your backyard.... is it the way you want it??

In a way, it's good they did nothing with it. That way you can do what you want without feeling any guilt from pulling bushes or chopping down trees you don't want. When we bought our place, it was middle of winter with a foot of snow on the ground. Had no clue if any flowers were planted or anything. Once everything thawed out, I discovered the previous owners never ever picked up after their huge dog. I was out there for 3hrs. straight picking up 4 5gallon buckets of dog poop and thowing it out in the woods. Found glass bottles everywhere and other garbage. We spent the first spring/summer/fall just picking up all the crap in the yard. On a acre lot, that's alot. Our whole yard will always be a work-in-progress cause, like you, we are on a very tight budget. I finally got my King Crimson Red Maple after 7yrs. Have a huge garden next to the shed plus the original I put in when we first moved here that floods every spring. My neighbor who has horses brings me all his horse manure that accumlated over the year every spring. It's come in handy to really loosen up this clay they call soil.

Ha! Lucky you. My backyard should be labeled a natural preserved habitat. But then again, it isn't really my backyard. The house is technically owned by my mother and her two brothers, and the agreement was that one of the brothers could live there if he took care of things. But he's not. Apparently trying to get rid of a wood pile of misc sticks and twigs that's up against the side of the house is wrong and unnatural. I haven't asked, but I'd hate to think what he'd say about the groundhogs making 8" diameter holes in the ground that you can see 7" deep. He probably thinks it's cool - has been known to let his grass grow about 2' high so the deer will nest in it.

Yeah, we could probably fix things up, but why put all that effort in when 1) it's not our fault it's so bad. We're talking years of neglect. And 2) we're not planning on staying. The end result is that I'm afraid to go in our backyard.

your backyard...........

Interesting discussion. My backyard need a lot of help, love and attention. I know there are many things that we can do to our backyards that don't cost a lot of money. Just gotta keep an eye out for sales. I don't really go into my backyard that much due to it not looking the way that I want to see it looking. Just like you there seems to always be so much that i have to do on the inside. But this evening I'm going to take some time out to concentrate on fixing up the yard, one small area the time. Today I will get a garden started. Tomorrow who knows. We have been getting a lot of rain here too so I really haven't been out there that much. Oh yeah I need to transplant a tree if I'm expecting to see any fruit. Just another thing that needs to be done. Good luck with yours......... Happy mylot!

Our back yard is over grown with weeds. There are also several trees in there that need to be trimmed back and such. So in short, we really aren't happy with our back yard, but on the other hand we are because it gives us a lot of privacy. I want our backyard to be cleaned up as much as possible so the kids have a safe place to play, but maintain some of the growth to continue to have privacy.
We knew that our house was going to require a lot of work when we bought it and it is coming along quite well, but budget is a problem.

Well not exactly. But it's not so bad either. I mean it's spacious enough and there's lots of plants and trees, It's very nature inspired. But I think it needs a little more flash to it. A good landscaping artist could really help, lol!

I do like my backyard.
It is very big and wild.
My family always want to do something with it, but we do not have enough time, so it is not perfect.

my back yard is now the way i like it i have been sick this year and haven't done the work as i would have like putting in more flowers and mulch and keeping ithe grass and weeds out.i have someone mowing and weed eating but they don't do like i would.i had a clean slate when i moved here.

That is so great, I wish my family and I have the time to do our back yard. We have nothing in ours. I have a one yeard old son and no where for his toys. We have alot of parties too. I know your new yard is not like what I need. But, i would love to have a niece party space, and a safe place for my son to play.