Welcome to the Backyard

The Opening View

A View at Day's End

Last evening, as the day wound down, the backyard settled into that brief golden hush when the work is finished, the heat is easing, and the view asks you to stay a little longer.

From the screened porch, the garden reads like one long family story. Roses frame the near view. The shed rests near the far fence, tucked into the wider landscape. Between them are the rock beds, the curved lawn, the steppingstones, and a collection of plants that are becoming less like landscaping and more like neighbors.

This is the larger story that Around the Shed promised to tell: not just what grows beside the shed, but the whole backyard that connects it to our home.

Some gardens are arranged by color or height. Ours is beginning to arrange itself like a family photograph.

Along the House

The Four Who Stand With Us

Four boxwoods stand in a measured row beside the house. Their shapes are formal, but their names make the lineup personal.

Read from left to right, they are Jesse, Dave, Fred, and Leroy. Two names belong to the men sharing life with our daughters today. Two honor fathers we remember. Together, they are The Four Who Stand With Us.

Four boxwoods in a row beside the house, named Jesse, Dave, Fred, and Leroy from left to right — **The Four Who Stand With Us, left to right:** Jesse, Dave, Fred, and Leroy.

Far left Jesse Amanda's boyfriend, welcomed in our family as our other son-in-law.

Third from right Dave Kristi's husband and our son-in-law.

Second from right Fred Janet's father, remembered with love.

Far right Leroy My father, remembered with love.

The Four Who Stand With Us boxwoods seen along the curved rock bed beside the house — The curve of the bed gives the four a gentle procession toward the backyard gate.

Beside the Porch

The Three Who Make Life Bloom

Across the yard, three brilliant red roses gather beside the screened porch. Together they are The Three Who Make Life Bloom. From left to right they are Janet, Amanda, and Kristi: my wife and our two daughters.

They do not stand in a stiff line. They spread, reach, and bloom in their own ways, which may be the most honest family portrait in the yard. The morning sun catches the red blooms against the stone and siding, while the porch behind them gives the scene the feeling of a conversation already underway.

Three red rose bushes beside the screened porch, named Janet, Amanda, and Kristi from left to right — **The Three Who Make Life Bloom, left to right:** Janet, Amanda, and Kristi.

A close view of vivid red roses beside the house after their morning care — Fresh color, glossy leaves, and plenty of buds still waiting their turn.

Bella, a low red groundcover rose growing beside the shed — Bella blooms lower to the ground beside the shed, carrying the family names into the next generation.

And the family line continues: Kristi is Bella's mother. One of the groundcover roses around the shed is Bella, our granddaughter's namesake.

Names to Come

Still Waiting for Their Introductions

The three spirea bushes and the lilies have not been named yet. That does not make them background players; it simply means the backyard still has a few introductions left to write.

The spirea soften the stone wall with loose, rounded growth and tiny touches of pink. Nearby, the lilies rise from the rock in neat green fountains, holding their yellow-orange blooms above the blades like little porch lights.

Three unnamed spirea bushes in the rock bed in front of the screened porch wall — The three spirea together, still waiting for the right names.

Three clumps of unnamed yellow-orange lilies in the backyard rock bed — The lilies bring small bursts of warm color between the porch wall and the roses.

Spirea bushes beside the curved backyard path and screened porch — From this angle, the spirea help turn the corner from the boxwood row toward the porch.

Close view of a yellow-orange lily blooming among green leaves and landscape rock — One unnamed lily, already doing a fine job of introducing itself.

Down the Lawn

The Path Leads to Bella

A run of steppingstones leaves the house and heads down the slope. At the other end sits the shed, where Bella and the rest of the familiar cast have their own beds in the morning sun.

The path is more than a practical route across the grass. In the photographs, it acts like a sentence connecting two journal entries: the family garden near the house and the landscaping already introduced in Around the Shed.

Steppingstone path crossing the lawn from the shed toward the back of the house — The steppingstones point home, stitching the shed garden to the rest of the backyard.

Wide morning view of the backyard shed, its open doors, and the surrounding garden beds — The shed in the morning light, with Bella near the front corner and the established cast spread around the building.

August 1 Garden Note

Water, Breakfast & a Morning Roll Call

Everyone was watered this morning and fed with a spray of plant food. Then came picture time.

The evidence is in the leaves: damp, bright, and catching the low morning light. The roses are busy blooming, the boxwoods look composed, the lilies are holding their color, and the spirea are quietly filling their places.

This first backyard entry is not meant to be the final word. Gardens refuse that sort of thing. They grow, struggle, surprise us, and occasionally earn new names. The table of contents is short because the story is young.

Wide morning view across the lawn toward the landscaped back of the house — The whole home-side cast in the morning light: Padres, spirea, lilies, and roses.

Wide quiet view of the back of the house and garden beds from across the lawn — A little farther back, the separate plantings settle into one backyard.

For now, the cast has been watered, fed, photographed, and properly introduced. Welcome to the backyard. We are glad you came.

Guest Book

Leave a Little Note

If this garden brought someone to mind, or if a name for the spirea or lilies has begun to suggest itself, you are welcome to leave a note. Messages appear after review.