Posted in Inspiration, Landscaping, Patios, Photos, YOTD | 0 Comments

Beuatiful pool area is a secluded oasis – YOTD

Today’s Yard of the Day comes to us from near Orlando, Florida, where Flickr user Joe Shlabotnik’s mother-in-law has created a beautiful pool area that’s really a private oasis. So many pool areas in South Florida are barren and ugly — particularly since local ordinances insist on aluminum screening — but we’re delighted to see Joe’s mom has spent some time and energy to make her patio comfortable and tropical. We’re not sure if our highlight is the stunning red bougainvillea outside the screening… or the luscious bromeliad hedge rimming the pool. Either way, we want to dive right in!

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in Design, Inspiration | 0 Comments

How to make moss graffiti

It may not be practical, but you’ll surely be the first on your block to tag your family crest or gardening gang’s sign (West Side Waterers represent!) on a neighborhood fence. With moss.

In all seriousness, we think the words are a bit corny, but you could certainly make some interesting moss patterns on a currently boring surface with relative ease. All it takes is a few standard kitchen items, some moss, and a paintbrush, and within a week you’ll have a unique, organic backyard illustration.

For a full list of instructions — along with a photo gallery — head to Apartment Therapy’s How To Make Moss Graffiti.

Did you try this?  Let us know — we’d love to see how it turned out!

Posted in Inspiration, Lighting | 0 Comments

Ice lanterns will light up your cold backyard in style

Some of us are still consumed with the winter woes, so Design*Sponge pointed us to a fun project to try before Spring hits:  ice lanterns. And they’re simple to make.

You need two buckets, one smaller then the other. Some greens, I love to use olive branches. Fill the biggest bucket half full with water. Place the smaller bucket inside it and place some rocks or something heavy to keep in in place.

Check out Design*Sponge for the full how-to.  To make longer-lasting lanterns, try using an LED candle instead of the real thing. (It is fire, after all — and you know what that does to ice.)

Posted in Design, Inspiration | 0 Comments

Is faux nature becoming a trend in outdoor design?

The good folks over at Design Milk take note of a recent interview with A-list designer Marcel Wanders, and his suggestion to embrace the modern garden by, well, filling your backyard with fake bits of nature.

As a child, he wanted to be a garden designer so has a real interest in outdoor design and is on top of where things are heading. A couple of weeks back I read an interview in which he says modern gardens are now so far from what gardens used to be that it is hypocritical to still pretend they all are devoted to the natural world. He suggests you dare to go all out and opt for deliberately faux nature designs.

AstroTurf? Fake plastic trees? In moderation, perhaps.  But overdo it and you might end up with something reminiscent of PeeWee’s front yard.

Get Out! Faux Nature is a Real Trend at Design Milk.

Posted in Architecture, Inspiration, YOTD | 2 Comments

DIY greenhouse made from old windows — YOTD

Today’s Yard of the Day comes to us from France, where Flickr user hardworkinghippy re-purposed several old windows to create a charming little greenhouse in her likely-better-than-my-own-if-only-because-it’s-located-in-France backyard. “Serre pas chère” the title reads, which, according to Babel Fish, translates to “Do not tighten expensive.”  I’ll take that to mean this was a frugal — yet highly creative — project.  See a photo taken from a different angle here.

If you’d like to submit a photo of your yard to be considered as a YOTD, simply join our Flickr group, Yardhacker’s Yard of the Day, and add your photo.  If you want.  No pressure.  Really.

Posted in DIY, Fencing, Gardening, Inspiration | 0 Comments

Welded wire fencing secures your garden in style

Keeping dogs, deer, kids, and other pests (I kid, I kid) out of your garden and off your plants is always a challenge, and more often than not a simple fence will do the trick.  Flickr user sundry took it a step further by creating this unique barrier that blends nicely with the existing fence and offers a clean, modern look.

Fence and metal tubs are farm supplies from a local grange. Fencing is galvanized, it’s called welded wire. It comes in either a roll or in straight panels, and it was cut to length with bolt cutters.

See another photo — with swinging gate — here.