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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Garden Envy

I have a nice, big yard. I have a fair amount of trees in my yard, and although most of them are kind of crummy trees (boxelder, elm, and buckthorn), we are slowly trying to replace them with more appealing trees (maples, oaks, spruce, pine, and some flowering fruit trees). We've done some minor landscaping - installed a natural limestone retaining wall, laid a patio paver sidewalk, and planted lots of flowers. Cliff is also very particular about the way the lawn gets mowed. So, although our yard is nice and we do love it, it is far from well manicured and certainly doesn't feel magical, which would be the way my dream yard would feel. It would have a weeping willow or two, some gorgeous flowering trees such as redbuds and would be full of gorgeous color in the fall. It would have fountains and benches and secret spaces.

My vegetable garden would be neat and tidy and the tomatoes would be tied up perfectly. Did I tell you we mowed over the garden a few weeks ago because it was a complete disaster and the only thing doing anything was the broccoli and the groundcherries? The tomatoes were rotten, the cabbage was tiny, the peppers still didn't have any peppers on them, and I never did get around to planting my carrots, beets, green beans, or peas.

We lucked out and had a pumpkin vine grow out of a compost pile, but didn't get any watermelon, squash, or cucumber vines planted. ...and the pumpkins are still green.

So, when I go to my sisters' house, I experience a bit of garden envy. You see, the house is beautifully charming, but the yard feels extra special to me. Every bit of charm was added by my sisters and took years of work (and money, I'm sure). How rewarding it must feel to see your labor turn out such a gorgeous result!

This is a view of the house from the back garage. The trees, flowers, pavers, fountains, pergola, fire pit, etc were all added by my sisters.




This is the view of the back of the garage, from the middle of the back yard.




 This is the fish pond, just to the right of the garage.



The firepit that they designed and installed last year.


 The view of the right side of the yard, from the pergola-covered deck.


But the best of all?

Look at the kids enjoying this yard! Look at them playing follow-the-leader! My nieces and nephews in these pictures range from less than 2 years old (Gavin) to 23 years old. Oh, so much fun!





2 comments:

Kristin said...

Don't talk to ME about garden envy... yes I envy their garden and house, but I also envy yours. They're different, and special in their own way. Besides, Gavin love the woods, so that will probably be his favorite part of your yard/garden.

Li said...

I just read your blog. It is so nice to hear that you find the garden a wonderful place to be. Thank you for the lovely review!