimately fills one square foot in your garden, but the hosta covers 12 square feet, then to fill the same area, the hosta only costs about $1.67/sqft, where the primrose now costs $4/sqft. So, in dollar amounts, to fill that space in your garden, the hosta cost $20 and the primroses will cost $48. You end up not saving money at all, but spending more.

Once you do have the design of your garden in place, you can start figuring out what you want your budget to be, which helps keep your garden within your limits. The important part of the budget is just buying the best valued plants and materials possible.

Before purchasing that first plant, do an inventory of what you already have or what a friend, relative, or neighbor may give you.
• What plants to you have in your own yard that you can transplant, if necessary?
• What plants do your friends, neighbors, or relatives have that you can take a sprig and replant in your yard? But be aware that you should only take plants that are already in your plan. Otherwise, you will have to create a new design.
• Take stock of how much of your own time that you want to invest in this garden.
• Keep the Landscape Triangle in mind before, during, and after the landscaping project so you garden continues to grow year after year after year.

After you have gathered all “donated” plants and taken a look at your own yard, see what is left to get for your design. You can divide your design out into sections and plant one section at a time, or you can plan to plant all the large trees first, then all the small bushes, then flowering plants, etc. When you divide it up, then you can conquer easier, rather than trying to take on the whole garden at one time. Once you decide how to proceed, then start making your list of materials you need for each section/group and start shopping.

TIP: Keep checking your local papers for deals of the week on plants, mulch, and other needed materials.