Our new old house - the garden

Our house is located on a quiet street, right next to a large park (and in between two others), and it feels like we live right next to a forest, while still being walking distance to some of our friends' places and favourite cafes and restaurants. It's pretty incredible. Down our street there's an entrance to the park, a cooling walk/bike ride in the shade, with some lovely trails, our favourite one along a ravine. We have been introduced to Elvis, the local wood pecker, and came across many blue jays, but are still patiently waiting to spot the owl.

Our yard is more of a forest/garden than a yard, without any grass (trust me, I'm not complaining). It's wild and free, and looks different every day. It's not the well manicured garden I would have chosen, but it's pretty special, a careful balance of plants and wild flowers, a mostly self sustaining, mature ecosystem, meant to be enjoyed. As I'm embracing this acceptance of all the imperfections of the house, I'm finding myself grow fonder of this wild place, loving to walk through every morning, checking on new flowers and growths. Graham has entered a personal vendetta against the bamboo, unfortunately planted years ago without being contained, and we are trying to find a balance between preserving our beautiful plants and containing the bamboo. The side of the house is now sort of a war zone, with bamboo corpses and tranches, which hopefully will come to some sort of resolution soon. The walking paths will need to be widened and relaid, as it is now a little perilous to make your way through, in the between the dug-out holes and the roses thorns, but the sunny patio at the end is well worth the efforts.

Our house seems to have been designed for outdoor living, not only with the large windows and sunny breakfast nook, but with patios and decks on every side, ensuring a combination of sun and shade, of open and covered space. Again, pretty incredible. We do have some work to do though, in between shopping for patio furniture and attempting to control invasive plants. Thanks to a potentially charming little pond, dotted with gorgeous water lilies, and filled with stagnant water, we are on our way to becoming the main mosquito ecosystem in the city. On days that I'm feeling ambitious I also think that a vegetable garden would be nice, but most days, my priority is a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a lounge chair, hoping this sunny weather will lasts for months.