In the Garden: No Girls Allowed!

Christmas came early this year for our boys. We have been talking about putting a fort in our back yard for about a year now. It started as a "Daddy-Son" project that they were going to build together.  Our oldest really wanted a tree house, but being that we didn't really have a structural tree to build in, that dream had to be put aside...or did it?

We often thought of putting a swing-set/fort in the rear of our yard, tucked away so that no one can see it.  And that would be good because.....??!!??  Oh right, our yard would look "pretty". Frankly, I think "pretty" went out the window with the birth of our first child. Somehow things have never quite looked the same since!

So we had the idea of putting this "to-be-determined" contraption tucked away in the garden. Literally.  Off the grass and incorporated into the shrubs, trees etc. And brilliantly enough, this place could be seen from the patio that we built 3 years ago (blog post to come!) and the kitchen window.  Bingo, we were in business.

I didn't grab the camera fast enough before my husband began ripping out the Forsythia along the fence. Normally, I am not a "rip-it-out" type, but in this case the Forsythia was so invasive, it had to go.  In the end, we transplanted 2 Rhody's, 2 Mountain Laurels, 1 Arborvitae and 2 Hydrangeas.  WHEW!

The first timbers are up and the kids can barely stand it.

 The temporary modern art installation / play structure in the yard. Notice the head about to peek out!

 Ooops! As the slide was installed we realized we had one more Mountain Laurel to move and a little pruning to do!

 Ta-dah!  The official "No Girls Allowed" fort.

Girls may not be allowed, but just wait until I finish the landscaping! More photos to come after next weekend :)

Have you done anything fun in your garden lately?

Happy Summer!
Becky