How to make a yard nice

[hoorayforharoldlloyd]

We were supposed to be buying a house this year - on hold now but can i ask for some help with how to make a yard nice?

In the area we are looking you can have more spacious rooms and a yard or a smaller more modern house with a garden.

I was happy to go with the garden option, especially if we could look to get a usable shed/extra room but keep seeing nice, affordable houses just with yards.

Any ideas/inspiration/ideas of costs to help me make my argument?

(he likea to look out at the green and not feel overlooked, I'm the one who actually does the garden)

We have a toddler but would be very close to beach and green space.

With the amount of moss on the paving I would say that the yard is quite shady so not ideal for grass growing.
Don’t go down the gravel route either as if the area has a lot of cats it will be one the local cat loo which is no ideal if you have children.
The concrete will look a lot better once it is cleaned and with such a small area you could cover the worst with an outdoor tug.

There's a million ideas on Pinterest. I'd get wooden planters built along the white wall, with trellis.

Pinterest and Instagram are your friends! Tons of yard ideas on both. I like the decked ones, looks really clean and modern. Lots of plant pots, potted flowers, wall hanging ornaments and string lights.

Paint the wall
Pressure wash the concrete
Lots of plants in containers of differing heights
Keep it swept or get a blower.

In our old yard I pressure washed the concrete and then stenciled it to look like tiles. Bought a plastic stencil online and used a small roller and tester pots of masonry paint to do the stenciling. Was a bit of a ball ache to do and I felt like I'd done 10,000 squats by the end of it but I was really pleased with the result.

Also, fresh paint on the wall and gate will make a massive difference. And a planter by the wall with some climbers and smaller plants.

Not the best pic but here's the the stenciled floor

I've got a large yard, no garden. I'm sorting out pots and hanging baskets. Am growing sweet peas so they'll look nice and smell fine. And other climbers to cover the wall. I've also got room for one of those mini plastic covered greenhouse thingys, so growing tomatoes, and maybe a chilli plant. Plus herbs

I've also got projects like outdoor wall hangings on the go, to brighten it all up.

I've a few chairs, but also a weird low, wide wall in the mddle that's neither use nor ornament as a wall, so planning on getting some plastic backed cushions for the tops so that we have some extra seating to the couple of chairs I have.

Am very impressed with stencilling!

Will look up courtyard gardens for ideas - feel inspired now, keep forgetting have to persuade partner and actually buy house...

@keeponrunning85 that looks amazing! You’re very clever!

@keeponrunning85 that looks great! I saw these stencils but god. I am too lazy for them😂 Very good job!

We had a brilliant back yard in our old house. About that size, I had a greenhouse, bbq, big raised bed on one side, about 1 m wide with a couple of large trees, a mountain ash and a big vine. Height is important. But...a big point,, it was south west facing so it was warm.and sunny. Houses on other side of street also had same size yards that were mostly v sad looking
You have to work much harder if its north facing. Still possible but not as lovely in my opinion.

V good point in time of day gets sun and whether gets it at all - could make all the difference!

Yes we got sun in high summer from 10.30 to about 6pm and it was warm and sheltered even without sun on a nice day.

In winter we got sun in the afternoon so could have lunch out there on a sunny winters day.

Across the road they just always felt cold.

@keeponrunning85

Fantastic job stenciling the yard.👏👍

It looks amazing

You could take inspiration from Spanish and Moroccan courtyards with mosaic flooring, terracotta walls, a water feature and lots of tall plants. I don't think we're very good at outside yards in the UK.

I would paint the walls,lovely lights potentially a pergola type thing so feels sparkling
Raised bed lots of different styles then you can plant flowers/ small veg which great with toddlers make it nice to sit in ...
Although little tikes used to go a great garden cube which involved climbing and slide So maybe that on a surface!

I didn't know yard was different to garden to be honest, only ever seen in coronation street! Definetely recommend pinterest, you can find inspo for any taste or type of garden on there.

We have a galvanised bath like the one in the picture filled with lavender. Pretty much looks after itself and looks amazing against a white wall.

@StCharlotte
And the aroma on a warm day..heavenly..

Ooh OP I've just seen this house on Rightmove while looking for myself - it's absolutely gorgeous. Did you convince your DH?

Lovely isn't it? Moving not at an option at the mo as we will be moving area and jobs - and lockdown is bringing new found respect for our garden in our rented flat! Am biding my time...

As long as you don’t make it like Neil’s yard, according to another thread on here, Neil’s yard is disappointing

I like how wood softens the look

Aspect is the most crucial thing for me in a garden.

Whatever the state of it can be fixed, with time, energy and bit of hard work.

If its in shade, its just so much harder.

IMO, there is nothing nicer than the afternoon and late evening sun.