My Backyard

This blog post is being shared with you as a response to the many messages I receive about my backyard space. I am hoping it helps answer any questions and gives you a better idea of what this space looks like from several different angles.

All About the Design

I want to start by saying my backyard is fairly small, so when we began coming up with design possibilities, we wanted to make the most of it by adding lots of plants and other special features. The picture above shows the view right outside my dining area in my home. Most of our time spent relaxing outside is right here in this spot. I love the soothing sound of fountains, so I made sure to include one in this space. The furniture was all ordered online from WalMart several years ago, but I haven’t seen it since. I have linked similar items for you, though (click on the image above to shop).

Above you see the same space from a side view. I have several palm trees and flowering plants in my backyard. Some of them include Cape Honeysuckle trees (these have a pretty orange flower when they bloom), Sago Palms, Giant Birds of Paradise, Iceberg Roses, Pink Angel Trumpet, Bougainvillea bushes, and Hibiscus trees (to name a few). I love seeing all of the green out here. When the flowers are blooming, I get to enjoy all of the other pretty colors, too!

Here again is the same area, but from the other side. Several of you have asked where we got all of our plants from. Most of them are actually just from a local, family-owned nursery. I recommend shopping around when you are looking for plants. We went to several corporate-owned nurseries that were charging triple the price for the same plants.

I get a lot of questions about the cement work we had done (the cement is just stamped to look like pavers). Again, we found a local company to do our cement work and retaining wall. Whenever we are planning a new project, we normally try to get 4-5 estimates from different places, and then check out reviews from all of them. It’s not always wise to go with the cheapest price; it’s better to ensure the company comes highly recommended, but without ridiculously high prices. I always believe somewhere in the middle of the cheapest and the most expensive quote is usually a good option.

The furniture above is once again all from WalMart. The set you see above is actually a different brand and style than my other conversation set. Once the cushions wore out from both sets, I replaced them all with matching cushions, which helped make everything look a little more coordinated. Click on image above to shop the cushions I used.

This image (above) is shown from the opposite side of the yard, close to our gate. We don’t have any grass in our backyard. It is all covered with lava rock, which helps make it easier to maintain. It is also drought-friendly for dry, desert areas like ours.

Outdoor String Lighting

At night, we love to turn on our outdoor string lights that we have hung all the way around the top of our fence. We just used regular screws to fasten them to our fence and cement screws to fasten them to the back block wall. We have them connected to a small remote control to turn them on and off easily. You can click on the picture above to shop my sources and/or similar items.

The Before and After

As you can see, there is a big change from the before to the after. We absolutely love how it turned out and continue to watch it gradually change as the plants grow taller/bigger every year. It is a very peaceful place to hang out in the evenings when it cools down outside.

I think that pretty much sums up my backyard! I really hope this helps answer a lot of your questions and provide a little inspiration for those of you who told me you are planning something similar for your backyard. Please feel free to leave any additional questions or comments below!