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Congratulations on your new place. I'm a gardener so I work in the yard almost everyday weeding, watering, planting flowers, redefining borders, transplanting, deadheading flowers, pruning, etc. My husband mows, edges, and cleans up the grass clippings. Although recently he's started a small vegetable garden and really enjoys picking his cherry tomatoes and waiting for other veggies to ripen. Home grown vegetables and fruit can be tastier than store bought - it's really amazing. Plus there's the sense of accomplishment that you actually grew the food you're eating.
One of the best things we did in our yard was to make a lovely sitting area with a table and chairs, a couple of chaise lounges, a loveseat, and a couple of big umbrellas for shade until the trees we planted mature enough to shade the area. Sitting there reading a book, enjoying a cold drink, playing cards, or accidently taking a nap is such a joy.
No need to rush into it. Gather ideas on your travels - eventually you'll hit upon an idea that you really want to implement, that really inspires you.
We didn't do much of anything with our small yard until we honeymooned in Italy. When I came back, I was dead-set on building a brick patio, with a small garden strip at the edges. No money for contractors, so we did everything ourselves, and it was a fun project that we now enjoy 3 seasons of the year.
My family gave me a small pond with "waterfall" for Mother's Day one year. I put fish and water lilies in it and constructed a rock garden around it and it's a never-ending work in progress. I bring back rocks from everywhere I travel.
The cats and I like to sit by it and it makes a great conversation piece. We get visits in the summer from the neighborhood children and grandchildren coming to see the fish and that's nice for us since we don't have any grands of our own.
Build a deck or patio.
Make a shade garden complete with little toad homes, moss and garden plaques or figurines tucked away.
Construct a pet cemetery. (I know it's probably frowned upon. OK, illegal.) We've lived here going on forty years and have many pets in a special place under our sumac trees with a plaque in their memory. I know this isn't for everybody, but if you can whiz in your lawn. . .
Decorate for Christmas and Halloween.
Grow some fresh tomatoes.
Trellises, fences and the various flora that climb them add eye interest.
If you are a sports-loving family you have many options to set up an area to enjoy your favorite outdoor games.
Hang bird houses and feeders. Birdbath. A bat house.
I have tons of trees and greenery from a previous owner. I love to sit out on my porch and read. I have tons of birds too. Hubby is always tinkering in the garden. We bbq, have a bonfire and just enjoy sitting outside.
Kids are younger so they still play outside or "hang" out.
I use ours primarily for grilling, gardening, hanging around the fire pit, and having large BBQs. I also use it for archery and peeing every now and then.
Like CCcgirl said start small. Get a basic set of table and chairs and start enjoying it. If you get a chance go to a garden show in your area. You will be overwhelmed with ideas. If you want to garden start small with a couple of raised beds or containers, it will help you understand the amount of time and energy you need (or want) to invest.
Yards need furniture to be properly enjoyed, IMHO. A small table and chairs or a swing seat with awning might be nice. A fire pit or fishpond gives a nice focal point although with a fire pit most of the time there's nothing in it. Statues? Those are something to look at, maybe you could have a volcano goddess statue in your fire pit so you'd have something to look at even without a fire. Bird feeders are good since then you get birds to watch. You'd expect a lot of activity with a squirrel feeder, although folks don't seem to encourage them much, do they? We don't have squirrels here, so it's not an option for us.
We just bought another house. First thing I did was plant fruit trees and put in a raised bed garden by the kitchen door. That was last January and the first peach just got ripe yesterday! Yum! Our climate could possibly be warmer than yours, so you have to take climate into consideration when planning your outdoor area, too. The neighbor's chickens - three small fluffy hens - wander through our yard most afternoons, they are fun to watch so perhaps you could get a couple of hens for your yard to add some activity to it.
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(I know it's probably frowned upon. OK, illegal.) We've lived here going on forty years and have many pets in a special place under our sumac trees with a plaque in their memory. I know this isn't for everybody, but if you can whiz in your lawn. . .
