How to Create a Backyard Oasis for Your Family

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Dear Moss Building & Design,

I’d love to make my backyard the focal point for my family this summer, but I don’t have a design bone in my body.

Do you have any tips on where to start if I’d like to spruce up my yard and create the oasis my family is looking for?

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Dear Dulles Mom,

Your backyard is definitely your own mini-oasis! It’s also a place where you go to stay calm and a place to showcase your personality and creativity.

Now’s the time to get started on the garden of your dreams, whether it’s of the butterfly or vegetable garden variety!

Start From the Ground Up
If homegrown veggies are of interest to you, or you’d just like to start introducing young children to the idea of gardening, adding a vegetable garden to your backyard might be a great place to start this summer. These raised garden beds from Home Depot are easy to assemble and give you many options to contain your vegetable garden space. You could go with one square box or make a tiered approach for different types of plants.

If your garden mostly stays floral, then you can definitely think outside the box. Laying mulch and hearty topsoil in curving shapes in your back or front yard is a good place to start. You’ll want to create a design first and outline it with stones or sticks to make sure you get your garden outline just right before laying down any new dirt or sod. Better Homes and Gardens has a helpful online garden planning tool that guides you through choosing your shape and picking the plants and bushes you’d like to accent your garden. Check it out!

Choose Shrubbery & Plants Carefully
The online planning tool mentioned above can help you envision different types of shrubbery and plants for your space. You’ll likely want to make a trip to your local garden center to see what’s in season or what local specialists recommend for the best growth in your area.

To appeal to all the senses, mix textures (smooth, frilly, prickly, and ripply) and mix colors and sizes when choosing your plants. Just like designing the interior of a home, mixing and matching colors and textures creates a complementary look that is pleasing to the eye.

Add Formally Constructed Sitting Areas
Once you’ve got the landscaping under control, you can add benches and sitting areas. If your backyard is lacking a patio or porch, Moss Building & Design can help! Read more about our suggestions for patios, porches, and decks this season on our blog here.

Work with a contractor to design the area and build necessary accompaniments like a pergola, garden trellis, or arbor to complete your garden’s look. You may even choose to drop in a pizza oven or fire pit to really spruce up your space and help make it a year-round draw.

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Moss Building & Design is the top home remodeling company in Northern Virginia that has established a reputation for excellence in remodeling additions, kitchens, bathrooms, and basements and providing home services for homeowners. With a strong focus on community, Moss Building and Design encourages a hands-on approach to home improvement with an emphasis on education. Their ‘Girls Night Out’ HandyMOM101 events offer DIY workshops covering projects like tiling, power drills, caulking, and patching drywall.

Connect with them by visiting them online, or get social with them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Moss Building & Design can also be reached at (703) 961-7707.

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