The Sideyard

Believe it or not, this is our first house.

We bought it in 1987 from the builder that I worked for at the time.

 

It is in a Planned Unit Development called Harbor Bay Isle.

The CC&R's  required us to put in the backyard landscaping within one year of close of escrow.

We were young with no money and no idea of what we were  doing...

so we bought some used bricks and with the help of my husband's brother, laid it in the sand off the back of our house until they ran out and have lived with it like that until NOW!

 

Even though we always thought our sideyard had potential and is considered quite large for this community, we never quite knew how to handle it.

 

After decades of living here we figured out that we needed to store our garbage cans and our bicycles, find a spot for our BBQ, and take advantage of the full sun to grow tomatoes and herbs.

 

I have also matured over the years and have come to embrace a less is more aesthetic.

 

I have to say that choosing pea gravel has exceeded our expectations.

 

It is so clean and bright and easy and fun to walk on!

 

Everything looks so fresh and crisp to me now.

 

It used to be so dusty, dirty and muddy, especially on mornings like this where it rained all night.

 

Next on the agenda is to get the house painted, which is long overdue and will really seal the deal!

 

I'm thinking about planting an espaliered apple tree in the 4 pots lined up against the fence which I just painted with Annie Sloan's Paris Gray chalk paint.

 

Here is a shot of the pea gravel wet.

When it is dry and the sun is shining it reflects the light and makes the yard so bright!

I bought the rusty work table over a year ago and brought it over from the prop shop. I am thrilled with how it looks centered under the window.

 

It will certainly come in handy with the vegetable garden and other garden chores.

I think we might even pull it out on occasion, place it at the end of the raised bed, cover it with butcher paper, place 2 wooden benches (currently being painted) on either side and have ourselves some caprese salads! Yum!

We planted an olive topiary tree in this vintage galvanized can. We currently have extra siding stored under an old sail that we will soon be using for repairs before the house gets painted. The painted benches will take its place.

 

We built this a few years ago to hide our garbage cans. It looks so much better now.

 

 So?

What do you think?

We are still tweaking the "backyard" and will be working on the border and installing a drip system in the new flower bed this weekend.