DIY all around

A do-it-yourself project that begins with weekend after weekend of schlepping dirt from shovel to wheelbarrow to truck bed to yard, and includes heavy rains, sump pumps, and a rotary tiller, is often a tale of marital strife. But for Lisa Wong Jackson and Nick Jackson, of Berkeley, California, who tackled both their front and backyard, it was a labor of love. “It rained. It stormed. We were crying,” says Lisa who, with her husband, began the yearlong garden project. “But [now] we have this personal connection to the landscape and our home.”

As the garden grew, so did their family: Lisa and Nick had a son, Lucas. “It’s fun to sit in our garden and look at stuff we planted together,” says Nick. “That’s something I want Lucas to be into too—seeing where his food comes from.”

More: See the full DIY yard makeover