Here’s the general rule – your front yard is there for the public, for show and your backyard is there to be functional, a place to relax in and have barbecues and parties or just a spot for your children to play in.

However, that doesn’t mean that you have to neglect it entirely and not even consider how it looks – you can make it both beautiful and functional at the same time.

Here are some of the best ideas on how to do that and without spending a lot of money! learn more about our Vancouver, Washington Landscaping.

1. A Splash of Color

This is an easy and cheap thing to do, but it can bring a lot of color and personality to your backyard.

If you have some windows looking over your backyard, accentuate them with flower box featuring some colorful flowers – red or purple work great in this regard.

It looks like a small thing but trust me; it will make your backyard look so much better than it did before with minimal effort.

2. Raised Garden Beds

Just like in your front yard, raised garden beds can both protect your flowers and bring a more unique look to the whole space.

You can even use them for things other than flowers and grow vegetables there, which can look great and be great to munch on when they grow to full-size.

They are relatively inexpensive and can be made with a lot of different materials, so it’s not a hassle to do this, and it can bring a lot to your backyard.

3. Foundation Planting

You’ll be surprised what a few select plants placed around the foundation of the house can do for your backyard. They can make it more vibrant than ever and enhance the look of your home as well.

Choose relatively small, green plants if you want them to fit in with space, or you can choose some more colorful plants if you’re going to accentuate. It’s entirely up to you!

4. Gravel Instead of Lawn

Maintaining a lawn in your back yard can be a pain, especially if you’re always having guests over there or your children like playing in the back. It will quickly grow patchy and ugly.

In that case, you can replace most of it with gravel and rocks – it’s relatively inexpensive and can be set up and maintained easily. You can still have patches of grass here and there for accents, and it will look great.

5. Vertical Planting

In case your back yard is relatively small, and you want to enrich it with some beautiful plants, go vertical!

You can place flower boxes on walls and fences; you can line an entire wall with pallets filled with flower pots, put a post that you’ll hang flower pots off of – the options are almost endless.

6. Stained Plant Mulch

You want more color in your backyard but don’t want to do a lot of work or re-plant your precious plants?

No worries – stained plant mulch is an easy and inexpensive way to get a splash of color in there without needing to redecorate too much. Red and black are the most popular colors, though there are other ones as well.

7. Yard Statues

While some might consider them tacky, yard statues can be a great way to accentuate your backyard while also segmenting it into different areas without the need for fences or hard borders.

In case you want to avoid being tacky, pure white statues are the best way to go but throwing some more color in there is also a right choice.

8. Tire Planters

These are cheap as dirt, and you can make them on your own, decorate them to your liking and they have a wide variety of uses.

They can function as raised flower beds; you can hang them off walls and trees – whatever you like. They’re always a great choice.