We moved into this house with such grand plans for everything around us. Some of them, we actually accomplished; the stripes on the walls are my greatest achievement, and as my cousin said when she came over, “Your house reminds me of a beach house!” is the greatest compliment I could receive.
The backyard… that’s another story. We haven’t cut the grass since this summer, so it is literally a jungle back there. Our poor manual mower can’t handle 5 inches of grass, much less five feet!
Yup, looks a lot like this! Not a great place for a garden...
We have no plans of dealing with it over the winter, but I might lose patience and just go at it with a machete at some point. Thing is, we — or I, at least — have some major plans for that backyard, and we certainly can’t achieve them while the grass is long enough that bunnies can dart between the blades and be completely hidden from view. (Not that that’s happened or anything…)
What I’d love to do is have a fire pit, preferably in the very middle, on a brick pathway that leads to the patio and the stairs to the second-level deck. And along the gates? A full garden. Tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, some herbs, and whatever else I can grow. I mean, if Michelle Obama can grow stuff, I can, too. 
(Sorry, Mrs. First Lady!!)
I actually was recently pointed to this article about Mrs. Obama’s White House garden. Since we live so close to the capital, and while I was job hunting when we first moved to Maryland, I traveled there the first month of 2010 and just walked around the grounds… and I saw the garden!
Okay, I only saw the tarp that covered the garden — it was January, dead of winter, and obviously the garden wasn’t just hangin’ out in the cold. But there was a garden there, I swear!
Anyway, so with that garden, she’s able to feed several people. I remember when she first started it up and how excited I was to have a First Lady who was not only an overall amazing woman, but who actually took proactive steps towards making a better, healthier life for her family and, through example, the rest of the nation.
Some of the recipes on that article are AMAZING. There are some substitutions I’d make — the meat is an obvious one, and I’m allergic to tree nuts, so there go those — but the general idea? Delicious! I especially love the eggplant Parmesan pizza. Sorry, though, Article Person… I’d be using my own tried ‘n’ true whole wheat pizza dough recipe.
YUMMMMM...
Go check ‘em out, and let me know which recipe is your favorite!
How did I miss that news about her garden?!? Awesome! I love her even more now!
I have big dreams for our whole yard garden once we finally settle down outside the military (if that EVER happens) . . . Very similar to your ideas.
I have no idea, but isn’t that amazing?! She’s always been a huge proponent of kids eating healthier, and I love her garden idea.
And psh, yeah, lofty goals. I hear you!
Maybe we’ll be planning these grandiose things together?