Many readers (myself included) found the original exterior tour of our yard a little hard to follow. Our first house was straightforward: a simple front, back and sides that were easy to describe in a single post and even sketch. That simpler layout made the landscaping and flow obvious.
This house, by contrast, is more complicated. Although the lot is about the same size as our previous place—almost an acre—the shape is different. Instead of long and narrow, this lot is more compact and square. It also features several quirks and transitions that make the layout feel more intricate, like the narrow alley between the original portion of the house and the rear addition.
There are corners that look like they might fall outside our property line—little slices of land that feel separate from the main yard—but they’re actually part of our lot. Those surprising slices create private nooks and interesting design possibilities.
We also have charming little brick pathways that meander through the backyard and side yard, adding character and guiding foot traffic around garden beds and lawn areas. These paths help break up the space into smaller, usable outdoor rooms.
To make the layout easier to understand, I sketched a map of the lot and then scanned and colored it in Photoshop so the major features and flow would be clearer. The sketch is more of a conceptual diagram than a precise, scaled drawing—this house simply looks much larger on paper than our old place did.
We also created a short video walkthrough that helps explain the lot’s overall flow and how the different outdoor spaces connect. If you play it with the sound off, it’s a handy visual guide; with sound on, you might hear a few excited birds in the background. The goal was simply to give a clearer sense of how the front, side and back yards relate to one another.
The backyard itself has changed dramatically in just a few months. When we first moved in, the rear portion of the lot looked very brown and open. Over time, though, the space has greened up as trees and grasses filled in, bringing more life and much-needed privacy to the area.
We still plan to add a few fast-growing evergreens in strategic spots to improve our privacy even more. This lot sits between neighboring homes, and in some places you can see other houses from our yard, so creating leafy screens is a priority. That said, the recent burst of foliage has already made the yard feel cozier and less exposed, which is a welcome change.
There’s plenty of work ahead—planting, shaping borders, tending lawn and creating outdoor rooms—but we’re approaching it the same way we did at our last house: slowly, thoughtfully and with an eye toward what will be practical and satisfying in the long run. Landscaping is a process; the best garden projects are usually the slow ones that evolve over time, offering that dirt-under-the-nails satisfaction when a plan comes together.
What about you—have you been tackling any outdoor projects lately? Are there dream features you’d like to add to your yard someday? Personally, I’d love a deck for outdoor dining and an elaborate treehouse for our kid—a combination of practical entertaining space and a whimsical play structure. Someday, we hope to make both of those happen.