Iowa is home town America, and towns like Cedar Rapids and Marion are some of the best neighborhoods for raising families. Sprawling subdivisions with traditional American architecture deserve beautiful backyard landscapes suited to the whole family. A swimming pool keeps everyone home during the long, hot summer days, and when there's a lovely pergola nearby the old folks have comfortable places to lounge while kids play. For more upscale living, professional couples or those already retired can rethink their existing family yards into spaces tailored to outdoor entertaining. Add an outdoor kitchen with a fireplace to warm your favorite patio for use in the cooler months.

Perhaps the best place in Iowa to learn more about plants and design ideas that work in the local climate, take a short drive to Ames and the award winning Reiman Arboretum on the campus of Iowa State University. They hold many classes that can help you better understand a landscape project even if you're hiring a landscape architect or designer to lay it out. Sticking with local talent is essential because this is tornado country and all structures in your landscape must be built to withstand extreme conditions.

Iowa City and Muscatine like so many other river bank towns were devastated by flood a few years ago, and rebuilding continues with great opportunities for more elaborate landscaping too. This time, why not create an expansive patio and pergola with a top notch grill for summer entertaining. Plant fruit trees and a food garden too for plenty of organic produce all summer long.