While a home’s backyard has a lot of potential, it can be challenging to know exactly what to do with the space. You may even be dealing with uneven land, outdoor clutter, or a small space that can make it awkward to get started. Regardless of what type of outdoor space you have, you can use it to your advantage to improve your social ties, family bonds, mood, career, and mental health. How? It’s time to get a little creative and come up with some fun backyard upgrades that can also improve your well-being.
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Create a Mindful Sensory Garden
Getting in touch with nature can do wonders for your mental health. The sight, sound, smell, and sensation of the plants and breeze can help you relax and focus on the present moment, rather than distant stresses, in a practice called mindfulness. Mindfulness techniques are highly recommended in the mental health space to help you relieve stress and anxiety, and they’re more successful when you have more to bring you to the current moment. Typically, therapists will recommend using your senses to ground yourself. Planting a sensory garden can make this very easy. Sensory gardens involve landscaping that engages all of your senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. Consider various plants and landscaping methods that can stimulate these senses, such as wind chimes for hearing or soft-textured leaves for touch. You may want to leave out the taste, but there are plenty of edible plants if you’d like to include them.
Build a Relaxing Patio Deck
With busy lifestyles, it’s tough to find the time to unwind. When you have the perfect outdoor oasis, finding that time to snooze in a hammock or sway on a porch swing becomes easier. Consider building a backyard that begs you to stop and smell the flowers (literally). A patio with optional shade, gorgeous flowers, and comfortable furniture can help you get more fresh air and peace in your daily routine. A deck or a patio also makes an excellent entertainment space. Create a subbase and foundation using concrete, gravel, wood, or any other suitable material. If you’re on uneven ground or you’d prefer a higher viewpoint, you can also create a raised deck to immerse yourself.
Grow an Edible Garden
Gardens aren’t just beautiful and enriching; they can help you eat more nutritiously as well. Consider growing a few crops or fruit trees in your backyard for cost-effective and convenient kitchen ingredients whenever you need them. Imagine a savory pesto sauce made with herbs straight from your garden, or an apple pie featuring fresh apples plucked from your own orchard. Cooking with natural ingredients helps you pay closer attention to what you’re eating and absorb more beneficial nutrients. A healthy diet helps reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other health issues. If you already have a chronic condition, certain ingredients, such as garlic and tomatoes, can help reduce symptoms of pain and inflammation. Edible gardens are not only fun, but also healthy and beautiful additions to your yard.
Outdoor Fitness or Sports Zone
When you move your fitness routine outside, you’ll typically get more vitamin D from the sun and sweat more, which can improve your workout. If you’re into yoga, take your mat outdoors and stretch on the patio surrounded by greenery. Create a weight-lifting zone under a shaded cabana with an outdoor speaker system to keep you motivated and energized. You can even add a pool or a sports court to keep your body moving in a fun way. For these, you’ll need a level ground, however. If you don’t have an even yard, you’ll have to hire a contractor to level it, or if you have the experience, you can do it yourself by renting a skid steer grader. The more you do yourself, the better, as a pool will incur significant installation costs. However, don’t compromise on safety. It’s best to leave it to the pros if you don’t have experience. A regular fitness or movement routine can improve your joints, heart, lungs, muscles, bones, mental health, and more. You don’t have to drive to a gym when you’ve got options right in your backyard.
Pet Paradise
If you’ve got furry friends in the family, your backyard can serve as a sanctuary for them. They likely use the space for fun and toileting needs, but you can make it even better by incorporating obstacle courses, play pools, and relaxation zones. Install automatic ball launchers, toy chests, and agility courses to show your dog how much you care. If you’re a cat owner, installing a fun catio (cat patio) where you can grow cat grass and catnip can become an excellent enrichment for your feline family. Dedicating some of your yard to enriching your pets can help improve both your bond and your mental health.
Remote Workstation in the Sun
Setting up a patio doesn’t have to be strictly for relaxation and entertainment. You can transform your patio into an entirely new office space, where you can enjoy the sunshine, toss a ball for your dog, and attend a virtual meeting all in the same place. Provide a sheltered furniture space where you can relax with your laptop or tablet. Include ergonomic cushions and a cooler to enjoy a nice beverage. A full outdoor kitchen or drink station can provide a nice, energizing cup of coffee while you work, too. Tabletop drink holders can also prevent spills from ruining your papers or electronics.
Conclusion
Your home’s backyard can be an entirely new space for you to enjoy for work, pleasure, or a healthier lifestyle. Edible gardens, fitness zones, and sensory landscaping can improve your body and mind. Pet play zones and outdoor workstations can provide you with more space to live and thrive, while also strengthening your family bonds. No matter what you decide to do with your outdoor space, you’ll be taking advantage of all the benefits nature has to offer for your health and home.
