Lovely Getting Serious About a Backyard Garden Shed

Do you want a garden shed that you can use for many years to come? Good organization and proper design are the keys. Throw in a healthy does of long-term planning and you'll wonder how you ever lived without a garden shed in your yard. You'll need to ask yourself important questions. How much space do I really need? In five years how much will I accumulate? Where's the best place to put my shed? How can I keep it tidy and organized so that I'll keep using it time after time.

Choose a medium-sized or large shed if you want to use it for more than basic gardening tools and small-scale storage. This is especially true if you want to have a quiet workshop space or carpentry or crafting, a place to workout with exercise equipment or if you want to store electric tools, lawnmowers or flammable materials such as gasoline or kerosene. And, if you think you'll accumulate bigger items over time, you'll be better off with a larger shed or even a garage.

Choose a small shed if you're going to keep contents specific to small-to-medium scale gardening and lawn care. Smaller sheds are perfect for large and small hand tools, watering cans, flower pots and sealed containers of seeds. They are also perfect for storing season yard decorations and other miscellaneous lawn and garden objects. It's essential to add shelves so that you can make the best use of a small space. And, think about where you're going to put things. For example, put the tool you use most often near the front door of the shed.

Give some consideration to the aesthetics of your shed. You can add a trellis with a climbing flower vine to the sides, paint it a bright color or add an innovative vertical greenhouse on one side. (You can also hang bird feeders and bird baths on the side.) The more beautiful it is, the more you will want to use your backyard garden shed. If you have a wooden shed, be sure to winterize the structure by replacing shingles, caulking visible leaks on the exterior and adding weather stripping around doors and windows. Clean out the gutters and trim hanging tree branches that brush up against your shed, and be sure to install a lock.

It's really not uncommon for an inspired gardener to plunge into the process of getting a shed without knowledge of what they really want. The results can be unfortunate. Within a year or two, the inside of the shed ends up being a junk heap or it starts to slip into bad repair. Yet, there's nothing more pleasing from both a practical and visual standpoint that a well-thought-out garden shed.