Pergola Kits and Outdoor Living Ideas Pergola Depot Blog

Water Saving Yard Designs

It's not always possible to create a balance of shade and sun in your yard (and keep your plants healthy) with water saving yard designs, especially if you live in a climate that's hot many months out of the year. But don't give up! If you're looking for tips for yard designs that can help you save water and keep your home cooler during heat waves and dry spells, read on for a few handy resources. Creating shade with ground cover and shade trees can help keep your yard attractive while reducing water and maintenance requirements.

Using Native Plants for Water Saving Yard Designs

Southern Living offers a couple ways to save water in your yard, including adding some drought-tolerant native plants. Focused mainly on the Southern North American states, some...

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Expand Your Outdoor Living Space

Working on expanding your outdoor living space? Consider a classic pergola design to add style and shade to an outdoor deck or patio.

How to Extend your Outdoor Living Space

You can easily extend your outdoor living space right out your back door to create a cool and comfortable sitting area. Create the custom look and feel you desire to enhance your outdoor experience, starting with a custom pergola. Relax in the comfortable setting that was designed specifically for your space. What other features do you like for your backyard retreat? A fireplace you can relax and enjoy year-round or a built-in cooking area? Both offer another way to customize your space to make it your own. With a variety of styles and building material options for pergolas and other patio...

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Fireplace and Stonework Enhance Custom Outdoor Patio

Custom outdoor patios come in a wide variety of designs. The design shown here is from a loyal Indiana pergola customer that installed a custom outdoor patio. They've enhanced their sitting area with beautiful stonework, a fireplace, and large stepping stones. Views from different angles display the use of landscaping to soften the edges of the patio. Installing an outdoor fireplace can spur all-season outdoor relaxation, depending on the weather in your location. In Indiana, even though the average first frost date is October 15 for many parts of the state, you can still install deck, patios, and other backyard enhancements year-round if the snowfall and consistently cold temps don't interfere.

Custom Outdoor Patio for All Seasons

Looking to use your patio no matter what Mother Nature throws your way? Many...

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How-to guides for planting backyard entertaining area

Trying to decide when and what to plant to prep your backyard entertaining area? Looking for a guide or quick tips for your pre-summer spruce-up? We found a couple gardening guides and checklists from regions across the U.S. that might offer some guidance. Find out which plants work and when to plant them to enhance your backyard retreat like the patio shown here by one of our Vermont pergola kit customers. If your state isn't represented in the resources here, feel free to share one from your location! Just like when you're choosing what type of shade structure you need for your location based on the number of sunny days in your area, sometimes what works in one state with garden plantings doesn't always apply to another state in...

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Cool Pergola Designs for Outdoor Patio

With the dog days of summer in full swing in many parts of the country, finding a way to keep ourselves and our pets cool is a top priority. Outdoor shade structures offer pets and people a spot where they can retreat to take a break and cool off. It's a great place to relax and sip a cold drink as well as a spot for your pet's water dish so they can stay hydrated while outdoors. Our pergolas offer a way to shade your pets on your patio. Add a retractable pergola canopy, and you'll get even more shade - this can be added to our pergolas sized 12x12 to 20x20. Best shade options are our Big Kahuna Pergola Kits or Sombrero Pergola Kits. Dogster offers some...

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How to Enhance Outdoor Spaces

Looking for ways to enhance your outdoor spaces and not sure where to start? Landscaping and hardscaping can transform your backyard into a functional favorite room that can be used year-round. Define and enhance outdoor spaces with pavers for your patio and pathways, and soften the backdrop with evergreens or deciduous plants that will thrive in your climate zone. Pull it all together with an outdoor structure like a cedar pergola and you're well on your way to defining your outdoor space! Even if you have a shady spot for relaxing and entertaining, some planter boxes brimming with shade loving flowers under a pergola could enhance the look and make it even more inviting. If you're just getting started and need some ideas, many landscape contractors can help you decide...

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Summer Outdoor Gardening Checklist

Have a few things left on your outdoor gardening checklist to finish up? As you dust off the to-do list you started working on earlier this summer, or as you scan new ideas for summer patio and garden projects for your part of the country, try out one of these gardening suggestions that matches your climate and current weather patterns. Is your August hot & humid? Hot & dry? Wet & windy? Or cool & crisp? This list on Rodale's offers gardening tips suited for many different planting zones, including the USDA plant hardiness zones 3-10. For example, if you're in a hot climate in late summer and into the fall months, or if you have concerns about drought, you could dress up your patio with accents that don't require...

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Make the Most of Your Mid-Summer Outdoor Dining Experience

Mid-summer is such a wonderful time to really take advantage of the nice weather and eat outside on your porch or patio. There are so many different aspects that make outdoor dining more of an experience than just eating a meal. Everything from the decorations, to the food you eat, and how you prepare it helps set the mood. Dressing your outdoor tablescape for success is a great way to set the tone for an outdoor party or just a family meal. This is especially true when it comes to outdoor dining. At Two Peas and their Pod they talk about how to create a beautiful outdoor setting for a fun mid-summer party. They suggest keeping the table cloth simple and neutral along with plain dishware. When it comes...

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Unique Pergola Designs for Patios

Looking for a few fresh ideas to update the appearance of your summer patio? These customer patio pergola photos show unique patio designs that extend their living area off their deck or patio. Which is your favorite? We appreciate our customers and love to see the finished work from coast-to-coast! These patio pergola photos represent pergolas from Colorado, Texas, and Massachusetts.

Benefits of Outdoor Patio Pergola

Whether you have a shady or sunny yard, there are many options to consider for that update you’ve been planning. A patio with Wood Pergola offers a way to enclose an area without building walls to create an extra room and can make an otherwise exposed open area feel a little cozier. When the cooler months roll around, you’ll have a backyard escape where you...

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Beautiful Accents for Your Midsummer Retreat

Looking for a midsummer project to spiff up your outdoor living space? Garden arbors, gazebos and pergolas can be used to enhanceÂ your patio, deck, or garden area, and come in all sizes to fit any size yard. Smaller designs can be used as a beautiful accent to your flowerbed or vegetable garden, and larger pergolas can often help define a border for your outdoor retreat. Shown here are photos that our customer shared showing varied sizes of pergolas that work beautifully in each unique setting. These were shared for a July 2017 pergola of the month contest. We appreciate our customers and love to see their photos! Garden arbors can be constructed to provide a border to your patio, a cover to provide a little extra shade, or as a centerpiece to...

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