But There's No Yard

I grew up in the suburbs in a house with a half acre of lawn and back yard. My own children also grew up with lawn in front and a grassy back yard where they could play catch and stage wiffleball tournaments. 

The homes I lived in as an adult all had the same, even as I created gardens. My gardens were borders or island beds surrounded by lawn, and trees placed in the grass. There was always flat open space, always a yard for outdoor activities, even as my sons became adults and came back to visit.

So when we moved to this house with its narrow gravel courtyard and no grass, it was an adjustment. 

I no longer needed a play area for children, and I was excited to create enclosed sitting areas with lots of stonework and hardscape. I liked the idea that the entire outdoor space was the garden, instead of isolated beds.

But boy did I have to fight my desire to keep an area open and flat as "the yard". I resisted filling up the small space with plants and trees and worried that the courtyard was becoming too congested. 

And yet I wanted a full, flowery, shrubby, shaded garden to be in, not just to look at. That's been my conflict all these years as I try to create a pleasing but useful area outside. I keep thinking "I have no real back yard"

So I had to laugh when my sons, now long grown up, visited recently and said the same thing. "There's no back yard".  "Where can kids play?"

The reality is that my young grandkids had a ball running around outside when they visited, exploring areas under trees, clomping around on the deck, swinging the gate, watering all the flowers, splashing in the birdbath, and finding things to throw.

But of course there really isn't anywhere to toss a football, pitch a tent, or stage a wiffleball game and that's what is so disorienting.

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