Since I don't have that choice, I will settle for being someone who is more organized, more outgoing, and perhaps a touch more colorful. Or maybe I can just appear to be that way. . . .
Maybe I can settle for expressing that wannabe person in my front yard. Perhaps a nice, squared off formal plan with hard, paved edgings and a nice, orderly, strictly color coordinated planting where (shudder) you can see the dirt between the plants. Something in exciting colors, with some imaginative touches that show that a friendly, creative (but organized) person lives within.
The front yard, after all, is very much like our persona - that ideal self, the mask we try to present to the world, or at least to those we think we need to impress. Anyone walking or driving by sees it and forms their impressions of us accordingly And we, mindful of this fact, often try to create front yards that represent all the traits that we find desirable - or at the very least those traits that we imagine the neighbors find desirable.
But then there's the backyard. Chances are, if you created that garden, it says a lot about the person you are. Back yards are more private. They give us more scope for personal expression. We are more likely to choose flower colors based on what we really like, rather than their display value. Strong personalities may instinctively express themselves in gardens made up of the bold lines and distinctive color combinations which they dared not use in the public areas for fear of what the neighbors might think. Untidy types may begin with an orderly plan, but the flowers will inevitably spill all over each other, and the empty pots stack up into precarious piles - although the front yard may be manicured into neat lines. We assume that our neighbors expect conservatism, and neatness, at the very least, and try to live up to their expectations - where it shows.
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