Our Backyard - Half Way Done! Before and After Pictures

Do you like before and after pictures? Well here are before and after pictures of our backyard. We bought our house brand new with no landscaping . . .it's been 8 months and we're a little over half way done. We still need to add a few more plants and an outdoor living space with a fireplace and outdoor furniture. We were initially thinking of putting a pool but the kids will be leaving for college in a year or two and my husband and I don't like to swim so what's the point of having a pool.

The design of our backyard was inspired by our backyard in Hawaii! We wanted to duplicate it but was unable to because of the instability of the soil here in California but we're trying our best to duplicate it.


This is our backyard in Hawaii that we also had to build from scratch (via a landscaper). It was double leveled yard. Scroll down for the before and after pictures of our current yard.


Our backyard in Hawai:





This is the waterfall with the steps to get to the second level.






The Before Pictures of our backyard in California taken 8 months ago:

Current picture. This picture came out a bit dark but this is the view from the covered patio at the corner of the yard. This is where we're going to put the fireplace. We still need to buy the patio furniture.

Before Picture:

Current Picture:

Our dogs also have their own residence, fence, and yard. You can't see it but the dog house is actually 6 feet long and it's a duplex - each dog has their own room. They even have their own patio with a large umbrella. Their dog house is made with cider and insulated to keep their house cool during the summer and warm during the winter. The dogs are living in luxury. I'm planning to plant a little tree and plants so their yard will be nice and green too. We were thinking of putting a mailbox at the front of the fence and even an address number.

The Dogs' House and Playpen.

I can't wait for the plants around the waterfall grow to it's full height. During the winter, we had a frost and about 1/3 of the palms and taller plants died. Whaaaa! The ground covering is also having difficulties recovering from the frost. . .the intent was to have the hill green with beautiful green plants but they're growing so slow.

The Waterfall:

Before Picture

After Pictures. We still need to purchase patio furniture and build a fireplace at the back patio area. We're planning to add palms surrounding the patio area after the fireplace is built.