My Great Outdoors: Phil's Backyard Garden

Name: Phil Kinsella
Location: Chicago
Type of space: Backyard Garden

Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: My wife Beth and I have enjoyed every minute of our time in our backyard garden. Chicago winters are looong, so we make the most of our time in our yard. The sweaty t-shirts, dirty fingernails, and countless bags of soil have made it all worth the while. It has provided countless hours of fun with our friends and family.

How did you create it?:
It has evolved over time. 8 years of tweaking, adding, subtracting, and going on our gut. We are not afraid to fail. If something doesn't work, we dig it up, move it, or compost it. We feel like it is a garden that will get better with age. The flagstone patio is a reuse of old stones buried in the yard. We discovered them when we first started digging in our yard. We reconfigured them and created a space for reading, entertaining, and relaxing.

Recommended store, site, product or resource?
We have used them all. Local garden centers like City Escape and Advance Landscaping, all the way up to the big ones like Home Depot.

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Comments (7)

Very pretty. It looks nice and private.

posted by Alora on June 29th 2009 at 10:56am
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Great job!
I'm in Chicago too and we're looking for good fence to create more privacy. Any recommendation?(Did you build the fence by yourself or hire a pro?) Thank you.

posted by vegetarcat on June 29th 2009 at 11:09am
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Lovely yard, great job! Like the bright red on the chairs.

posted by sassydo on June 29th 2009 at 12:27pm
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very pretty looks like you feed your plants steroids, they are so amazing.

posted by LoriSF on June 29th 2009 at 1:37pm
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Chicago is crazy for hostas. Don't get me wrong -- they look great in your yard, and, heck, I have them, too. But I've always wondered if other cities so hosta-y. ?

posted by jyw on June 29th 2009 at 4:41pm
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I want your hostas!!! Impossible to have enough! (And I think Nashua, NH is pretty hosta crazy, too -- like most northern and coastal areas, probably, since they do well in that kind of climate...)

posted by SherryBinNH on June 29th 2009 at 4:56pm
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I'm in Columbus and love hostas, but don't see them super often. Great garden!

posted by nick0326 on July 29th 2009 at 11:28am
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