Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: As soon as the weather allows we try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. The door remains open from morning till late evening. Besides almost every room (except one really) has its own entry into the garden. We planted lots of fruit trees, fruit bushes and other fruit plants. I was raised in the house / garden myself (which is not an uncommon situation in Poland = families live in the same place for generations and we rarely move) and remember the joy of waiting for different kinds of fruits to get ripe and ready to be eaten...

...There are old trees (>40 years old) and tiny new ones. We love the foresty climate we managed to achieve in our shady garden. In the flower beds there are mostly wild roses, ferns and other forest plants and flowers. We planted different kinds of wild trees — an oak among them. The oak grew out of an acorn that fell from the ancient tree that still grows beside the place where my grandmother's wooden house once stood.

How did you create it?:
Since the house sits in the middle of the garden we had to squeeze everything we thought we need to have in a tiny backyard: an outdoor living room and play-area for our two doughters (4.5 and 2 years old).

I designed the treehouse and a local carpenter made it. The tree house was supposed to be placed in the crown of our huge italian-nut tree — but for the time being has found its place between vines and hazel, propped on four snags. On the branch of the aforementioned nut tree we hung a blue IKEA swing. Opposite there is a small sand-pit.

Old trees were planted by my parents (for example two huge cherry trees in front of the house). My husband made flowerbeds borders by himself. It is a low maintanance garden. There aren't any high fuss plants that have to be dug out before the winter.

Recommended store, site, product or resource?
IKEA

(Re-edited from a post originally published 06.22.09 - NM)

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