A Year of Backyard Growth

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The thrill of renovating outdoor spaces is they always get better with age. We overhauled our backyard last year and the plant growth during this last trip around the sun is wild! Get ready for lots o’ photos.

I detailed the design process, the transformation steps, and the budget breakdown in previous blog posts - learn more with the buttons below.

Get a load of these transformations!

Last year’s reveal photos were taken about two months after the plants went in, and this year’s annual update is after 13 months of total growth.

Timeline:

  • Demo started: February 12, 2022

  • Trees and sod planted: March 11, 2022

  • Plants installed: May 19, 2022

  • Reveal photos taken: July 17, 2022

  • Sweet pea fort seeds direct sewn: February 5, 2023

  • One year of growth photos taken: June 15, 2023

 

Oh sweet pea play fort, I adore you. Underneath those blooms is a sweet little water table with log seats for my toddler. While all the plants have filled in nicely, you’ll see there are a few annuals didn’t make it and we didn’t plant squash like we did last year. But if you look close you can see my seedling containers with hope of some later season plantings.

 

Do you see those fuchsias popping up behind the seating?! And all those apples? I installed another arch for my future squash. Bummer that the strawberry tree hasn’t grown in much.

 

That bougainvillea just won’t quit. It has seen some serious haircuts over the years, but it doesn’t let the trims get it down - it keeps coming back fuller and more floral than ever.

 

If you told me that the jasmine vines would be at the top of the fence within a year and that the concrete retaining wall would be hidden, I would have said you were lying. The plum tree is getting super full and we’re already seeing fruits, too!

You’ll also spy that the fencing is developing a patina. I planned to seal it but I got decision fatigue and couldn’t pick the right product in time, sooooo now it’s just covered in plants and that’s that!

 

The yard is getting closer and closer to my Secret Garden dreams. I’m planning to add some more support for the passion fruit on the fence to grow even higher and hide more of my neighbor’s house. And crossing my fingers the jasmine takes over the back fence, too. My dream is to walk into the backyard and only see plants and sky!

I have lots of seeds going so I aim to plant some sunflowers, annual flowers, pumpkin, melon, and squash vines soon. I’m playing with new ways to train tomatoes this year, and trying out some different foods to grow (such as this new-to-me plant that just started fruiting).

I’m on the hunt for a few things to add to the yard: a bird bath, some sculptural elements, a wind chime, and more play things. I’m also trying to figure out if we can create more height, too - maybe something to hang a swing from, more arches to grow vines on, etc. The fun of gardens is that they’re always a work in progress.

Did I mention we installed a bat box?