Backyard Landscaping Progress

We weren’t kidding when we said this was the summer of the backyard projects. Between the pool makeover, the pool shed refresh, and the back porch set up, this yard has seen a lot of love so far since spring.

Thank GOODNESS it’s been a gorgeous, mild June for us. Otherwise my usually sweaty self in the summer would be seriously dehydrated. (This girl does way more than “glisten” in the humid summer heat of the South.)

When we first moved into this house, we loved how heavily wooded this backyard was to provide as much privacy as possible on this half acre lot. It feels so much larger than it actually is because of that. And the biggest draw of our neighborhood that totally sold us… trees!

Olivia went all Vanna White to model it for us. 😉

But in our backyard, it was too much of a good thing. We realized even though lots of trees are nice, we were sacrificing room to play and run around and actually use our yard.

Bit by bit, Robert and a buddy of his removed the old pergola that was falling apart with wood rot. And he set aside lots and lots of old bricks that were scattered in the yard to save for building a fire pit later. (Waste not, right?)

We pulled down the old fencing that was barely standing upright too.

Then we did a massive tree/brush overhaul (and saved our pennies for two years to hire a tree service because tree removal can be dangerous stuff).

It is so open now! And yet, we still have tons of wooded area behind our house to keep it private and shaded.

Now that the trees and overgrown bushes are gone, we plan to grade it for better drainage, beef up the grass, make a fire pit area using the old bricks we found, and build a playhouse/playground for the girls.

Yay for lots of room to run! Maybe even room for yard games? A garden?

What backyard features do you have that you absolutely love to get the most fun out of your outdoor spaces? It’s a whole new space out here that we can’t wait to have adventures in.