Back Yard: Before & After

Darlene over at Our Creative Life is having an I Love Summer party! Get on over there and see why everyone loves this beautiful season! One of my favorite parts of summer is spending time in our backyard. I have two very active boys, ages five and four, and they love to be outside. Thanks to the patio addition we completed in the spring of 2006, I love being out there with them!

I love my backyard. It is not huge, but it is private, and it has just enough green space for my two boys to run around. When we moved in, we had a deck. That was it. And it wasn't in the best shape. And no landscaping. The before picture is two pics that I scanned side by side, to show the entire back yard. Fine, but not much character. So we thought about what would add something more to the area. At the time, both our boys were very young. Barely two and around 10 months. They had trouble with the deck step. So we could not sit on the deck and play without constantly watching for someone to fall off the deck. So, we decided a small patio would be great. it would give us two levels out here, and would be a lot safer as the boys were small and running around out back. We had thought about a plain concrete pad, and we had thought about pavers, but decided to do the stamped concrete. It was in the middle price-wise, and would add some character like pavers, without the price and upkeep of pavers. What a great decision that turned out to be for us!






We also added the landscaping at the same time. The crab apple tree is growing so nicely. It was fairly small when it was planted. The pines and the grass provide a lot of privacy. The deck box holds tons of our outdoor toys. The only problem area was around the air conditioner. The concrete guys left a space around it, and our landscaping guy had a great solution. He filled it with river rocks. Then my husband planted a bunch of ferns. They come back every year, and this summer, they are so full and wonderful! When our air conditioner dies (hopefully not any time soon!), we will probably move it to the side of our house, and plant a smaller tree here. Maybe a weeping cherry tree?

Here are what our terra cotta pots hold this summer. I love the patina they have developed!

And our mini herb garden in our rebar rooster planter!

A view from the deck. We added the landscaping by the fence two summers ago. We intended it for a hammock, but it is a great space for now for the boys' sand table. There is a huge oak tree behind the fence that provides lots of awesome shade for this area and much of the back yard. We get morning sun, so evenings out here are wonderful.