Trends in Backyard Design: What’s Hot Now

Update your patio, deck or backyard with what’s new in outdoor design, from HGTV.Com., to read and see more including pictures: http://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/trends-in-backyard-design-whats-hot-now-pictures

Mainstream Sustainability :
Low-maintenance gardens, drought-tolerant plants and less turfgrass have become the norm in landscape design.

Backyard Trend – less grass. Backyard Landscape Design, Wilmette, Schmechtig Landscapes

Edibles, Front and Center:
Blended gardens that incorporate edibles and ornamentals do double duty, giving gardeners a bountiful harvest of fruit, vegetables and herbs and an alternative to turfgrass.

Better Quality, Less Bling:
Post-recession: Over-the-top, showy landscapes are out. Now, homeowners prefer to invest in quality and natural materials.

Backyard Landscape Design, Schmechtig Landscapes in Barrington, Illinois

Like a Fish to Water:
We love the sound of water in the garden: water features from inexpensive self-contained systems in an urn or portable fountain to a high-end water wall are popular across all budgets.

Landscape Design Ideas with a water feature, Schmechtig Landscapes, South Barrington, Il.

Indoors Ventures Outside:
New outdoor fabrics fade-resistant and waterproof.

Backyard Landscape Ideas, Schmechtig Landscapes in Winnetka, Illinios

The Birds and the Bees:
It’s back-to-the-earth functionality in more and more backyards. Besides figuring out how to incorporate veggie gardens and fruit trees into the landscape, some homeowners are also adding chickens and bees.

Going Green:
One of the ecofriendly elements of the HGTV Green Home 2012 is the barbecue courtyard. Born of architect Steve Kemp’s vision for a truly green design, the outdoor space replaces the conventional backyard, which would have required major regrading of the site and the construction of retaining walls. “Now the ‘yard’ is open to almost every room in the house, rather than being open to one or two rooms,” he says.

Schmechtig Landscapes, HGTV Backyard Landscape Project – Landscapers Challenge

Courtesy of HGTV.COM