5 DIY Summer Landscaping Projects

Summer is at our doorstep, and there’s no better time to begin prepping your property for the season with eye-catching landscaping projects to add beauty to your home.

This year, you don’t need to worry about calling the professional landscapers — because there are plenty of simple, fun, and creative DIY landscaping projects that are perfect for the season.

5 DIY Landscaping Projects for Summer

Green thumbs and novice gardeners alike will be able to successfully complete these family-friendly DIY landscaping projects. Here are five of our favorite landscaping projects that are trending in 2022.

#1. Create a Summer Produce Garden  

From tomatoes and lettuce to strawberries, peppers, and sweet potatoes, there are plenty of delicious vegetables that thrive during the summer months. Make the most of the season by creating your own produce garden in your backyard.

To kick off this landscaping project, you’ll first need to identify the right place to begin building your garden. You’ll want to look for a location on your property that receives bright, indirect sunlight during the daytime. It’s also important to consider rainfall as these delicate plants won’t do well if their roots are sitting in pools of stagnant water. The ideal environment would be an elevated, well-lit area of your yard.

Next, prepare your potting equipment:

• Pots or planter boxes with drainage holes
• Soil
• Gardening tools
• Watering tools
  

You can either purchase mature plants from a local greenhouse or begin with seeds. Follow the repotting instructions for each plant and design your garden as you wish. Make sure to follow up by watering and trimming according to each plant’s needs.

If you live in an area with wildlife — such as birds, squirrels, or rabbits — you may need to put a thin wire mesh barrier around your garden to prevent animals from eating them before you get the chance to harvest.

#2. Replace Grass with Rocks

Is your grass too difficult to take care of during the wet, hot summer months? Consider alleviating the burden by replacing plots of grass with decorative stones.

Creating a stone garden is an easy DIY landscaping project that only requires covering the existing grass with outdoor rocks. To create an attractive layered effect, pair rocks of different colors and sizes and arrange them in a nice pattern. You’ll want the rocks to be densely packed and at least one inch thick to avoid grass from growing over the stones.

#3. Build a Succulent Garden  

If you’re not interested in growing edible plants and instead want a species that’s more resilient to harsh summer weather, consider creating your own succulent garden.

As desert plants, succulents can handle immense amounts of sunshine, rain, and lack of water. This can be a great DIY landscaping project for any homeowners that plan to be traveling during the next few months.

The best part is, a succulent garden can thrive all year round — so you can enjoy your landscaping design beyond the summer months.

After choosing the location where you’d like to plant your succulents, prepare your succulents for repotting. Succulents can grow large, but also cohabitate well with other succulents. If you want big succulents, plant a single succulent in a pot with plenty of room. If you prefer the look of multiple succulents in one pot, plant a group of about three to five succulent-type plants in the same pot.

Watch over your garden — ensuring the succulents receive enough water — and enjoy the beautiful results of your summer landscaping project.

#4. Edge Plants with Stones or Wood Chips

If you have plants surrounding the edge of your home, help keep away the grass and weeds by creating a border of loose stones between your lawn and decorative plants.

For this simple DIY landscaping project, you will need to select stones and lay them out flat along the edge of your plants. You’ll want to purchase enough stones to create a one-inch thick flat layer of stones between six inches to one foot wide.

Consider how the color, size, texture, and shape of the stones you select can add an aesthetic element to your home’s landscaping. If you live in an area with heavy rain, you can use wood chips instead of stone to absorb some of the water that would be pooling near the foundation of your home.

#5. Light Up Your Exteriors

A very simple way to freshen up your landscaping for the summer season is to install outdoor lights around your property. Besides hanging lanterns, string lights, and installing lamps, you can lay rope lights around walking paths or yard borders to make your home glow.

Make sure that you are choosing weather-proof, water-proof lights that are intended for outdoor use only.

Happy summer! For more tips and DIY projects for homeowners, explore other articles from RealEstateAgents.com.