Spring is close enough here in Illinois and Wisconsin to start thinking about improving your landscaping.

If these last few days are any indication, spring may have sprung here along the Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin border. Of course, winter may yet have a trick or two up its sleeve but, at this point, there’s reason for optimism. In fact, you may want to start thinking about those seasonal traditions of spring – baseball, flowers budding, birds chirping and spring landscaping.

That’s right – spring landscaping. In the Northern Illinois/Southern Wisconsin region, putting your yard in order never makes more sense than when you consider landscape improvements in the spring. After all, spring landscaping prepares your property for the rest of the year. You’ll have all summer to enjoy landscape improvements that you make with timely spring landscaping.

One of the most effective landscape improvements is the addition of a brick paver patio. Just picture yourself and the family relaxing in the backyard on your new brick paver patio this summer. The barbeque is emitting the essence of grilled chicken, ribs or steak. Music is softly playing a melody that captures the laid-back mood of the moment as a gentle breeze washes across the yard and under the patio table umbrella.

Now look out at that muddy area behind the house where the snow has melted. Can you picture yourself out there on a lawn chair in the grass for another summer? It almost breaks your heart to think of the make-shift nature of your traditional backyard barbeque. Of course, the story doesn’t have to end that way. Instead, you can approach 2015 proactively with some well designed spring landscaping.

The first step is to consider the options available with your yard. The best way to maximize this opportunity is to call in an expert – someone who makes landscape improvements as part of their profession.

A qualified landscape designer knows all the options that are available when you decide to add a brick paver patio to your yard. That landscape designer understands the potential of landscape improvements. They know what will fit and what makes sense in your particular yard. They know how to make your new brick paver patio the envy of the neighborhood.

Most importantly, they know how to incorporate your specific goals as the essence of your brick paver patio. They’ll ask key questions about how you’ll use your brick paver patio that will define the process:

• Will you have quiet affairs with intimate friends?
• Will you entertain lavishly?
• To what degree do you plan to cook outdoors?
• To what extent will you use your brick paver patio at night?

With all these considerations in mind, your landscape improvements specialist will apply the appropriate options from the list below to design your custom brick paver patio:

• Do you need a gas or charcoal grill, or a more extensive cooking station?
• Do you want a fireplace or firepit and will it serve as the centerpiece of your patio?
• Will your brick paver patio require retaining walls, benches or other features?
• What kind of bricks will suit your yard and compliment your home and other structures?
• Do you want a particular pattern of brick pavers?
• Where should you place landscape lighting and what types of fixtures will you use?

Whatever the optimal design for your brick paver patio, keep in mind that if you have the work done as a spring landscaping project, it will pay dividends all summer long. Even in the fall, you’ll enjoy landscape improvements you made in April or May.