The weather may seem miserable this weekend, but before long we'll be sitting on the deck, grilling dinner and enjoying outdoor family time. To celebrate, I'm taking a bare bones backyard and showing you how to turn it into a showcase where you'll want to entertain friends and family.

In this yard, we had a lot of hardscape, so we wanted to soften the landscape and make it more inviting.

The side yard used to be a solid walkway with a fence and a pool pump. We took out the walkway and did our drainage with a French drain. Then, we cut flagstone stepping stones with dwarf mondo grass in between.

The fence was ugly, but we couldn't get rid of it, so we painted it a nice brown color and attached a vine, so in a year or two, we'll have a lovely living wall.

Are you wanting to shoot for tropical look in relatively in a cold climate? Go for a windmill fan palm, and they will last up to about ten degrees.

If you want storage, you can build a closet that's attached to the house. You can even make space to hide your grill!