Backyard Makeover Stage 2

I wanted to post a little update on how our backyard is looking this summer. 

This is what we started with:

Imagine lots of pea gravel buried in dirt beneath the leaves

And here is where we were at last fall.

This is earlier today:

View from the deck

Ground level

Here is a before shot of the area right outside our sliding glass door:

Yikes!

And here is the after:

Take a look at the beauty of a shed that we inherited:

If sheds didn't cost so much, we would have asked the previous owner to get it out of here.  Instead, we settled on some creative upgrades.  Last summer my Dad helped clean off the dirt and painted it a less stark color.  This summer I had Andy cut out some beadboard that I then painted and had Andy hang on the doors.

And I added these great pieces:

Over on the side of the shed that is in our yard, we planted a couple Camellias that should eventually grow tall and wide enough to cover the shed.  For now I found this piece to help dress it up.

It is so peaceful and serene back there now.  I feel like I have my own secret garden.