Backyard Bocce

When we first bought our house, we knew we’d have to take our projects one at a time. Making the inside livable and adding some much needed curb appeal have been our top priorities. Even though the backyard needs some attention, we’ve concentrated our efforts on the area closest to the house, including the patio and the screened in porch.

My parents visited recently and although the temperatures were in the high 90s, we took a couple of cans of spray paint out into the backyard to do some planning. We’d like to replace our sickly peach tree (no peaches, ever!), add a fire pit, enclose the compost bin, extend the back flower bed, build a nicer storage shed, and, most importantly, add a bocce ball court.

Given our list, it should be very clear why this is a long-term plan for us. However, mapping it all out on the ground really helped us make some good planning decisions. Jonathan handled the spray paint while my mom wrote down all the measurements.

 

Wyatt was game but it was so hot, he was looking for shade where he could find it.

Regulation size for a bocce court is 91 feet by 13 feet—doable but a little excessive for backyard play so we shrunk that down to 60 x 10. We also left space for landscaping between the fence and the court and plenty of room for people to sit and watch the play.

The next step, of course, was to test out the court.

Friendly arguments ensued. Wyatt helped referee.