Having a good backyard leaves a good impression on the buyers and the guests that come in to check out your property. A good yard also shows the type of personality an individual has such as when the homeowner has vegetables and fruits growing in the backyard showing how disciplined and straight forward the individual is. 

With that being said, having a good looking backyard will yield in the property being sold faster and for a better price. Putting in plants and trees is fine but if you can maintain, plant and shape them accordingly, is even better and worth the money. 

Outside from just landscaping, there is also interlocking and backyard floor designing which appeals to a lot of guests and buyers. This blog will help homeowners create a great looking backyard with flexible options for economic value and homeowners appeal which will make the property look enticing for the buyers and the guests alike. 

The following acronym will be used in the blog

• Do IT Yourself, DIY

Here are a few examples of good and bad backyards

First the bad:

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The Good:

The great:

Now that you have seen the pictures above, wouldn't you say that a good and great backyard is more eye-catching and worth the money being put into a property? Would you buy the house if the backyard of the house looks like the bad ones? 

The good news is that with a little bit of help, all backyards can be fixed. There are various ways we can improve the backyard, the first option is through getting plants and trees to liven up the backyard. The second is to utilize interlocking bricks or wooden floors to create a deck/patio. The third is by setting up lights in various places to lighten up the backyard, and finally, to use patio furniture to improve the backyard sitting area. 

First option is gardening and landscaping. It's a cost effective method to make the backyard look appealing. All you need for this is a few plants or trees, mulch and basic solar powered lighting to make it stand out during day and night. The best part is that you can do this yourself making it significantly cheaper and less time consuming than other options. 

Here are a few plants, trees, flowers and vegetable that will give life to your backyard:

• Vertical shrubs that are shaped like an upright cone or pillar such as juniper, create a formality or emphasis in the yard. They can be striking when placed on either side of a doorway or garden gate. Use landscaping to define the perimeter of your property by planting fast growing hedge like trees such as leyland cypress. They can also provide privacy if you don't have a fence.

• Flowers are the colours of nature brought to life with nature's care. There are a few flowers we recommend the homeowners use. These flowers are good for birds, butterflies, and bee populations. 

• Paeonia
• Geranium
• Rudbeckia and Echinacea 
• Sedum
• Rosa Rugosa
• Hemerocallis
• Physocarpus 
• Sunflowers
• And Roses

• Plants: There are many plants that are appealing to the eye, however, there are few that home should buy to catch the attention of buyers and the guests.

• Peppermint
• Hosta  
• Lamb’s ear
• Fountain grass
• Bog rosemary
• Creeping jenny
• House leek
• Ribbon grass 
• Ice plant
• Spotted laurel

• Vegetables: There are few homeowners that love to do hobby farming. Hobby farming is a great way to grow vegetables and sustain the home owners' lives. However, sometimes instead of planning out how the farm should look, some owners rush in and create a pit of vegetables making the backyard look less appealing. We at Mass Realty inc. appreciate the art of discipline in growing vegetables and plants. The homeowner should be encouraged to create a small section in the corner within the backyard to do their hobby farming. If done neatly, it can be attractive to a set of buyers. Here are a few vegetables that are easy to grow in Canada with the weather conditions. 

• Carrots.
• Zucchini.
• Onions.
• Tomatoes. 
• Cucumbers.
• Peppers. 
• Radish
• Potatoes

• Boulders: The contrast between grass and trees can be one of the most attractive features of a lawn surrounded by woods. To create a border that works with the environment without introducing unnatural objects, use medium sized boulders. The rocks can serve as a fence or a place for children to play, and with the right styling, it can become very eye-catching. Here are a few concept ideas to give the reader an insight.

Here are a few examples of using basic landscaping to strike an impression. 

Second option is to utilize interlocking bricks or wooden floors to create a deck/patio for your backyard. This makes the backyard feel more cozy and with the right design can help the backyard look amazing. This may cost a bit of money in material and labour, however, you can do this yourself if you wish to save cost. We at mass realty would prefer you get a professional team to finish your backyard interlocking and wooden patio. Interlocking and woodworking is a lot of work, takes expertise and time. We at Mass Realty Inc. have a team ready for such the work, inquire about it today at 647-400-9089. 

If you plan on doing this yourself, then there are a few things that you will need. First you must use some sort of a drawing tool to create an outlook of the design. Secondly, the interlocking bricks, Third you will have to get equipment to flatten out the earth and remove plantation roots. Fourth you will need gravel to cover the earth. For further requirements and process, here’s a full tutorial on how to get started on DIY interlocking with easy to follow steps. If you require a professional, the Mass Realty Inc. team has the right person for you, inquire today at 647-400-9089.

The same effect but a more traditional approach can be done by using the wooden floor patio rather than using interlocking. Once again, we the Mass Team highly recommend the owner get an expert on the case as this work requires some expertise and time. Here is a tutorial for DIY if the owner is interested. Here are some reference designs for home owners. 

Thirdly, setting up lights for the backyard is an attractive way to get attention in the dark, sometimes even mid day. The lights and their placement can look appealing, and can literally brighten up the backyard. The lights are easy to set up and quite inexpensive, there are many types of lights that come into play when considering the options. Such as pot lights on top of houses, wall lamps, string lights, lamp posts, solar powered mini lighting, and strip lights. The lights that may require expertise are pot lights on the house and lamp posts if the owner is interested in placing them. Here are a few examples to show the effect of the backyard with lights turned on. 

Fourth, bringing patio furniture and introducing a fire pit to add flavour into the appeal of the backyard. Patio furniture can include, gazebo, chair, umbrella, couches, fire pits, tables, and swing chairs. Here are some ideas to give the reader some reference. The furniture is the last upgrade that a homeowner should utilize if they wish to sell the unit. The furniture set can become expensive to acquire and possibly difficult to maintain in set weather conditions and animal delinquency. However, if the house is a large expensive house past the $2M mark, then we highly recommend that the homeowner add backyard furniture to appeal to the buyer so it gets sold faster. The primary reasoning for this is because homes past the 2M mark tend to stay past the 30 day mark with some houses going past 90 days. 

We at Mass Realty Inc. understand the frustration of the homeowner not being able to sell their house on time. This is why the team stages and creates the perfect exposure for the homeowner to yield the most profit in the shortest amount of time. The team will advise the owners what upgrade brings value to the home and the influence they bring for the sellability of the home.    

The other options that also bring attention to the buyers and the guests are swimming pools and miniature ponds. Both have their reasons to be placed in the backyard, the mass realty team would suggest the use of an underground pool over a mini pond for sellability and value it may bring as profit to the homeowner. Here are further explanations to both:

Swimming pools are nice to have but require a hefty amount of maintenance and permit approvals. The pool can also place the basement at an increased risk of leakage. The feature of a swimming pool can increase the sellability of the home, however the cost of the build may surpass the benefits that the pool may bring. Homeowners are strongly advised to get a professional to create the pool. If you are looking to build a pool in your backyard, here are some ideas for your design. Most underground pool construction starts at $30K CAD with a yearly maintenance between 2K-3K. 

Miniature ponds have been around with homeowners for sometime, the ponds require set designation, landscaping, and maintenance. The ponds may carry fish for the decoration of the house. The pond in the winter is very difficult to manage and may require the homeowner to relocate the fish into a warmer location such as a fish tank indoors. The down sides about having a pond such as this would be that it may invite unwanted pests and insects leaving the homeowners and their guests feeling uneasy. If the owner is interested in creating a pond, here are some ideas. Ponds can cost between $4-10 CAD per SQFT for small ponds, large ponds for up to 10 acres can cost between $2000-9000 CAD per acre.