From The Heart Crafts: July 2010

Welcome to our backyard patio!

I was happy when I read that pretty flower beds and pots would qualify for the CSI (Create, Share, Inspire) contest for "Outdoor Decor" this week. That way I could share what I have done to create a little haven where I enjoy my love for flowers, and where others can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or good book.

My favorite flower of all, in our backyard patio, is a rose. I love to admire and smell these beautiful Double Delights.

A drip system, on an automatic timer, waters almost every single flower bed and pot. There are also drippers for the ground plants around the perimeter of the patio. My son was a huge help in setting up this very time saving and water conserving system. Note the dripping from the hanging basket.

When the rain is finally gone, I bring out all of my wind chimes and pretty garden decor. I love the way this blue glass votive holder reflects on the fence in the sun. I tend to collect suns, stars and moons for my garden. Funny, I would have thought it would be hearts.

A stone bird bath sits amongst a small collection of container flowers. It attracts many varieties of birds that come to drink and bathe themselves. I have immensely enjoyed watching them congregate and flutter together in the water.

These cacti were started from one single rosette that I collected from a neighborhood garden, (I had permission). I find their long pink, spindly blooms fascinating!

I like to mix cactus plants with other bright spring and summer flowers. I think it makes for an interesting variety in texture.

This is my little wild, flower pot garden, complete with dragonfly trellis and frog bath. Sadly, the other blue glass votive holder broke...I am still waiting to find it's replacement.

All along the side of the house, are several hanging wire baskets, also with drippers. Here you can see a bit of the tool shed we purchased from OSH and assembled ourselves. This is where patio furniture, wind chimes, garden decor, gardening tools, planting soils and fertilizers are kept. It really saves the furniture and decor during the rainy season.

Along the fence are two, large redwood planter boxes. They are looking almost as weathered as the very old fence, though I have sealed them a few times.

The other redwood planter box.

Our little wrought iron patio table and chairs were also purchased at OSH. It has a textured glass table top and the chairs came with the seat cushions. The table disassembles and folds flat quickly for easy storage. The sideways pot in the back holds an overgrown Christmas tree my son begged for when he was very small. It started out a 1 foot tall grocery store purchase, but is really tall now and hangs way over our fence. I desperately need to replant it...but where?

This is a little tea rose tree I got as a gift from my family. It produces lots and lots of tiny pink roses during the summer. I tried to dry them, but they tend to fade and loose their color.

This is the corner of the patio where I place low light loving plants, they only get morning sun. My jasmine vine grew to the top of it's trellis and is out of the photo. The scent is devine when it blooms!

Another favorite of mine is this bright pink hydrangea. It has extra drippers staked in it's pot due to it's thirsty nature.

Some day I will learn how to dry and preserve these huge, beautiful blooms.

Twin ivy plants hang right outside the sliding glass door, giving us that lush forest feeling when we look out. They were purchased for $4.99 each at a local nursery and grew quite well after I repotted them.

Most of the larger plants are on rolling pot stands, many of which I made myself. I purchased the pre cut round discs, wheels and screws from, (you guessed it), OSH. I used my handy Makita drill set to attach the wheels then painted and sealed the discs. They allow me to easily move the sun loving roses around to capitalize on Mr. Sunshine!

This is a grouping of four rose plants in the prime sun spot. There is also a 20 year old Sterling Silver rose on the opposite side, not shown.

This rose is called "Fame". I also have one called "Royal Beauty". When they both bloom, along with my Double Delight, I am tripley delighted!

Almost all of these little flowers, in the top soil of my rose pots, started on their own from seeds, blown in by the wind, from other pots. I like how they look, adding even more bright color to our patio.

Two matching trellises are screwed to the fence with short shelving brackets. I painted the brackets and redwood trellises green. They have prooved to be very sturdy, even in the wildest wind.

We got a very good deal on a patio umbrella off season at Freidman's. It shades wonderfully on those blistering hot days, and can quickly be wound up and folded down to allow for more sun exposure. It is also stored it in the patio shed during the winter.

Most of the hanging flower basket's excess water, drips into the flower pots placed below. I always try to conserve water when I can.

This area definitely looks like a crazy lady lives here! I have a hard time turning down a struggling plant.

You can see here, along the right edge, one of our giant junipers. Years ago I planted two, 3 foot tall bushes, one on each side of our arched gate. Now they must be 40 feet tall! I watch birds burrowing inside to get to their nests, safely away from neighborhood kitties.

This area needs a little work. I eventually want to collect a couple of unusual cacti, as there are only two drippers available here. Hiding below the plant stand is a remnant of my son's water fountain fascination stage.

You can see here how the dripper hose snakes around to the separate potted flowers. Black wouldn't be my first choice of color, but probably the best color to camouflage them against the soil.

My son may be a computer genius but he also has a green thumb! Every year he plants a little container vegetable garden, usually tomatoes, peas, green beans, bell peppers and strawberries. Newly planted......

And really growing well! He places tomato cages in the pots for the plants to grow into, even the peppers, peas and green beans. It's great to pick fresh produce right out of our own back yard!

Lightly steamed and ready to enjoy!

Here's the funny part, my son doesn't like to eat the vegetables, just grow them. I like to tease him about this and tried to entice him to take a bite of his tomatoes and beans...with no luck. Also, he is way too old to fall for this.

Oh well, more for me! That's rosemary, sprinkled on top, from the back yard garden also.

This is my newest addition, a glorious passion flower vine! It was a gift from my mom and sisters, they heard I lost my first one in a hard frost last winter.

Right now it is blooming wildly, the flowers are remarkable! They smell like a combination of jasmine and honey...wonderful!

I love to watch the humming birds while I'm out there. This was one of my favorite finds, an old fashioned looking glass bottle feeder. Sometimes they actaully fight in flight over it...hey guys, there's plenty for everyone!

I just had to have this humming bird feeder when I saw it. It is a hand blown glass sphere. I was very disappointed though, when I couldn't get it to stop leaking. I decided to keep it anyway because it is so pretty.

These two palm ferns started out very small also, but continue to flourish despite the frost burning them every year and my constant pruning of the fronds so my roses can get more sun.