Step into the latest outdoor trend: Backyarding
Gone are the days when exceptional indoor features were all you needed to sell a home in Colorado. Today’s buyers crave a connection to nature, and that means showcasing an inviting and functional outdoor space. Enter “backyarding,” the art of transforming your backyard into an extension of your living area – a place to dine, work, relax, and reconnect with nature.
Coined by the Turfmutt Foundation, “backyarding” perfectly captures the essence of the soughtafter outdoor lifestyle in Colorado.
It’s about going beyond the occasional barbecue and creating a space that inspires families to spend quality time together amidst the beauty of their yard.
Embrace sustainability and eclecticism
Turfmutt and the gardening website Yardzen offer trending ideas for transforming your backyard into an enriching space that enhances your home’s appeal and contributes positively to your health, well-being and the environment.
Tip #1: embrace native plants and sustainability
Start by making smart choices that benefit both your wallet and the environment. Opt for native and perennial plants that require less water and attract pollinators like butterflies and bees. Introduce a birdbath, feeder, or solar-powered water fountain to attract hummingbirds and create a haven for local wildlife.
Tip #2: let your wild side out
Yardzen declared 2024 as “The Year of the Eclectic Yard.” Embrace a more organic, natural aesthetic emphasizing a “more is more” approach to planting. Think winding paths, no sharp angles, a variety of textures and shapes in your plantings, and pops of vibrant colors that mimic the beauty found in nature trails.
Tip #3: save money and reduce your carbon footprint
Why spend money and gas on entertainment when you can create a backyard oasis? Rather than drive to your night’s entertainment, host movie nights under the stars, enjoy open-air family dinners, or exchange a weekend getaway for a relaxing “staycation” in your backyard paradise.
Tip #4: create a welcoming gathering space
Create a comfortable and inviting space for entertaining. Pavers with low-growing ground cover to create a permeable and stylish patio are trending this year. Anchor your gathering place with a fire pit, kitchen area or bar, solar lighting, and comfy seating. Provide aromatic cuttings and that garden-to-table feel by adorning your outdoor grill area with herb plantings and edibles, including anise hyssop, chives, oregano, thyme, basil and sage.
Tip #5: green up your space
Create a lush and inviting atmosphere with a green-on-green color palette. Incorporate a range of greenery, from silver-gray tones to bright lime, for a visually stunning and calming effect.
Invest in your backyard, invest in your lifestyle
By updating your backyard, you’re not just enhancing your home’s value, you’re creating a space for relaxation, connection and enjoyment for yourself and your family. Find more inspiring backyarding ideas at turfmutt.com and yardzen.com/yzblog/2023outdoor-design-predictions.
Tom Kalinski is the broker/owner of RE/MAX of Boulder, the local residential real estate company he established in 1977. He was inducted into Boulder County’s Business Hall of Fame in 2016 and has a 40-year background in commercial and residential real estate. For questions, e-mail Tom at tomkalinski33@gmail.com, call 303.441.5620, or visit boulderco.com.
As the nation’s only pre-certified Lifelong Community, Sonders Fort Collins is welcoming spring with all the vivacity that comes from a fresh start. From the flowering trees leading to the shores of Richard’s Lake to the nesting birds in Serene Park to the native grasses sprouting along the gently graded trails, signs of new life throughout the master-planned community point to the unique mission of Sonders. At Sonders Fort Collins, a vibrant culture for active aging empowers homeowners to live each day to the fullest.
Sonders Fort Collins is an accessible, beautiful and sustainable Lifelong Community pre-certified by Colorado State University’s Institute for the Built Environment (IBE). As such, Sonders is guided by three overarching priorities:
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Homes offer intuitive, mainfloor living for maximum accessibility and livability. Creative amenities provide frequent active engagement. Social and environmental connections are intentionally nurtured.
These community-wide priorities infuse daily life with joy and purpose, while “(bringing) people together and (helping) aging residents avoid assisted or independent living facilities for as long as possible,” noted Bill Swalling, principal of Actual Communities, LLP,, the developer of Sonders Fort Collins.
Vibrant natural living in every season
The future of sustainable, accessible design is front and center at Sonders
Fort Collins. “This is truly a visionary community that is going above and beyond standard practices to create a place where people of all ages and abilities can live healthy, meaningful and engaged lives,” said Brian Dunbar, executive director of IBE.
Sonders’ timing is ideal, with the number of residents over age 65 surging state-wide, according to data released in February from the Colorado demography office. Many seniors feel stuck in homes that no longer suit their season of life and are frustrated by northern Colorado’s limited inventory of main-floor living options and the lack of lifestyle amenities for empty nesters.
Thankfully, this is where Sonders, as a pre-certified Lifelong Community, more than delivers. Main-floor living is baked into every floorplan, and activities and enrichments abound both in the natural environment and at the Sonders Learning Center, one of the pinnacles of the Lifelong Community’s master plan. The center