Backyard Done

From the beginning of our marriage, we lived in small little apartments. First the one in San Bruno, and then in Burlingame. While I never felt deprived because I didn't have a backyard, in my mind I always had this vision of being in a house, being able to throw open the back door to put the kids outside to play. They would run around and I would be in the house doing something and I would hear them laughing and playing.

When we moved and we were going to be buying a house with a backyard I thought that my dream would become reality. And then we realized what it meant to have lawn in Oregon. And that the patio was too small. And we needed more privacy. It would make me so sad that we had this backyard, but that we didn't/couldn't use it the way I wanted too.

At the beginning of May, we had the backyard done- added to the patio, added landscaping and plants that will create privacy. We really liked what it looked like right after it was completed. And last week, it was a beautiful sunny day. I threw the backdoor open, put the kids outside and they ran around while I heated dinner up. As I heard them squeal and chase each other, the dream was fulfilled and the backyard project became worth every penny.

As a reminder...the before 

The after (pics taken in June)

 In the two areas between boxwood groups, I planted (from bulbs) dahlias, ranaculus and also 2 blueberry bushes. Each section has a bird house hanging. The girls go crazy watching all the birds.