Summer is here and one of my favorite things to do is to spend time in our yard. Admittedly, my husband does all the heavy work. I do the designing and directing. We’ve worked a lot on our front yard but we are far from done, We haven’t done much to spruce up the backyard so now I’m trying to focus on that. I would like to add a bit more color to it. The back is very green and Zen, but it lacks color…other than just the green. My friend, a landscaping designer suggested that I put a bunch of colorful large pots filled with flowers in between the hosta.

One of my favorite places to find design ideas is Pinterest. I found some great looking colorful pots there.

Because my backyard has a lot of shade the best flowers to plant would probably be pansies….that’s according to my artistic friend. Now the hard part will be to find some great inexpensive pots.

I’m also focusing on an outdoor wall that looks a bit empty to me.  I don’t necessarily have to do anything with the wall…but I think it’s the perfect place to add a little oomph to the back of our house.

Here are some more great designs that caught my attention on Pinterest. The first one is a frame designed with a bunch of gorgeous Succulents. I can do this with an inexpensive flea market picture frame and a variety of small succulents like hens and chicks and sedum. Looking into how to create this design I realized it takes a lot of work, but it can be done.

The next idea is one that will make my nine year old very happy. All I have to do is to  put up a chalk-painted board to the wall so our daughter and her friends can unleash their creativity outdoors. This won’t add color to my backyard but it will bring a lot of fun into it.

Putting up a garden mirror is another great look. This will give the illusion that lawn goes on forever. It’s a really great and easy way to add a bit of beauty to the backyard.A few pieces of wood with a couple of lanterns is another great way to light up the wall. This will make the evenings in our yard brighter and add a nice décor for the day.

There is so much I can do including some art work on some wood, putting up some pots, arranging some colorful bird houses. Take a look at these great designs. I love them all! Decisions, decisions….

I would love to get some input from you folks…what do you think? Please feel free to let me know. In the meantime, I will ponder it all and let you know what I plan on doing. I hope I’ve been able to inspire you to get out and do something beautiful in your yard.