My Dream Garden

You know how they tell you to de-stress by imagining you are on vacation somewhere beautiful, like a tropical paradise surrounded by white sand, waves and clear blue skies? Well, when I need to decompress and relax, I imagine myself in my own backyard. Except it doesn’t look like my backyard.

My backyard is littered with plastic tonka trucks and a sandbox, with a few beaten wicker chairs to make it look like maybe grownups spend at least a little time outside. In my real backyard, you can usually find my four year old’s discarded clothes lying outside the door. He likes to play with the water hose and gets more than a little wet. And more times than not, he tears them off right before he comes inside. I know to check the backyard when I’m doing laundry. Just in case.

The backyard of my dreams is much different. It has state of the art, beautiful wicker garden furniture, made from recycled materials. The cushions are mold resistant and just scream ‘sit here and relax on me!’. There’s an underground pool, made to look as though it was a natural pond cradled by gorgeous stones, complete with a waterfall that doubles as a slide.

The flowers in my ‘yard’ are exquisite. Roses,hydrangeas, petunias. And in discreet places you’ll find outdoor speakers shaped to look like inconspicuous boulders. And I can’t leave out the grill area. In the backyard of my dreams I have a beautiful gas grill – stainless steel, with a range. There’s also a mini-fridge, a fully stocked bar and a large brick pizza oven. And what perfect yard would be complete without a hemp hammock?

Someday, I’ll have the yard of my dreams. For now, I can browse ShopWiki, compare prices and plan for the future.