Planning Your Patio Garden
Roy Thomsitt
A patio can be a wonderful place to relax during the warm days
of spring, summer and autumn; or all year if you live in warmer
climes. At times when the lawn may be too wet or even muddy, the
solid floor of a patio means you can sit outside even after
heavy rain and make the most of the fresh air, and visual
pleasure of your garden. You can even turn your patio into a
patio garden to make it more interesting.
You can turn the plainest of patios into a patio garden with
the good use of containers or outdoor planters. If you are
starting from nothing, and designing and building (or having
designed and built) a completely new patio, then it is worth
giving the garden aspect of the patio some forethought.
The reason for the pre-planning is that you have an opportunity
to create something very special with little extra expense
beyond the foundation work and the patio floor. Here are just a
few thoughts to build in at the design stage, so your patio
garden can be more than just a flat area of paving slabs.
Color Scheme for the Patio
When planning a new patio it is best to consider the color
scheme beyond just the color of the paving slabs. If you want
a patio garden, then you will need containers to grow plants
in. Try to be sure that you can obtain containers or planters
which blend well with the color of the slabs. For example,
light brown paving slabs above may look very nice, but are not
so easy to blend in naturally with surroundings, or find
complementary planters for.
Natural grey stone, on the other hand, is much easier to find
suitable planters for, and can have a much more natural
appearance in the garden.
That is not to say paving slabs other than grey cannot be used,
but just bear in mind the rest of the decor you will need to fit
in to make your patio garden attractive.
Consider Height
As with many aspects of garden design, height is important when
planning a patio garden. This can be achieved in a number of
ways, which can all be used at the same time. Here are some
examples:
1. Consider having a wall around the patio, on which you can
put a few containers. On a patio or terrace, columns and
balusters can be very attractive, and add a distinctive style.
2. Consider having a covered or partly covered patio. That
gives you the opportunity to not only provide shade and cover,
but allow for trellis on one side. That way you can grow
climbing plants on the patio which add that all important
height to the patio garden.
3. Choose some high containers that will immediately contrast
with your smaller containers.
4. Choose some tall growing plants and container suitable
shrubs, to contrast with the low growing and trailing plants.
Consider Your View and Adjacent Garden
It is best not to design the patio in isolation, but consider
it in conjunction with the view you would most like to see.
This means that the positioning is especially important, as are
the garden design considerations in the surrounding garden.
For example, if you want sweet smelling plants to fill your
senses on a warm evening, you can plant them next to the patio.
Or, if you want a private area in which to sit, some taller
shrubs outside the patio in that area may provide you with just
that.
By using a combination of the above features, you can develop a
patio garden that will be a pleasing and impressive feature of
your garden overall, and also be a great place to relax on
those balmy sunny days. Try to visualize it in full before
starting work on construction, and your garden patio could end
up as your dream garden patio.
About The Author: This patio garden
http://www.gardens-and-decor.com
article was written by Roy
Thomsitt, owner author of the gardens and decor web site.
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