The World's Ugliest Yard

Let me start out with: When we were house hunting years ago, we had been renting a house with a swimming pool. This are gets hot during the summer. My husband thought it was the ultimate need to have a swimming pool. I didnt. I thought it was the ultimate need to have a decent backyard and a family room. He won.

Unfortunately our pool is not heated. And I dont swim altho I do like a pool - but I have minimum temperature degrees for the water. And over the years we have lived here, the weather has changed a little bit.

As our kids got older, they used the pool less and less. Especially since it wasnt heated.

Our dogs have always loved it.

This the stump and all the roots my husband was determined to dig out yesterday. One of the first years we lived here we started going to the annual Harvest Festival. And at one of the smallest and quirkiest wineries (the first few years it was great to go there later in the day - by that time the wine maker had been sampling enough of his wine that he would take people on a free barrel room - about the size of most garages! -tour and give out FREE barrel room tastings! Alas, it is not like that anymore....Anyway, all the wineries have other things going on at their sites. And this one had a nursery with plants. And since we had (and still have) the ugliest yard, we bought some.

This bush was the last one left. And my hubby started hating it when he found out that pruning it released this noxious cloud of something that would get into his lungs and make him wheeze and cough for hours....we hired someone and thought they understood to get rid of it....all they did was cut it back.

So since it hasnt bloomed yet (and it was truly lovely when blooming) hubby decided it was time for it to go.....and probably a good thing when we encountered these roots! Some of the root system is probably still in our neighbors yard and in the field behind us! But at least it hadnt gotten to the pool yet!

This house started out with 5 - YUP FIVE!! - palm trees. We had one cut down. At a very reasonable price. But after the guys discovered all the nests and rats and all in it- the price wen sky high. So we only cut the one down. We tried Craigs List - free if youcome dig it out and cart it off (the 3 in the front yard are prettier then this one) but no takers.

The fence the ivy grows thru and pops the wood and ruins the lattice....That reminds me, I need to email the school again...

My lilac bush in the back which will not be touched. But that section to the side is where we took out the 3 rose bushes that had turned into a forest!! And over where the blue barrels are is where we are going to make a container/raised veggie garden.