Our favorite DIY patios, paths, trellises, planters, fountains, and more
Hanging wall garden
Try a modern take on traditional hanging baskets with a wall of these Woolly Pockets. Because they're lined with moisture barriers, you don't have to worry about any leaking.
Ultimate DIY raised bed
Raised garden beds, essentially large planting boxes, are the ultimate problem solver—they offer perfect drainage, protection from pests, and easy access to crops. A raised bed is just the thing to turn your backyard into the farm of your dreams. Follow our directions you’ll be able to complete this easy project in one weekend.
Rustic centerpiece
Los Gatos, CA-based landscape designer Leslie McKenna doesn’t like to waste much. Case in point: these birch branches turned vases, which she created from a felled tree on a recent job site. To make your own, drill a hole in a birch log with a 1-inch auger, then tuck in an array of succulents. The shallow-rooted plants don’t mind snuggling closely, and they need watering only once a week. Remember, many succulents are happy in a little bit of shade and will stay happier for longer with dappled sunlight. We keep a stash of succulents on hand in the Test Garden to be party ready at a moment’s notice!
Make your own backyard tipi
Build a modified cabana
A white sailcloth roof over a simple square frame creates protection from overhead sun in this outdoor seating area. It also makes the space feel like a poolside resort. If you have multistory residences on either side of your home, as was the case here, a shade canopy adds privacy.
Decorate a deck
DIY outdoor shower
This weekend project has three basic parts: two wing walls and a center pole with the plumbing attached. All materials are available at the Home Depot.
Time: One weekend (4 hours of labor, plus drying time for sealer)
Difficulty: 3 (on a scale of 1–10; requires modest woodworking skills)
Cost: About $170
Set your table
Insert a box with drainage holes into an old table. Fill your new planter with easy-care succulents. Now you have a centerpiece that will last the entire outdoor dining season. Don’t have an old table to sacrifice to the project? Build one out of shipping pallets. Use the pallets for the top and the sunken planter, and add legs—the more worn, the better. Coat the table with some natural wax stain for a bit of weather protection.
Living wall
See how to create your own vertical garden inspired by a living wall in Paris designed by Patrick Blanc.
This planting includes ferns, bromelaids, coral bells, spider plants, and elephant ears.
Carve out planting space
Don’t want to lose the use of your garage? Create a planter down the center of the driveway, and place in it creeping thyme, sedums, star creeper—anything short enough that cars can pass over it will work. Immediately the whole area looks softer. Now squeeze in some taller plants along both sides. If you’re really short on space, espalier—train plants to grow sideways. You’re greening up vertically as well as horizontally.
Plant a backdrop
Jazz up a pond
Backyard Scrabble
"I like areas of double use,” says Sacramento architect Kristy McAuliffe.
A friend helped her make this 5-foot outdoor Scrabble board with scored concrete in a wood frame.
One-pot vegetable garden
Two-day path project
You can install this pretty path in about a weekend. (The plantings take a little longer to mature; they'll look like this in about nine months.)
The gently curving path invites you to stroll among the plants, and leads to a small circular patio.
Romantic backyard cabana
This backyard lounge serves as both a casual spot for year-round entertaining and a private refuge with resort style.
With our checklist of tools and materials, you can make yourself for about $300.
Fake a border
Lush slate patio
Easy brick patio
A small, detached patio like this one comes together quickly with minimal effort.
Think of the possible uses for this circle of bricks. You can tuck it into a perennial border. Or place it in a remote corner of your garden, where you can linger at day's end over a glass of wine, or on Sunday morning with your coffee and magazines.
Small-space salad box
Having fresh greens at your fingertips is one of the best parts of the growing season. And with a raised planter right outside the kitchen door, you can have a continual supply of salad greens nearly year-round.
You can make one using a ready-made redwood window box from the nursery.
Votive chandelier
Create your own romantic lighting for an outdoor dinner party by suspending votives (we used mini recycled-glass tea light lanterns) at varying heights from low-hanging branches. Use clear fishing line and be sure to keep candles a safe distance from the leaves.
For a stained-glass version, cover chandelier lanterns with tissue paper and get a soft glow. Don’t be afraid to try different patterns, abstract shapes, and colors. We designed ours as a nod to artist Mark Rothko.
Supplies: Ruler, pencil, scissors, tissue paper, small foam brush, Yasutomo Nori or similar paste, and glass lanterns or jars
1. Measure and cut tissue paper into desired shapes and sizes (we used long strips for easy application).
2. Dip foam brush into paste. Holding a piece of tissue paper against the outside
of the lantern, paint an even coat of paste onto tissue paper and adhere to glass.
3. Repeat until lantern is covered. Let dry overnight, then hang.
Tip: Keep lanterns away from moisture.
Wavy picnic table project
The spaces between the boards of this picnic table look like lazy ripples in a slow-moving stream.
The unusual pattern is easy to create with a saber saw. We cut each of the boards freehand, then added readymade legs from Ikea.
Patchwork patio
Vertical garden tower
Lay a flagstone path
Build a home recycling center
It's easy to close the back door and pretend that the jumble of recycling bins and garbage cans outside doesn't exist--but that only works when you're in the house. Building a short lean-to just big enough to hold everything solves the problem, and you can put it together in one weekend.
Billowy Bali retreat
Party umbrella
Step by step project: Planter umbrella stand
Strong wind is no friend to most patio umbrellas, but it would take a hurricane to budge this setup.
The umbrella rises from a sleeve centered in a flowerpot that's filled with three layers of material: a bottom layer of lava rock to hold the sleeve in place, a center layer of concrete for extra rigidity, and a top layer of planting mix. When there's no need for shade, just lift out the umbrella -- the plants should mask the sleeve.
Wire basket and mason jars become outdoor chandelier
Romantic outdoor lighting: With a wire basket, a few jars, and some tea lights and adornment, add a little handmade glow to your garden.
Backyard bocce court
DIY garden swing
Relax into the sway of a colorful swing for your porch, balcony or garden. This high-backed design hangs securely from sturdy, 5/8-inch-diameter nylon or hemp rope that runs through the swing's arms and frame.
The average woodworker can build the swing in a weekend for about $150. (Staining and sealing will add several more days.)
Most cuts can be made with a circular saw, handsaw, or saber saw, but the angled back support would be more easily cut with a table saw. A full-service lumberyard can generally do this for you.
Shed-roof birdhouse
You don't have to be a woodworking whiz to build this simple birdhouse: it requires only straight cuts that you can make with a handsaw, saber saw, circular saw, or table saw.
Wrens, chickadees, and bluebirds will appreciate its deep overhang and perchless entry.
Bee nesting block
Because of shrinking habitat, bees numbers are dwindling. One thing you can do to help is provide a nesting site for local, solitary bees.
This nesting block is simply a piece of untreated lumber with a grid of holes drilled into it.
Green-roofed bird feeders
One flat of ground-cover plants equals one bird-feeder roof: That's the formula for the canopy on these easy-to-construct bird feeders.
Sturdy ground covers, such as moss, ivy, thyme, and small sedums, will grow in the shallow depth of the feeders' roofs. They're fun to look at while they shelter the seeds.
DIY fountain
The soft splash of a fountain brings life and motion to the backyard. It attracts more birds than still water alone, and its soothing sound track transforms your space into a peaceful retreat.
We built the fountain pictured here for about $160 (not including stones), using two glazed pots (a shallow bowl nests snugly inside the larger pot), a bucket, and a small recirculating pump.
Step-by-step: Installing a flagstone path
A good path welcomes you into your garden and invites you to slow down and see what's happening there.
This one features flagstones set in Salmon Bay gravel. As edging plants (here, blue fescue and petunias) grow, they'll create a graceful, soft edge.
Backyard potting center
Creative tool hideaway
Keep your garden tools where you need them—but out of sight—by converting a mailbox into a small storage space.
Place it within easy reach just off a garden path or outside the back door.
Under-eaves storage shed
Shady arbor bench
Imagine sipping your tea or wine in the dappled light of your own backyard arbor bench, your favorite vine overhead.
Building a bench and arbor combo is in some ways less complicated than building a standalone bench. The arbor provides the structure, and the bench comes along for the ride with no complex angles or fancy joinery.
Natural garden tipi
For a quick, inexpensive support for climbing plants, build a simple tipi of natural materials you may already have.
Not only does the structure put the veggies at a convenient height for harvesting, it creates a focal point on its own.
An elegant wall-attached trellis panel
DIY garden obelisk
A garden tower with the crisp geometry of an obelisk adds a stunning focal point and a vertical dimension to your garden.
Once vines climb onto the obelisk, the contrast between natural and constructed elements only enhances its appeal.
Plant a cool pot
DIY backyard adobe oven
Our backyard adobe oven is modeled after mud-brick ovens used around the world, from the Southwest to Mexico, Italy, and France.
Building it takes about two days of grubby work, but the reward: wonderfully rustic pizzas, roasts, vegetables, and crusty loaves of bread from your own backyard.
Get the complete how-to, plus heating guide and recipes
Barbecue bar
Portable dining retreat
Here's an easy way to create an intimate outdoor dining area in your own backyard.
The use of potted plants, PVC pipe, and mosquito netting make it a snap to assemble. Just add candles or string lights to make the space shine at night.
Modern planter bench
Instead of legs, this 10-foot-long bench sits on a pair of oversize ceramic pots. This makes it easier to build and more appealing than your average bench.
For the final touch, plant something stunning (we chose New Zealand flax).
Handsome storage bench
This inventive bench serves two purposes: it's a comfortable place to sit and admire the garden and it can also hide one or two coiled hoses.
It can be built in just two days, but requires intermediate woodworking skills.
Free plans: Build a stylish dog house
This stylish ranch-style dog house is made from three sheets of plywood and is big enough for a large dog. Redwood lattice battens and a shed roof create the rustic ranch-house look.
A little arbor of 2-by-2s above the door adds interest and provides shade, and a removable asphalt-shingle roof makes cleaning inside easy.
Tabletop garden
Brighten up an outdoor table by taking the centerpiece to a new level.
Whether the desired look is mod, delicate, or casual, floral moss can be used to create a unique and refreshing tabletop garden.
Framed succulents
If you don't have the time to plant a living wall, you can get the same dramatic effect by framing a garden of succulents.
Build the frame yourself and plant your own cuttings or buy an all-in-one succulent garden kit.
Handsome garden trellis
Just add a few chairs, and this 8-foot-square pergola becomes the perfect place to relax and enjoy views of the garden.
You can build the shady trellis yourself or hire a contractor to build it for you.
Small backyard beach
If you love the beach but can't find the time for regular visits, why not turn an unused corner of your backyard into a sandy retreat? This miniature beach can be put together over a weekend for less than $200. Decomposed granite, sand, driftwood, and grassy plants complete the seaside look.
Tap-light luminarias
Put your own spin on the classic luminaria using battery-run tap lights.
These simple fixtures ― flat, battery-operated lights that turn on when tapped on top ― are sold in packages of six for about $20 at hardware stores and general merchandise stores.
Add your own embellishment by wrapping a piece of translucent rice paper around the base and taping the ends of the paper together with double-sided tape to form a cylinder.
Mini beach garden
If you love the beach, use a pot to bring a bit of it home with you. A little sand, a few beachy plants, and a bit of driftwood is all you'll need.
Perfect compost bin
Designed by horticulturists at the University of California Cooperative Extension, this compost bin is inexpensive, easy to build, and features five stackable sections for simple, efficient composting.
Expect finished compost in about six weeks.
Alaska-style coldframe
Get an early start on your plantings with an Alaskan-style coldframe. This one is built with pressure-treated 2-by-4s and fiberglass sheeting. Pulley-drawn cords make it easier to open for ventilation.
A garden journal
Original article and pictures take www.sunset.com site
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