Florida Backyard Transformation

One of my favorite things when we bought our Florida house was the backyard. I loved the coved back porch and the small, private fenced-in yard with a pool, the big oak trees filled with chirping birds and playful squirrels, and the peacefulness that envelops you when you’re out there. And despite the fact that everything was various shades of brown and black, I envisioned it one day becoming a tropical oasis for our family to enjoy.

The picture below was taken in January, just after we bought the house. Everyone was drawn outside to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine.

Our house was originally a dark brown/black. It was ugly. I almost didn’t even look at this house because of how ugly it was on the outside.

To the left of the pool, there was an area filled with pine straw and random plants. There were quite a few sago palms, which we learned have seeds that are poisonous to dogs, so I dug them all up and removed them.

After we had the exterior of our house painted white, I got started on painting the fence. We used SW Snowbound for both the house and fence. I knew a white fence would make a great backdrop for some tropical plants.

The rotten deck boards were quickly becoming a safety hazard, so we hired someone to replace them. I also found a great deal on a fire pit on FB Marketplace.

I made multiple trips to Home Depot and Lowes to buy tropical plants.

In our San Diego backyard, Tim and I did all the hardscaping labor ourselves and our backs are still paying the price to this day! So this time we hired someone to lay pavers around the pool (which extended the area for chairs) and put down the rocks for the fire pit.

Tim and I sanded and painted the deck. We chose BM Revere Pewter. I planted all the plants around the fence and in the planters. And we hung string lights to add a warm and glowy ambience at night.

Here are the After pictures :

One day hopefully all these plants will grow big, healthy, and lush.

I thought the kids would enjoy the pool and backyard the most, but it turns out to be me! I didn’t realize how much I had missed the Florida sunshine until we moved back and now I get to lay in it every day and soak up my vitamin D. I am pretty sure I was very deficient and getting daily Vitamin D is changing my life!