a labor of love (or) backyard magic

Our backyard has a long way to go, but it’s come a long way too. While looking at old photos, I realized how much it has evolved over the seven years we lived in our current home.

I think I’ve told you before, Cigar Man loves to work in his garden so a barren yard was a real playground for him. We had somewhat of a plan. I say somewhat since the plan was and is altered often. I think a garden like a home will lead you in the direction it wants and if you follow, the result will always be desirable.

Here’s a few of the original photos and those changes made.

The patio and evergreen trees were the only originals to the yard.

Here our neighbors have built a fence and we’ve built our pergola, but no more improvements have been made.

Cigar Man created a berm beside the evergreen trees and a walkway from the front driveway to the patio. Later Cigar Man constructed a dry creek bed to remedy the standing water you can see at the left corner of the photo.

Our dry creek bed not only adds a little character to the yard, but it also serves to drain water off our yard during rains. Some time in the near future, I’m going to sweet talk Cigar Man into writing a tutorial on creating a dry creek bed.

Later we added the fountain surrounded by a rock path and perenials along the fence row.

At the back of the yard along one portion of the fence, we’ve made several changes along the way from wild flowers to perenials…

…to leyland pines. We’re still working to perfect that area.

This was the patio and pergola as it looked last April. We had just restained the pergola from all grey to a taupe floor with white walls.

In the seven years we’ve been in our present home, we’ve worked played in the yard and made many changes.

I’m sure we will continue to as long the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.

I’m sharing with others at Fertilizer Friday and Met. Monday