So -
We have this great big enclosed patio on one side of our little pink house, and I am clueless. Indoors, I have ideas to go all day long. Plants and such stump me completely. Thus I have decided to make my own version of "Rate My Space" and get all your ideas! Keep in mind that it has to be kid friendly and client friendly at the same time... tricky, I know. I look forward to hearing from you!
4 comments:
I'm no expert, but I can give you little ideas based on what I've watered and planted so often on the Ashton's enormous deck/patio. First off, planters - big ones and small with tons of flowers. If you can get variety in dimension and color, it might distract you from the nice pink wall enclosing your patio. Also, I vote for a cute patio furnitrure set - just two chairs and a table. Sister Ashton has her personal little patio outside French doors from her bedroom and that's all it has - all shapes and sizes of planters and flowers and a little furniture set and it is so nice! Another fun thing that I've always wanted to so but can't because of our unfortunate climate... get a cute little potted lemon tree! They are small enough to be kept in pots (I think), fragrant, and pretty. I like the little trellis idea that's sort of growing from those two big pots. You could put up trellis all across the wall and grow climbing roses or something - though those might not be as kid friendly. But the climbing roses at the Ashton's on their RV garage are super pretty even when they aren't blooming and nicely soften the brick of the garage. I don't know if you like any of these or their too much or something, I think the simplest idea that would make a world of difference in your patio is just finding some kind of plant or hedge or bush to break up that back wall because besides that I think it's already pretty cute! One thing for sure I though, I think I would try to keep the kids' stuff on one side and create your "patio area" on the other. So... hope I at least gave you some inspiration!
Hi! okay, I love gardening. I would love to have a little enclosed courtyard/patio area like this to work with! if you get a lot of sun back there, it might be a little tricky. i was thinking it would be cool to have an area of the patio covered with a veranda. you could grow a nice vine, like wisteria, on the veranda, which would give you a lot of greenery, and plant life that your kids couldn't reach. it would also give you some relief from the sun - if it's very sunny back there. my other suggestion is to get a huge pot and plant a tree that stays small. a little decorative cherry tree would be charming and would do well in a sunny area. but, if it stays relatively shady, or if you have a side of the patio that stays shady, i would do a japanese maple. another kid friendly thing to do would be hanging plants. unless your boys are very mischevious (they would find a stick and knock it down if they were, or something), but if they don't go that far usually, they should probably leave the planters alone. if you're not keen on watering and tending to the plants very much, and it is indeed sunny - go with some succulents. i'm not a fan of cacti with spines, but i absolutely love succulents. they grow fast, don't require a lot of attention, and can be very beautiful. they do great in hanging planters as well. one other thing that would add a lot is to try to plant some ferns on the shadiest side of the patio. the fern, nephrolepis exaltata, also called the "boston fern-massii" is expecially hardy. it grows incredibly fast. and i remember romping around in it growing up, and it was always there no matter how rough we were on it.
you know what? i'm just going to stop. i could really go on for a while. i have a minor in botany and tend to spout of about plant life. and, i don't know you well enough to talk your ear off like that! but, i hope that that was a little bit helpful. have fun!!! if you have any further questions, i'm all ears! :)
I have no tips on the gardening. Anything I could recommend from experience here in hot/humid georgia :(. But, I was wondering if you could shoot me an email with your home address. I have a note to send plus, I need your phone number so that we can have adult conversation when needed :).
Keri- I'm impressed! Especially because I was just going to have you write to "Dear Genevieve." They'd totally do it because of your interesting and specific needs- both kid-friendly and client-friendly for your show-biz husband. Plus you could be on tv!
(I watch HGTV far too often.)
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