As a rambunctious and curios nine-year old there was no better place to explore than the backyard of my Grandparents house. The expansive half-acre plot had everything a young kid could ask for, including the rarities of a pond and tennis court. My grandmother meticulously planned each section of the yard, spending countless hours scouring over what and where everything should go. Coming from the weathered blacktop of the driveway or the white back door, which is slightly scratched from the eager cocker spaniel Murrey, you arrive at the bricked steps and ground that initiate the backyard’s pleasures. From this spot you are introduced to a roughly 25 foot long floral arrangement of tulips, daffodils and weird bushy things that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Also within the arrangement is an oversized bronze fountain pot, whose overflowing water drips down into a bed of smoothed gray rocks. Expanding past this point you are given a choice of walking up five steps towards a glimmering square pool, or turning left and entering a winding concrete path flanked by mulch, small fruit trees and a much larger fig tree that has since been cut into a stump. The path ends at the precipice of the deep end of the pool in almost an enclave-rounded spot with two concrete benches. From here you can look across the pool and see the white and blue trimmed guesthouse, which has a small chapel and a garage attached to its side. Next to the pool and guesthouse is grassy sprawl that has an enormous avocado tree, which has elephant trunk shaped branch that sits just low enough cause a head injury. Sitting opposite of this sprawl is a jungle of trees, bushes and a hedge that extends throughout the west side of the backyard separating the plot from their neighbors. The jungle ends with two small benches and starts another grassy area that has a Zen garden with a bird of paradise bush next to it. Extending past the Zen garden is my grandmother’s crown jewel of the backyard, which is the gazebo and koi pond that she designed. The white gazebo with a grey roof stands upon concrete steps and overlooks a magisterial koi pond, east to the gazebo is the green and red tennis court. The koi pond is outlined by mulch and cut out stumps you can use to avoid touching the ground, on top of these are small tropical trees and two fully-grown palm trees. The koi pond itself starts with an elevated rock waterfall that is used to cycle the water around in the actual pond below. Beneath the waterfall is a roughly 30-foot long and 15-foot wide pool of water with water lilies, sprouts and small enclaves where flash the turtle can reside when he is tired of interacting the 25 other animals in the pond. The numerous koi vary in color and size ranging from about two feet to just under seven inches and alter from pitch black to white and orange traditional koi. The backyard offered me a chance to explore a virtual paradise where my imagination could reign free. Recently my grandparents have moved out of the house and I will sincerely miss the backyard where I grew up and explored.