Growing up, I always dreamed of having a little spot to myself in the backyard, sorta like a secret garden but not really secret. Just a spot to call my own. When the opportunity came to buy a home, my husband and I wanted one with a spacious backyard. We were thinking ahead and we wanted to eventually buy a pool, have an outdoor bar, a grill, and a small garden spot to call my own. Four years later, we have everything except the outdoor bar. It took time but little by little, our backyard is coming together.

After my last entry about treating myself with flowers, I realized I have completely neglected the backyard for quite some time. I think I stopped tending it around September since birthdays and holidays rolled in. My focus went on doing costumes, preparing parties/gatherings, gift shopping and an unexpected trip to Guatemala. Finally, life has settled down, so I dedicated a nice sunny day to clean up the backyard. After flowers were planted, grass cut, and weeds pulled out, I started remembering how it use to look when I first moved in.

The backyard was a giant sandbox. Dirt everywhere and not the good kind. I wasn’t even sure we’ll be able to grow anything there. There was a guava and an almond tree but they needed a good trim. We knew it was going to take time and money to turn this spot around.

There was so much dirt; we weren’t sure what to do with it. Either get rid of it or cover it with cement, grass, or pavers. We wanted to do this ourselves since we didn’t have the funds to hire a professional and I thought it would be a great learning experience. In the end, we leveled the dirt, covered it with pavers and bought soil to plant a couple of flowers here and there. After a long break, the pergola was build just last year. It shouldn’t have taken four years to clean the backyard but we had other things to fix first, like our house, before we can turn our attention outside.

Some plants have grown and others have died. I’m surprised I managed to get some grass growing. I’m hoping a vine plant would flourish, grow, and intertwine on the pergola. I’ve been looking at a table and chair set to put in the center as well. I picture my husband and I having a nice cup of coffee in the morning or wine at night with string lights hanging on top like how you see in the movies =^.^=

Oh! and this is the pool that’s on the other side of the backyard. Behind that, we planted bamboo which isn’t doing so good. I’ll be working on this side next time around when the weather is just right.