When adding a patio to your backyard, you should not just stop at laying the patio material and placing a table and some chairs; landscape design is also important to create the right atmosphere. You should first start with a design of your garden and patio landscaping walls. You can creatively landscape your patio with little money; you can also use accessories that you already have lying around your house. And if done properly, patio landscaping can be rearranged every year.

Your can add color and fragrance with flowers and shrubs along your patio wall; wildflowers are a great option to add life. If you don’t wish to plant flowers, you could always go for potting flowers and plants or some kind of creative container gardening. Choose interesting pots. Plants in containers are easier to take care of and allow you more flexibility in changing the layout of your green area. Decorative pots can be used for added color, as can mixing and matching different shapes and heights of pots. Large planters can even be used for seating purposes. You can also add hanging flowerpots for an exotic look. You can find hanging flowerpots made of plastic or mosses placed in a steel wire frame.

Add a wind or musical chime to the patio landscape for a relaxing mood. Add a patio heater so that you can enjoy the patio in colder weather. Another option is a portable stone fireplace. You can add benches besides chairs that you can decorate and use for seating. Hammocks also add an air of tranquility, as do trellises with climbing plants.

Adding decorator lights to your outdoor space is also a landscaping option, adding life at night. Solar lighting is a good idea, as it requires no wiring or installation; these lights absorb the sun’s rays during the day and automatically turn on when it gets dark. Add a spring or waterfall for sound; water also cools the area.

Greenery and plants are great enhancements to patio landscapes. Make sure you have enough shade trees. There are fast-growing trees with dense shades, like maples or oaks, and those with thinner shades, like locusts. Poplars grow very fast but are very narrow and so you’d need a lot of them for significant shade. Think about placing a crabapple over one of your tables. Also think about a small flower bed along one or more edges of the patio. Place something with height at either the back of the bed or along the center line. Around these tall plants, put medium level perennials.

An abundance of greens and whites will lend a tranquil air to your patio, while using reds, pinks, and yellows will add charge to the atmosphere. Annuals are good for giving your patio instant color, but for color that lasts longer, go for perennials. You can obviously use a bit of both. For those spots where you want something to grow over the long-term, make sure you choose something that grows slowly and/or one that handles trimming; you will need to trim something that needs to grow for a long period of time. Make sure you are aware of the growing season for all the plants you choose; if you coordinate growing season and bloom times you will have constant color.

Container planting is a great way to spice up the landscaping around a patio. Attractive groupings of large containers can work well; you can use barrels, half barrels, redwood tubs and large clay pots. You can use long oblong planters at bench level; try multilevel benches with plantings on the higher level.

Garden structures like metal teepees, birdbaths, fountains, and sculptures can also add flair to your backyard patio landscaping design. Don’t go overboard, however, with ornaments, colors or textures or the whole assemblage will be overwhelming and gaudy. Whatever landscape patio design you choose, make sure the heights of your plants, furnishings, accessories and ornaments vary to keep the area attractive and interesting.

Leaf through some books or magazines at your local bookstore, home improvement or garden center to see some patio landscaping examples and get some patio landscaping ideas; you can even find inspiration online. You’ll find suggestions for stone patio landscapes and for patio block landscaping. Landscaping the patio does not have to be a complicated, nerve-wracking experience; landscape design for the patio can be enjoyable and rewarding.