Backyard Makeover

Shannon's Backyard

My friend, Shannon has been redoing her whole backyard.

Last year she tore out all the old weeds, bushes and plants and created new planting beds.

She also had a new stone patio built complete with pergola.

This year she added an outdoor stone fireplace.

The new grass is still coming in.

A couple of Saturdays ago...she had a breakfast party to thank all her neighbors for putting up 

with all the noise and mess while she redid her backyard.

I helped set up that morning and snapped these photos of the yard and pergola.

I still need to take more because I had to shoot around the party people.

Shannon has a really big yard and there is lots of space in those planting beds. 

This year she had large rocks brought in to add to the landscape.

She had the landscaping guys put in all the major trees and then she is busy filling in between

with smaller bushes and flowers.

This arch will be covered in yellow roses one day. 

They already are growing well up the sides.

Her next door neighbor, Marge, says that she sees Shannon pulling in her drive unloading 

more and more plants every weekend.

This is quite the project...filling all of these beds in with color.

This little shed came with the house. 

She uses it for storage but wouldn't it be a great start to a little garden conservatory? 

I'd be cutting holes in those walls and adding windows and doors.

But then....where to store gardening stuff? 

The side yard, full of hostas and hydrangeas and roses.

This weeping willow has already grown a lot since last year.

She had large specimen trees brought in...so this yard will look mature pretty quickly.

As a child I always wanted to live where a weeping willow grew. 

I thought only princesses had weeping willows. 

Guess Shannon is a princess, now.

Shannon has a thing for pigs. Here she has added one to the landscape.

Here is her beautiful new stone fireplace.

She looked on the internet and printed out ones she liked and then told 

her stone guy to make it like this one but a little less wide and taller.

I'm sure I'll show more of this whole area soon. 

I'll take photos one day when I don't have to shoot around people.

The patio is full of groupings of plants like this. 

I have yet to get to see the fireplace lit up. 

But she has made s'mores on it once before it got too hot outside.

I can't wait to experience a fire outside on her patio this fall.

It's going to be a great space to enjoy many seasons in the garden.