Our private yards are often deeply personal expressions of who we are as individuals, what is singularly important to us, while at the same time they can be expressions of how we belong to the neighborhood. "I live here, and I'm your neighbor." Over time we can see our original personal expressions clashing with the current moment. What we thought was a bush is now a tree, or those three different trees which looked so nice together are now fighting for sunlight and space for their roots. Our intents in planting odd combinations of trees, shrubs and flowers can become lost in the overgrowth of time. For an outsider, we still look at your yard, and make assumptions about who you are in there.

"Do you still mean what that tree says?"