Create a Holiday Vacation Escape in a Small, Urban Backyard

Take a cruise in your own backyard by using do it yourself steps to create an ambience that will turn a small, urban backyard into a private holiday vacation escape featuring your favorite artistic themes.

Picture a motif related to a favorite vacation place such as one of the following: tropical, desert, north woods, beach, or perhaps a farm with vegetables and fruit trees. Unlike taking a cruise when you invest time and money into your backyard the vacation experience is available only a few steps away.

The list below of ten ideas will get you started.

1. Create a decorative patio. Depending upon your climate you can put tile, flagstone or pavers on top of an old cement patio. Or, use decorative cement which is stained with color and stamped with a design. For example, Quickcrete has a cement product in a 40 pound box that can be mixed by hand and used to resurface old cement. Color tints for cement can be added to the mixture or the cement can be stained. Today there is also decorative gravel or stones. In arid regions such as the southwest varieties of gravel color and texture are popular.
2. Lawn furniture can be plastic, wrought iron, cement, wood, or metal, and can be found at garage sales, thrift shops, goodwill shops, and moving sales. It can be rustic like a picnic table, or sleek and elegant. An umbrella for shade and a chaise lounge might be part of the plan. Electricity from an outlet on the back of house or from an extension cord can be used to provide power for stereo music, lights in evening, and tv (with an extension cable), movies on videos, or on dvd's. If sound is a problem for nearby neighbors there are remote headphones available.
3. A barbecue can often be found at garage and moving sales, or on sale at a discount store. A fire it can give that campfire atmosphere so that all that you need is someone to tell tall tales to complete the picture.
4. Privacy can be obtained by using 6 foot tall wood fence sections from Home Depot. Sink metal supports into cement, paint fence white and you have an outdoor room. Bamboo or reed fencing is available too.
5. Lawn, sod or a no-mow ground cover can be used. If you live in the southwest where water is precious some people use decorative gravel with drip lines under it leading to shrubs and trees and flower beds. Portable sprinklers are often all that is needed but underground sprinklers or drip irrigation can be used depending upon your climate and needs.
6. Trees in ten gallon containers are often available at places such as Home Depot for $20 each. In a small space you can use small trees or miniature fruit trees.
7. Flower beds are best if they are low maintenance, suitable for climate, and include enough perennials so that between plantings of annuals there will still be plants in the beds
8. Accessories such as planters with flowers, cactus, shrubs, trees, vegetables, a decorative thermometer, or a birdbath can be added
9. Choices also include using plants to attract butterflies or to attract birds
10. Water features are also a good do it yourself project. You need a pump, and an object to contain the water such as an old wine barrel. If you decide to dig a pond you'll need a

plastic pond liner. You can add water plants, and perhaps goldfish or koi.

Now just put dinner on the barbecue and relax in the chaise lounge while you enjoy the privacy, peace, and décor of your outdoor room.