Our backyard is a little over a quarter of an acre with plenty of room for roaming and running for the family and something we’ve been wanting to do for a while now was create a comfortable and inviting environment for our family and friends. So with Caleb on an extended spring break as a teacher, it was the perfect time to get started on this project! We have a standard size patio slab of about 9ft x 12 (maybe?) But this was Caleb and I’s first project together and it was honestly so much fun. Neither of us complained and we were just so excited to do something we’ve been wanting to do for a while! But here are the steps to a cute(r) backyard patio during the Covid-19 quarantine.

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1. DRAW A DESIGN SKETCH

I literally drew a sketch on the back of a credit card offer envelope. [Cuz we all that’s totally just junk mail.] But I drew out a sketch of where I wanted the furniture and where I would like to add trees! Also if you’re landscaping, have a layout of what kind of plants you’d like and where you’d like to set them. This will save soooo much time later.

2. CHOOSE YOUR THEME

Tropical? Bright and airy? Boho-esk?

Choosing your theme is mui importante as it helps you choose your plants as well! I was going for cozy with pops of color so I went for a brighter neutral palate. I did this also so I can easily change out the pillows with the season and get different looks.

3. PLANTS

So I learned you can easily become a hoarder of different plants because there are sooo many pretty species out there and anytime I saw pretty flowers, I wanted them allllll. But I had to keep telling myself to stick to a theme and keep it simple. I went with flowers common in the south like camellias and hydrangeas and made those my “standout” flowers. I also wanted mosquito repellent herbs so rosemary and lavender were a must. I also learned from lots of landscaping you tubers. They said when buying flowers for your flowerbed, buy them in odd numbers and group them into 3’s so it’s cohesive and less cluttered. 

Basically stick to a theme and don’t make it complicated. Buy 3 or 4 different types of plants with different heights & textures and buy lots of them. 

4. OUTLINE FLOWER BED

When getting into this project I thought I was going to just put furniture Down and decorate. We had no idea that we would be getting into landscaping but halfway through, we knew we needed to add a little something something. We knew we didn’t want a clean square so we kinda just spray painted curvy lines in the grass making room for bigger bushes being set in some spots 

5. PURCHASE FURNITURE (OR MAKE IT!)

I say do this before you start digging so that you’re not waiting forever for your online orders. Just make sure if you make your furniture – look for cushions FIRST to see what dimensions the seat needs to be. My father is a master wood maker / Filipino Macgyver so I drew up a sketch of a wooden sectional and he made 2 sofas instead 🤷🏻‍♀️ lol. He also did this in a day and I sanded them down, stained and added a poly wood protector. 

6. GO TO STORES AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

I went to all the necessary stores in one day to try to avoid leaving the home as much as possible.

Lowe’s: open at 6am

Walmart garden center: open at 7am 

Pensacola seed and garden: open at 8am

7. DIG THE DESIGNATED AREA

This was a ton of work and thankfully had Caleb for this part which he did over a period of 2 days when Jack was down for naps during the hottest time of the day. God love him. But I have the vision and the shopping capabilities, he works well with a shovel and wheelbarrow so it works out!

*but make sure you have enough landscape trash bags or trash cans because just the surrounding the patio area that we dug out filled up 4 trash bins

8. LAY DOWN FLOWER BED MESH

And use metal landscape staples to hold them down and together! 

9. LINE AREA WITH EDGER OF CHOICE

We used a the No Dig black edger and loved the look and ease of installing 

10. LAY OUT PLANTS AND GET TO PLANTING!

You’ll have to cut through the mesh to plant, we just used a straight blade 

11. ADD MULCH

We used black mulch because we loved the sleek look it gave. Plus it was on sale at Walmart which was a huge plus ;).

12. TAP INTO YOUR INNER JOANNA GAINES

Finally! Now for my favorite part, decorate! All your online orders should be in and it’s time to put it all together! And one of my favorite buys was this super cute table / grill / fire pit that I scored from target! Love love love multifunctional furniture.

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And if you’re wanting to do something similar, here’s what you’ll need: