Incorporate Your New Structure Into The Landscape...

Create a Path

Use a pathway to tie your structure into the garden landscape.

1. Measure out a path that leads from your back of your house to your shed or from your shed to your garden. A path ties the shed into your garden landscape. If your shed is far from your house, create a shorter path leading up to the building. The pathway also aids in keeping the inside of the shed clean. 
2. Choose a paver, such as flag stone, to serve as the stepping stones of your path. You need enough pavers to place one every 6 to 12 inches for the length of your path. Measure the length of one of the pavers. 
3. Cut the turf at the start of your path in the shape of one of your pavers using a spade. Dig down at least 1 to 2 inches deeper than the stone. Fill the bottom of the hole with rock dust screening so that the paver sits even with the turf when placed in the hole. 
4. Hammer the corners of the paver with a rubber mallet to drive it snugly into place. Continue installing the pavers until you have a path leading up to your shed.

 

Add Accessories

Cupolas, Ramps, Window Boxes, Shutters, Weather-vane 
The small touches make such a difference! Accessorize your outdoor storage building with transom doors or a cupola. You can add touches such as window boxes, shutters or weather vanes. Remember, you’ll have to look at this outdoor storage building every day of your life for the foreseeable future: your attention to detail could make the difference between eyesore and eye-catching. On a more practical note, get a pressure-treated ramp for easy access to your outdoor storage building. A ramp is especially useful is you intend to store items like a wheelbarrow or lawnmower inside your shed.

 

Add Trees, Shrubs & Perennials

Use a pathway to tie your structure into the garden landscape.

1. Plant a fruiting or flowering tree offset to the right or left of your shed. Choose a tree that is slightly taller, but does not tower over the height of your shed.
2. Plant two medium-sized evergreen shrubs on either side of your shed’s entrance. Choose shrubs such as green gem boxwood which grows between 3 and 4 feet tall. Flank the medium shrubs with two smaller evergreen shrubs planted on the outside of the medium-sized shrubs, such as Hoogendorn Japanese holly. At mature height, this evergreen shrub is approximately 2 feet tall.  
3. Install a trellis to cover one of the broad walls of your shed that faces or is primarily visible in your yard. Plant climbing vines at the base of the trellis. Over time these plants will cover the trellis, adding lush vegetation to outside of your shed. 
4.  Place a weathered piece of outdoor furniture, such as a bench or a pair of chairs, against the broad wall of your shed with the climbing vines. Place a decorative planter in between the outdoor chairs or on either side of the bench. Fill the planter with an organic potting soil mixture and plant colorful perennial flowers.

 

Camouflage Your Backyard Shed

Your Secret Backyard Getaway 
While some homeowners choose sheds to perfectly match the accompanying house, you may prefer to camouflage your garden shed. Through the use of paint and plants, you can make a stand-out shed blend in with the surroundings, making it a perfect garden getaway.

1. Choose a subtle earth-tone color for your shed, such as beige, green, gray or brown. White and bright-colored sheds stand out, making the shed obvious in your back yard. Choose a color that complements the color of your house or other garden features, while still blending in with the environment. 
2.  Train fast-growing climbing vines to grow on the exterior shed walls. You can attach 2-by-4s vertically to the shed, spaced 4 feet apart, then tack lattice sheets to the 2-by-4s. Alternatively, you can mount rows of L-brackets, spaced 12 inches apart vertically and 2 to 3 feet apart horizontally, then attach clear fishing line or stainless steel cable to the brackets to support the climbing vines. 
3. Use a privacy fence or lattice fence in the yard to help shield the garden shed. If you choose a lattice fence, you can train climbing vines to grow up the lattice. This makes a suitable alternative to training a living wall on the side of the shed. 
4. Plant tall, column like evergreens, near the corners of the shed. These plants camouflage the shed corners that the living wall vines don't conceal. Choose dwarf cultivars of your favorite evergreen species; although you want the plant to grow as tall as the building, full-sized evergreens can grow in excess of 50 feet and overwhelm your outdoor space. 
5. Plant fast-growing ornamental trees in the yard in front of the shed so the tree canopy can camouflage the roof. Choose species that grow 15 to 25 feet tall so the canopy of the mature trees lines up perfectly with the shed roof. 
6. Install a patio with a large pergola or gazebo in the back yard in front of the shed. A well-landscaped patio easily detracts attention from a camouflaged shed.