How to Continue Enjoying Your Outdoor Space Throughout the Cold Season
When most people think about using their landscape, they can only imagine getting to enjoy it during the warmer months. However, there are a few different things you can do to make your outdoor living space more usable into the colder weather! If you want to get more out of your landscape during the chillier months, read the ideas below for some inspiration.
Fire Pit
Having a fire pit in your backyard will come in handy more than you even realize. When people gather together, they like to gather around a focal point. Whether it’s around a table, pool, or crackling fire, having something to encircle naturally brings people together. When it’s cold outside, a warm feature will draw your family in! It also acts as a source of warmth which always makes you feel more at home.
Not only does a fire pit help warm up the area, it also is a source of recreation. You can drink hot chocolate while making smores or roasting your favorite treats over the fire. It goes great with an outdoor grill or kitchen area if you want to make a full meal out of it.
Increase Lighting
During the winter, the days get a lot shorter and it can be dark by as early as 5pm. This drastically decreases your ability to use your landscape, even if the temperature hasn’t decreased a lot. It is nearly impossible to use your backyard at night if you have no lighting! Adding some landscape lighting is a super easy way to fix this problem! It doesn’t have to be a big project either. Adding bistro lighting across your back deck or just adding a few sources of light can make all the difference.
For more information on landscape lighting and why it’s a good investment, check out or previous post!
Hot Tub
This one might seem like a no brainer, but adding a hot tub to your backyard is always a good idea. You can use it throughout the year, and it makes the perfect activity during the winter. You can use it to enjoy with your family any night of the week, and invite people over for a relaxing swim any time of year! This item is definitely on the pricey side, but the average life of a hot tub can be up to 20 years (depending on the kind you buy). If you split the cost of the tub up between all of the years of use you’ll get, it makes the investment more manageable. Also, having your own hot tub will save you money by not having to pay for a pool every time you want to swim!
Use Evergreen Plants
One of the harder things about winter is that a lot of landscapes lose their colors. Without all of your favorite plants blooming and growing, sometimes it’s easy to forget that you even have a yard in the first place. One way to help with this problem is using plants that keep their color year round! There are lots of evergreen or coniferous plants that would look great in any home, and using these allows you to enjoy greenery throughout the year. It also looks amazing when it snows and you see green leaves poking out everywhere.
Covered Decks and Enclosures
One simple way to make your yard usable in all kinds of weather is to have covered areas. Whether it’s your patio or a sitting area, having a covered portion will give you the experience of being outdoors, without having to worry about a little wind or rain. You can even include your firepit and hot tub underneath the structure to make for a fun recreation area!
Follow these tips and ideas to make your landscape more accessible during the winter season. Be sure to contact our landscape experts to answer your questions or to get a quote on your next project.