Potential homebuyers often consider the backyard space as much as the house itself. The ample outdoor living space is one of the primary reasons for owning a house over a condo. And once you have a spacious backyard, you'll likely want to invite people over. Discover a few ideas on how to design the area to be entertainment-ready.
You want your backyard to be ready for multiple activities, possibly ranging from a daytime children's party to evening dinner. To that end, you'll likely want a lot of multi-use space. An expanse of lawn is a great multi-use space because you can unleash the kids to romp or use it for other purposes. For instance, you could picnic under the stars or set up a projector for movie night.
Since your lawn is your main multi-use space, you need a hardy turfgrass to withstand the foot traffic. Farmers make sod out of different grass varieties depending on the desired qualities relating to growth rate, light requirements, and drought tolerance. Another of those qualities is ability to tolerate heavy foot traffic.
The following turfgrass varieties are ideal for an entertainment-ready lawn:
- Hybrid Bermuda
- Kentucky Bluegrass
- Perennial Ryegrass
- Zoysia Grass
- Seashore Paspalum
Talk to your lawn care experts about a hardy turfgrass variety for your specific backyard requirements.
In addition to multi-use space, you need areas for specific tasks. These tasks can include cooking, making drinks, dining, and soaking in a hot tub. So, you'll want a good hardscaping-to-lawn ratio. Most of those tasks can take place on a patio. However, you may also create destination points within your backyard, say a shaded area with hardscaping and lounging furniture.
In that vein, you also want areas that are especially beautiful. Wherever the location of your particular event that day, you want your guests to have pretty views as they look over your yard.
One way to achieve this ideal is with planting beds. Whether raised or flat in the ground, a planting bed is a way for you to create a mini garden within your expanse of lawn.
Another method is to design backdrops. Stand in different locations of your backyard, and examine the view. Do you see any unsightly areas? You could plant or hardscape those areas to disguise whatever is unsightly. For instance, you could plant a foundation garden at the base of a shed.
Entertaining guests can happen at any time of day and well into the evening. While you'll naturally have lighting on your patio, you don't want your lawn to become a big cavern of shadows. One of the classic ideas for illuminating the backyard is to hang string lights. You can string them between backyard structures and only turn them on when using the lawn at night.
On the other end of the spectrum, you'll use your backyard a lot during the daytime. The sun beating directly down on you will decrease your enjoyment. Therefore, you'll want to provide ample shade in your backyard.
Many homeowners design their landscaping specifically for shade. You could plant trees with wide canopies that will be ideal gathering spots during a daytime gathering.
Another option is to install constructed structures for shade. Common shade-throwing structures include the following:
You can also combine a shade-throwing structure with landscaping, such as climbing plants, for areas of visual interest. For example, one of the most iconic shady spots is a pergola with grapevines growing up and over the structure.
Design your backyard so it's ready for any type of entertaining. Let
Wright Turf
provide the sod for your entertainment backyard.
