The Pleasure of Green

In September of this year we will have lived here for four years, time has gone fast. This is our first home and it was a compromise in terms of location. The house itself is a good size, but it's on a subdivided block so our back yard is very small but our front the same as all our neighbours. We weren't concerned when we bought it because we knew that although we'd love a huge yard, not everyone likes the maintenance so didn't anticipate any problems onselling.

It wasn't exactly a feature - the back yard. We bought the property from a couple with one young child who had removed all the mature trees from the front yard to feng shuie and left the back yard alone. I could see exactly how I wanted it to be from the moment we first looked at the place - a green oasis.

The old lady who lived here when the block was subdivided wanted to still be able to bring her car onto the property and therefore she concreted the whole back yard - the whole back yard. It was covered in pressed thick, thick concrete from the house to the fence in all directions. It took us the first two years to remove it, concrete cutting, sledge hammers, layer upon layer of horror.

This is what it looked like previously - everywhere.

This is what it looks like now.

The Virginia Creeper covers the next door neighbour's horrible steel shed. The Pittosporums are now almost high enough to cover the unit next door. The wisteria on the screen at the end now shields the roller door and the grasses along the house, well, they're lovely and green.

I can't tell you the sense of satisfaction I get walking out here now and seeing the greeness of it all. I hardly ever water, although I couldn't even if I wanted to, and somehow it all stays really lush - I guess I chose well with the plantings. It's almost exactly as I imagined it, although that's not to say there still aren't things I'd like to change - aren't there always with works in progress? The washing line - where on earth can I hide that?!