destination backyard

 future tree fort home

 
while house hunting after our move to champaign, we never imagined finding a place quite like this one.  we were looking in a very specific neighborhood and were willing to sacrifice a lot to live here.  so although we had a list of what we wanted, most of it was pretty negotiable.  outdoor space for us to spend oodles of time in was, however, one of the non-negotiables.  why?

confession: i don't take my kids to the park.

 yep.  when it was just luca it was a bit different.  we usually made it once a week or so.  but when gia showed up, i began to phaze that out of our lives.  it is not wise to try that kind of thing with fibro.  once in a blue moon, we will try to meet up with others for a lunch and play date, but i don't just pick up the kiddos and head over on my own regularly. 

and you know what?  it doesn't seem to bother the kiddos much.  because the house we now call home exceeded our expectations with amazing outdoor space.  for an urban area, it has a crazy large lot.  and the previous owner was a landscape architect, so there was so much already in place.

we find plenty to do right in our backyard.



we grow food.



we find friends.



we build forts.

our goal in the last two years has been to build upon this great foundation and make our backyard a destination for the entire family.  we dream up lots of crazy and fun ideas.   some of them have been realized.  some are in the works.  some are being drawn up on graph paper.  and many more are growing and evolving in our heads.

the plans for this year are exciting!  we just finished planting raspberry and blueberry bushes over the weekend.  designs are being drawn up for a super cool tree fort that will overlook the potager - making scoping out for harvestable tomatoes and newly bloomed zinnias that much easier.  the other main goal is to keep a garden journal, to help us learn more about the plants and keep a record for the future.  i'll be sharing the progress throughout the next few months.



this year, kim at the inadvertant farmer is hosting a children's gardening contest.  kinderGARDENS will be a great way to share ideas with others and be inspired by what families are doing outside.  i am joining a bit late, but consider this my entrance to the garden party.  go visit and see how others are getting little hands dirty in the garden!