I had watched landscape shows for a couple of years and bought the landscape software determined to get my yard in shape. Yet it wasnt until I got married two years ago that I really got motivated. My wife and I decided we would rather spend the extra money we had on creating a nice space in the yard than going out to eat and movies.

We cut back considerably and saved enough money to hire a landscape design firm that helped us get some good ideas. They knew we only wanted their help with ideas and that we wanted something we could feasibly do together with family and friends. My brother-in-law suggested this and I cant tell you how glad we were once we did the consult!

After taking the time to listening to us he came back with a very simple plan where we were able to accomplish almost 90% of the work ourselves without a hitch. Laying the patio blocks and getting them even and right was the most difficult thing we had to do and thankfully, we had some much needed help that day.

We had looked at some of the things we would like to incorporate into the yard and he came back with a great idea, find them in kit form; so we did. What we didnt realize is all but one of the ones we loved were in kit form already so the only one we had to find that wasnt was a pergola. The arbor and garden furniture all came ready to put together and install.

Its amazing how many options there are for flowerbeds. We went with raised garden beds for a couple of reasons; they can be put anywhere and theyre really pretty and easy to care for. The plus was they also came in kit form and was a breeze to put together.

While my wife loves the garden and all the knickknacks she has bought for it and the yard, I love the grill and shed. We have decided that its best to scope out what we like and make that our own personal domains.

The one thing we both love is our new Rion 8 x 12 Hobby Greenhouse. I was shocked by how easy this was to put up and get ready for plants. Again, it was a kit and was pre drilled. It took hand tools to get it together and we were lucky to have an old garage slab to place it on and it looks fantastic!

Its a pleasure to come home in the evenings and just take a look out over the backyard at what we created. I have no idea what took me so long to make this happen but I am so glad we finally did it. I learned that I can make a great yard and that I truly love my yard!

Its funny how you convince yourself by watching others do things on TV that you can do it too. Thats the way Ive been the past few years until my wife told me I was either going to do something with the yard or she would hire someone to do it. I decided I better get cracking!

Luckily I knew someone from a local organization that was an experienced landscape designer and my wife agreed to use part of the money we had saved to hire him. Since we wanted to do most of the work ourselves, he helped us by creating a design that we could pull off with some help from friends and family.

After listening to what we wanted and how we would like to function in our yard, together we came up with a great layout and plan that we felt we could pull off. This hardest part was the large patio out back and we did hire then to help for a day to get the rock laid and finished correctly. Other than that, we pretty much did the entire yard.

What really helped was that we were able to get some of the larger features and garden structures in kit form. They came pre-drilled and ready to put together. We were able to get an arbor that framed the entrance into our yard from the front and a pergola that shades a part of our patio. We placed a beautiful teak bench underneath to create a great sitting area.

Its amazing how many options there are for flowerbeds. We went with raised garden beds for a couple of reasons; they can be put anywhere and theyre really pretty and easy to care for. The plus was they also came in kit form and was a breeze to put together.

Of course, my favorite thing is the gas grill we bought and put on the patio and the shed to store all the lawn and garden tools and equipment. My wife and her mother have had a blast finding the garden dcor to place all around the place.

Once we were finished, the only thing we didnt get was a greenhouse, which we were hoping to be able to purchase but came up a little short and decided that we would wait until next year. Then we got a delivery call and it was the EasyGrow 6 x 8 Greenhouse that we had wanted. Needless to say, we were thrilled!

I now look out over our beautiful yard at the flowers and vines crawling up the trellises, the beds starting to bloom and vegetables peeking trough the soils and realize what a great yard I have; one to be extremely proud of and we did the majority of it ourselves. Now all we have to do is enjoy it!