Over time, gardens and lawns tend to evolve and grow almost as an organism on their own, changing and evolving.

Vicky Walker, an avid gardener in Moses Lake, has seen her garden and landscaping expand at her home to the point that she even has plants spilling out beyond her yard now. Walker said she purchased her home in town in 2008 right before the housing market took a dip.

After being laid off from her job on Jan. 1 the following year, she said her yard became her sanctuary where she’d spend a lot of her time.

“With too much time and no money, my yard just sort of evolved with time and miscellaneous decorations,” Walker said.

Walker said working outside in her yard offers an escape from any troubles she might have. A lot of her love for gardening grew out of a relationship with some close friends, Sherry and Doyle Cate, who had watched her daughters when they were young.

“They always maintained the most gorgeous yards, and they just showed me how to take pride in stuff,” Walker said. “And it’s a great way to pass the time.”

A rock pathway through a flower garden right behind her house and some raised garden beds were among the first additions added to her lawn when she first started cultivating what it has become today.

Affordability drove a lot of the first installations, she said. Scrap wood that was left behind when she purchased the house was used to build a number of the pieces in her back yard, including a large outdoor wooden seat she mentioned might only be removable with a saw now due to its size.

“All the rocks are free, it just took a lot of back work,” Walker said.

She said she learned to do virtually all of the building projects through DIY programs on television and similar programs. Walker said the swing took her an entire summer to get together.

Without digging up more of her lawn, she said, she’s limited now in space to expand. That space will become tighter as she hopes to install a she-shed soon to help with storage.

“I’m running out of places to plant stuff so I had to go outside of the yard a little,” Walker said.

As she gets older, she said, she’s not too upset to have less plants and flowers to worry about. Tomatoes, strawberries, butternut squash, zucchini and Brussels sprouts are a few of the vegetables growing in her yard this year.

“The Brussels sprouts have been really fun, I’ve never grown them before,” Walker said.

In regard to how her planting has come together over time, she said it’s kind of haphazardly thrown together, adding things she likes over time.

Walker said the Cates have given her a lot of starter seeds for her flower beds. Between her and another dear friend, she joked that the pair pretty much support the floral departments locally.

“It’s just all about the growth, just watching stuff grow,” Walker said. “I don’t do a lot of planning. I’d love to have all my tall ones in the back, but it just sort of happens as it comes.”

She said her yard is truly a “spring yard,” with most of her flowers blooming around that time, including blossoms on the tree in her yard. Moving towards the winter, she said she has some flowers she’ll need to take out of pots for the colder months, saving the dirt for reuse.

With winters becoming a little more mild, she said she has had a lot of plants survive the cold in recent years. For Walker, she said working in her yard provides a great excuse to get out after being cooped up during the winter.

Casey McCarthy can be reached via email at cmccarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.