I am still startled by how much I love our newly landscaped backyard. I spend so much time out there: if it’s not absolutely freezing, I’m out there pretty much whenever the sun is shining, even if I’m wrapped up in four layers.
Here’s the yard about a year before the remodel. This isn’t an accurate picture, because this was taken right before we chopped down the acacias along the back of the property. After that, all the other plants went NUTS and got enormous.
If you want to see extensive time-lapse videos of the work being done, you can check those out here. Otherwise, let’s skip straight to the finished product:
(I just realized it looks like we got rid of the pool, but no.) We’re going to have a table and chairs and the grill on that big yellow circular patio. The trees around that are jacarandas which will bloom with purple flowers.
That will go nicely with the mound behind them which is covered in lavender plants. These will eventually cover the mound and bloom purple, with a border of yellow and white flowering plants around the edge:
And we have planter boxes!
Also, remember how the fence fell down and then we had ropes stretching across the yard to hold it in place for, like, ten months?
Gene designed a gorgeous new fence and now it stands up on its own and everything:
I’m still startled every time I look out the window and see all the paths and the tidy gravel circles and everything. I love going out every day and checking to see whether anything’s gotten bigger. (Or whether anything’s being choked by the stupid weeds that are everywhere. Or whether anything’s been dug up by the rapacious goddamn squirrels.)
As soon as it’s warm enough we’ll have a yard-warming pool party. And since the sun is shining today, I think it’s time for me to go crawl over every inch of it and pull up all the freaking clover that’s trying to kill my babies. Woot!