The Back Yard

I did a bit of a walkabout in the backyard today. You might find this hard to believe, but I rarely go back there at all. It is completely self-sufficient, self-watering, no weeds, so there is little reason for me to journey into the far reaches. The previous owner did us a priceless favor by planting trees and bushes that have matured into a beautiful landscape. There are nooks and crannies everywhere.

Check this out: a small greenhouse, a little bridge over a rock "stream," a child's playset (hand built by the previous owner), a basketball court (where we park the RV), a workshop/storage area, another storage shed, enough room to easily park 10 cars (we keep three back there, two more in the garage), a shady hammock nook, the little side garden with roses, honeysuckle, and a wisteria covered arbor (over a hot tub, currently poising as our bed), apple & pear trees, a defunct veggie garden (the trees grew too shady), probably 20 or more pine trees, an abundance of other trees and bushes, a semi-terraced hillside, three glorious redwoods, and the prettiest blue spruce you ever saw. All of this was here before we bought the house. And most of it can't even be seen from the house.

We have added our improvements, the new deck, the lawn, and landscaping close to the house. But I'm looking around and feeling like there are some things we could do to make it so much better. Brad is threating to take the playset out and make that the vegetable garden, since it's the only place that gets real sun. The landscaping that we did is filling in beautifully, but now I can see where we need to add some things. The little side area needs those rocks removed and some sort of ground cover, more plants. Oh, and a tree in the corner.

While I am quite good at knowing what I want, I am not so good at actually doing the phyical labor and neither is Brad. I think I will have to hire a landscape company to get it where I want it. At least, I'm thinking about it.