My backyard is one of my favorite get-aways

By Published On: March 28, 2012

The sky was such a deep, dark blue it looked like you could dive into it. The warm sun on my skin made me forget this is still March. If I had turned on the app on my iPhone that replicates the sound of crashing waves I might have convinced myself I was at the beach, except for the loud Mockingbird chirping on the fence line right behind me.

I wasn’t at the beach, but at my own private oasis – my back patio. There are few nicer spots for me than sitting in my backyard in the morning (and by morning I mean 8:30 to 9 a.m. I am not a morning person) with a warm cup of coffee and my dogs lying at my side.

Our backyard isn’t anything out of the ordinary. It’s the typical town lot, a few blocks from the Bruce Square – somewhat small, but our pride and joy.

When home, which isn’t often, it’s where we spend most of our time, so we put more sweat into cultivating it into our kind of space.

The yard is dominated by a giant oak tree visible from most places in town. The latest measurement shows its circumference at 18 feet.

A rudimentary formula would estimate that measurement to equate to a 180 year old tree, but I’m not so sure. Studies have shown this area’s soil has unique qualities that fast-pace growth for hardwoods. Bruce is, after all, the place “where money grows in trees.” So whether it’s 180 years old or closer to 100, it’s still a great tree.

The giant oak offers the greatest challenge to my efforts to grow grass, so instead my wife Lisa and I fill every nook-and-cranny of the yard with plants we love, often inspired from our travels.

Cast Iron plants are a favorite of ours used to provide year-round greenery in areas at the bottom of the trees and deep shaded corners. We loved the way they were used around antebellum homes in Natchez and decided to copy the effect.

We had lots of the aggressive growing bamboo on one side of the yard, but several visits – more than I care to remember – to McCarty Pottery’s garden in Merigold gave us the idea of trimming the branches up six feet off the ground to give it a very open look that we love.

A giant Sago palm reminds us of our many trips to the Coast. We have rock beds inspired by a visit to Chattanooga, a brand of holly spotted on the Ole Miss campus and numerous plants from family and friends’ yards.

Last fall, our patio broke-up from the shifting clay on our little hill and we had to have that redone. The early spring is allowing us to make use of our brand new patio earlier than expected.

Sitting there in the morning sun with virtually every flower in the yard in full bloom, it was impossible not to appreciate the moment.

You may email Joel McNeece at joelmcneece@gmail.com

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