Decorating My New Backyard

Recently we remodeled our backyard. It’s our second attempt.

The first time we remodeled the backyard we replaced the horror of bamboo and prickly pear cacti with drought tolerant plants. Out went the thistle and weeds for a patch of grass that could handle the intense heat of summer. We removed two peach trees. They bore fruit but they never ripened. The summer wind from the marine layer blew hard and tore the peaches from the trees. Every July we had a carpet of green peaches to pick up.

In the center of the grass patch we installed low flower boxes with a drip system for drought tolerant flowers. We had a sprinkler system for the grass. Everything looked amazing and beautiful. Unfortunately drought, fires, gophers, and a pandemic lockdown changed everything between 2019 and 2020.

We drastically cut, eventually stopping our water usage for the backyard. It suffered - heartbreaking. For years nothing but dead flowers, weeds, and dirt mounds. Such a pathetic sight.

This year, our backyard has a new lease on life. The grass was replaced with desiccated granite. The flower boxes were replaced with tall flower beds. Weed barrier and mulch were laid to mitigate weed growth. It’s looking good.

Now I’d like to add a sculpture or three for the backyard. When I look at my letters I think they have a sculptural quality. I think they would translate to a large scale installation. I need to play with photos and augmented reality to see what works.

Letterform becomes a sculpture in my backyard