Getting to Know Your Property: Before You Begin
Living Outdoors — Understanding What You Have, Imagining What You Want, and Finding a Place to Start
In a previous article, we talked about looking beyond the grass, trees, and shrubs and seeing your yard as an extension of your home. A place for living, relaxing, entertaining, and enjoying the outdoors.
But before you start building patios, planting gardens, or shopping for that outdoor kitchen you’ve been dreaming about, there’s something worth doing first.
Take a good look at what you already have.
Every property is different. Some are large, some are small. Some are surrounded by neighbors, while others sit on acres of open land. Some have beautiful mature trees and established gardens, while others are little more than a house surrounded by grass.
And every one of them has possibilities.
The trick is understanding what those possibilities are and how they relate to the way you want to live.
Where You Live Matters
Let’s begin with something obvious that we sometimes overlook: the setting.
A home in a traditional suburban neighborhood presents different opportunities and challenges than a rural property surrounded by open fields or a townhouse in the middle of a city.
In a neighborhood, you may be dealing with nearby houses, fences, sidewalks, utility easements, and perhaps homeowners association requirements. Privacy can be a concern, particularly when your backyard is in full view of a neighbor’s second-story window.
On a rural property, you may have plenty of room but a different set of considerations: longer distances between outdoor spaces, wildlife, exposure to wind, drainage, and just how much land you’re willing to maintain.
In an urban setting, space may be limited, but a small courtyard, rooftop terrace, or narrow side yard can offer wonderful opportunities for outdoor living.
There’s no single approach that works for every setting. A landscape should respond to its surroundings rather than simply imitate something you saw in a magazine or online.
Size Isn’t Everything
Which brings us to a common assumption: that a bigger property automatically makes for a better landscape.
I’ve seen wonderful outdoor spaces on very small properties, and large properties where much of the land was rarely used.
A small backyard might comfortably hold a dining patio, a few planting beds, and a quiet seating area. A larger property could have room for a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, recreation lawn, gardens, and perhaps a workshop or other structure.
But more space doesn’t necessarily mean a better landscape.
In fact, larger properties often require more thought about how the different areas relate to one another. How far do you really want to carry dinner from the kitchen to an outdoor dining area? Will you regularly use that beautiful garden tucked away at the far end of the property?
And how much of that property do you actually want to maintain?
The goal isn’t to fill every available square foot with something. Sometimes leaving an area open is just as important as deciding what to put there.
Let Your Property Tell You Something
Before making any major changes, spend some time simply observing your property.
Where does the sun rise and set? Which areas get morning sun, and which bake in the afternoon heat? Where does the shade fall in different seasons?
A patio on the west side of a house may be pleasant in the morning but miserable on a summer afternoon. A vegetable garden may need more sunlight than that attractive shaded corner can provide.
Pay attention to the wind, too. Some spots enjoy a pleasant summer breeze, while others take the brunt of strong winds or uncomfortable winter weather.
And then there’s water.
Where does rainwater go during a heavy storm? Are there areas that stay wet long after the rain stops? Does water collect near the house or run across a driveway or walkway?
Drainage is one of those things that’s easy to ignore until it becomes a problem. Usually right after you’ve finished the patio. Understanding how water moves across your property can save considerable frustration and expense later.
Soils matter as well. Sandy soils, heavy clays, and poorly drained soils all behave differently. They influence plant selection, irrigation needs, and sometimes how patios, walls, and other features are built.
You don’t need to become a soil scientist or a drainage engineer. But you should have a general understanding of the conditions you’re working with.
Take Inventory of What You Have
Once you have a feel for the conditions, look at what’s already on your property.
Are there mature trees worth preserving? Established shrubs or gardens that are doing well? Existing patios, walkways, fences, retaining walls, or other features that could be worked into future improvements?
Not everything needs to go simply because you’re considering a new landscape.
A mature shade tree, for example, may be one of the most valuable features on your property. It could take decades to replace the shade and character it provides.
On the other hand, some existing features may no longer serve their purpose. An overgrown hedge might block a view you’d like to enjoy. An old walkway may lead somewhere you no longer need to go. A poorly located planting bed might get in the way of how you want to use the space.
Consider what should stay, what might be improved, and what could eventually be removed.
And remember that trees and plants are living things. They grow, mature, and sometimes decline. What works today may need attention in the years ahead.
Public Spaces and Private Places
In our introductory article, I suggested thinking of the front yard as the public face of your home and the backyard as your weekend sweatpants space.
That distinction becomes especially useful as you start thinking about how you want to use your property.
The front landscape, particularly in a traditional neighborhood, generally contributes to the appearance of the home and its relationship to the surrounding community. The backyard is usually where we want more privacy and the freedom to enjoy our own interests.
But privacy isn’t necessarily an all-or-nothing proposition.
You might want a completely private swimming pool area but enjoy a front porch where you can visit with neighbors. Perhaps your outdoor dining area needs screening from the house next door, while another part of the yard has a beautiful view you’d like to keep.
Think about what you want to see from your outdoor spaces and, just as importantly, what you don’t want others to see.
Fences, hedges, trees, garden walls, and even the arrangement of the outdoor spaces themselves can create different degrees of privacy.
The objective isn’t necessarily to hide your property from the world. It’s to create the right relationship between your private life and your surroundings.
What Do You Want to Do Outside?
Now we get to the fun part.
Forget about plants and paving materials for a moment. Think about how you’d really like to spend your time outdoors.
Do you enjoy cooking and entertaining? Would you like a comfortable place for family dinners or gatherings with friends?
Perhaps you have children who need room to play, pets that need a safe place outside, or grandchildren who visit on weekends.
Maybe you’d enjoy a swimming pool, a place to practice yoga, an area for lawn games, or a garden where you can grow vegetables and herbs.
Or perhaps your idea of a perfect afternoon is a comfortable chair beneath a tree, a good book, and absolutely nothing else on the schedule.
All of those are legitimate uses of outdoor space. And none of them necessarily require elaborate or expensive improvements.
A simple lawn can become a place for badminton, croquet, or tossing a football. A small paved area might be just enough for a table and four chairs. A garden bench in the right spot can become a favorite retreat.
The important thing is to identify what you actually enjoy, rather than what you think a landscape is supposed to include.
Inspiration Versus Reality
Of course, figuring out what you enjoy gets a little harder once you start scrolling.
We’ve all seen those beautiful outdoor spaces online. Perfectly manicured gardens, elaborate outdoor kitchens, spectacular swimming pools, and patios that look like they belong at a luxury resort.
They’re beautiful, aren’t they?
And they’re meant to be. Many of those images are carefully staged, professionally photographed, or digitally created to catch your attention and inspire you.
There’s nothing wrong with finding inspiration in them. I encourage homeowners to collect pictures of outdoor spaces and features they like. They can be a wonderful way to communicate ideas.
But here’s something worth asking yourself:
Is that really how you want to live?
That beautiful formal garden may require hours of maintenance every week. The elaborate outdoor kitchen might look wonderful, but how often will you actually use it? If the answer is “not much,” it can become a very expensive place to store patio cushions. And that spectacular swimming pool comes with ongoing expenses, cleaning, and maintenance, whether anyone swims in it or not.
Then there’s the cost of building it all in the first place.
If those things genuinely fit your interests, lifestyle, and budget, wonderful! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with creating an elaborate outdoor environment if that’s what you want and you’re prepared to care for it.
But if you’d rather spend your weekends enjoying your property than maintaining it, a simpler approach might make you happier.
A Word About AI-Generated Images
Artificial intelligence has added another fascinating way to explore landscape ideas. Today, you can upload a photograph of your backyard, describe what you’d like to see, and generate an image of a completely transformed outdoor space in a matter of moments.
And some of those images are absolutely wonderful!
I use AI visualization myself, and I think it can be an excellent tool for exploring possibilities and communicating ideas.
But there’s an important distinction to understand. An attractive image is not necessarily a workable landscape design.
AI-generated images generally don’t account for the actual soil conditions, drainage patterns, underground utilities, property boundaries, or construction requirements of your particular site. They may show plants thriving in conditions where they wouldn’t last a season, structures that aren’t practical to build, or improvements that would cost far more than you might imagine.
And they rarely tell you much about the maintenance it takes to keep everything looking the way it does in the picture.
That doesn’t make these images useless. Quite the opposite. They can be wonderful starting points for conversations about what might be possible.
Just remember that the image represents an idea, not necessarily a solution.
Making Inspiration Your Own
Whether you’re flipping through a magazine, browsing gardens online, or experimenting with AI-generated images, the same advice applies.
Look for the things that genuinely appeal to you. Perhaps it’s the feeling of privacy, the arrangement of a patio, the sound of a fountain, or the way plants soften the edges of an outdoor living space.
You don’t need to recreate the entire scene to capture what you like about it. Sometimes a fairly simple improvement can deliver much of the enjoyment you imagined from a far more elaborate design.
So let those beautiful images inspire you, but don’t let them define what your outdoor space should be.
After all, you’re creating a place to live, not a photograph to admire.
Choosing the Features That Make Sense
Once you have a better idea of how you’d like to use your outdoor spaces, you can begin thinking about the features that will support those activities.
Patios and decks provide places for dining and gathering. Walkways connect different areas of the property. Pergolas, arbors, and shade structures make outdoor spaces more comfortable.
Outdoor kitchens and grills support entertaining, while fireplaces and fire pits stretch the outdoor season into cooler weather.
Water features add movement, sound, and visual interest. Landscape lighting improves safety, highlights important features, and makes outdoor spaces more enjoyable after dark.
You might also consider irrigation, outdoor audio, garden art, sculpture, play equipment, recreation areas, or a workshop.
But here’s something worth remembering: just because you can include a feature doesn’t mean you should.
Every improvement should have a purpose.
A landscape filled with features that rarely get used can be expensive to build, difficult to maintain, and less enjoyable than a simpler arrangement.
Choose the things that will genuinely improve the way you live.
Don’t Forget About Maintenance
We’ve already touched on maintenance, but it deserves another mention, because it influences nearly every decision you’ll make about your landscape.
Lawns need mowing. Planting beds need weeding and mulching. Trees and shrubs may need pruning. Patios and walkways need occasional cleaning, and outdoor furniture and equipment need attention. And the lawn doesn’t much care that it’s your day off.
Swimming pools, water features, outdoor kitchens, and other improvements bring their own maintenance requirements.
There’s nothing wrong with creating an elaborate garden if gardening is something you enjoy. In fact, for some homeowners, caring for the landscape is one of the most rewarding parts of outdoor living.
But if you’d rather spend your weekends relaxing than working in the yard, that should shape your decisions from the very beginning.
Ask yourself a simple question:
How much time, effort, and money am I willing to devote to maintaining this landscape?
Be realistic with your answer.
A successful landscape should fit your lifestyle, not become another obligation that takes time away from it.
Turning Ideas Into a Plan of Action
By now, you may have a growing collection of ideas.
Some might be fairly simple, like adding a few trees, creating a small seating area, or improving an existing garden. Others might be more involved, such as building a patio, solving a drainage problem, installing a swimming pool, or developing an outdoor kitchen.
You don’t have to do everything at once.
Start by identifying what matters most. What problems need to be solved? What improvements would make the biggest difference in how you enjoy your property? What might be worth saving for later?
A simple sketch, a few notes, or a collection of photographs can help organize your thoughts. For larger or more complicated projects, a professionally prepared landscape plan may be a worthwhile investment.
And don’t forget to set a realistic budget. Your ideas and your resources need to work together.
The objective is to develop a direction, not necessarily a final design. Once you understand your property and what you want from it, the decisions about plants, paving, structures, and other improvements become much easier.
It Starts With Understanding
Every successful landscape begins with two things: understanding the place, and understanding the people who will use it.
Your property has characteristics that influence what can be done. Your family has interests, needs, and priorities that influence what should be done.
The best outdoor spaces bring those two things together.
So before you start digging, planting, or building, take a little time to walk around your property.
Look at it from different perspectives. Notice where the sun falls, where water collects, where you feel comfortable, and where you don’t.
Imagine having breakfast outside, entertaining friends, playing with the kids, or enjoying a quiet evening beneath the trees.
Think about what you have, what you want, and what you’re willing to do to make it happen.
You don’t need to have all the answers right now.
You just need to start asking the right questions.
~ Eric
Living Outdoors is a series exploring the many elements of residential landscape design, from plants and patios to drainage, lighting, outdoor recreation, and more.
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