Spring is here! If you have a backyard, it's time to get out and spruce things up a bit. That involves cleaning your garden of any clutter that accumulated during the winter and adding in some fresh backyard decor.
Such garden clean-ups need to be timed just right—not solely for your benefit, but for that of the tiny critters that slowly wake up in the spring. The likes of bees and butterflies thrive in the leaves, stems, and other debris that have built up in the garden over the winter. Leaving them be until temperatures hit 50 degrees on the regular will help support these vital natural pollinators as they get ready for the rest of the year.
With how warm it now is in Texas, however, the temperatures are likely consistently 60 degrees and higher from April 2025 onward, you may be done cleaning your garden like me and might now be looking forward to decorating it for the springtime.
With all the things you can do, it can get overwhelming—so to start you off on the right foot, here are a few great, basic backyard decor ideas for the spring that you can start with.
Get ready to lounge with patio furniture
Once you are done making some minimal clean-ups, get ready to enjoy the best of what your backyard has to offer with some well-placed, practical, and comfortable furniture. Think cushiony chairs and tables where you can enjoy your morning coffee or cozy sofas where you can spend your afternoons reading a good book.
The pieces you choose should be sturdy, withstand the weather in your area, and be lightweight enough for you to easily move around in case you need to move under the shade or make room to host guests.
Durable furniture made of natural woods like rattan, redwood, and cedar will do best in the heat compared to metals, for example, and they’ll only need additional weatherproofing every couple of years.
Lightweight and springy polyester fillings can also work great for cushions placed in outdoor settings, as they’re more moisture-resistant and dry out easily. You can even opt for multipurpose pieces that you can move to your yard in the spring and transition back into the home once winter comes around again.
Studio Piet Boon offers some balanced outdoor furniture designs that can do just that. Made from materials applicable to both environments, the likes of its upholstered RAF lounge series feature round, cushioned daybeds that can follow the sun’s trajectory—and its RAF side table, made of untreated, natural teak, is designed to age beautifully with time.
Liven the space with planters
Placing planters with seasonal blooms, succulents, herbs, and other smaller plants can be great for easing your way into your first gardening projects of the season, regardless of the size of the space you’re working with. They can also be ideal for adding a variety of colors and textures to your backyard, and since they’re easy to move around, you can shift the aesthetics of your outdoor spaces as you please. As an added bonus, planters will make your backyard look more lively without disturbing the natural life waking up around you!
The best part is that pretty much anything that can hold something else can be made into a planter. That makes springtime a great time to flex your DIY skills! If there are plenty of rocks and stones around your home, for example, you can make rough and rustic planters.
There are also plenty of options if you’re into that zero-waste lifestyle: one TikTok user shared that her dad has made recycled planters out of everything from toolboxes and rice cookers to even bicycles! Check out how I turned my grandmother's antique coffee pots into planters.
With a little creativity, you can give your own backyard a unique twist this spring.
Add some personality with colorful art pieces
Art pieces are perfect for drawing attention away from the piles of leaves you’re leaving out for natural pollinators—while simultaneously beautifying your garden in a way that shows off your unique personality.
Whether you’re looking to add a pop of color, something truly eccentric that can serve as a conversation starter at your garden parties, or an item that can attract even more life to your garden as the world around you wakes up this season, you’ll find that beautiful and oftentimes functional decorations can take this relaxing part of your home to the next level this spring.
QVC’s collection of outdoor decor can give you a great idea of the kind of art pieces you can get, as it encompasses a number of centerpieces and decorative embellishments. You’ll find the likes of the Plow & Hearth garden statuaries. These include a range of quirky “fruit animals” sure to turn heads, like lemon chicks, watermelon frogs, and banana ducks!
If you’ve always wanted a water feature but have never had the space for it, Barbara Kings has a compact yet ornate mini-fountain that doubles as a bird bath. You can even make it easier and more appealing to navigate your still-muddy garden grounds with the decorative mosaic stepping stones from Temp-Tations, which can create functional paths while accentuating your garden’s beauty.
Illuminate your garden with fairy-like lights
Adding the proper light fixtures can be the cherry on top, as they can help your garden seamlessly transition from sunset to evening. That includes the likes of wall lights, lamp posts, and deck lights, which can be activated by mechanisms like timers, motion sensors, or simple switches. From a safety standpoint, you’ll ideally want to use them to light up paths and illuminate the edges of areas like patios to avoid trips and slips. However, why stop there? Choosing softer, outdoor bulbs—like fairy lights in warm hues—can transform your garden into a truly beautiful and almost ethereal space heading toward the evening.
From here, you can take it even further by taking full advantage of the sun to streamline maintenance and get rid of the hassle of wire placements. Solar-powered, eco-friendly lighting can be great for creating sustainable garden retreats for Mother’s Day, and they can continue to be so all year round—especially in the spring, as the days start to lengthen and the lights can collect more energy. That’s not to mention they’ll automatically turn on at dusk and give your garden a warm, gentle glow! HOSELINK has plenty of great options you can choose from. Its stake-like 1LED solar lights, for example, are motion-activated and can be great for outlining paths. You can even use its 40LED solar crackle jar lights to highlight key points in your garden in the evening, perfect for creating a magical setting you’ll love to spend time in this spring.