How to Decorate a Back Yard With Plants

Call your local utility companies to come to your home and mark "no-dig" zones. No-dig zones include any location that has an underground power or gas line or water pipe.

Sketch several possible plant arrangements on several different pieces of graph paper using a pencil. Take into consideration such elements as house windows, fence lines and natural borders such as patios or pathways. Sketching different arrangements ensures you consider different possibilities, so you have a better chance of designing one you will continue to like season after season.

Plan "security" bushes such as thorny hedges or rosebushes near bedroom or low-lying windows.

Sketch different plant colors on your backyard plan using colored pencils to indicate plants of different colors or blooms. Ensure the plants remain visible from your windows, so you can enjoy them from inside as well as outside.

Dig 6-inch holes for small plants like daisies or wildflowers using a spade and 12-inch holes for larger plants such as hedges, rosebushes or trees using a shovel.

Plant small plants 10 to 18 inches apart and larger plants 24 to 36 inches apart, making sure to pack the topsoil loosely around them if planting seedlings and more firmly around the stems if planting starters.

Position ceramic planters at locations that mark natural corners in your backyard. Corner locations benefit from large, ceramic planters that house vertical or tapered plants. These plants can provide large foliage coverage without creating blind spots because the foliage spreads out overhead while the ceramic planter only obscures a small area.