Every year I try to vary my patio set up a little bit. This year I added the settee. One year I added a gazebo, but after I had it a year the Oklahoma wind blew it down.
The Settee:
The settee matches my two chairs that always sit against the wall. I like them there because they’re just out of the rain unless the wind is blowing. They’re very durable. All found at the At Home store here in Tulsa.
This is the view facing my apartment. It is in shade part of the day. I read that Japanese Maples like a bit of shade.
This is the view looking inward. I am standing close to the fence that borders on the alley. You can’t see the blue raised bed from this vantage point.
There’s the gate to the alley, which I keep locked.
Look how big my rose bush has gotten. The buds are forming since I recently pruned it. Soon I’ll have yellow roses!
My Shady Corner:
I love my cozy little corner where the settee sits. It is a perfect spot to sit and stare out at my patio garden or sip iced tea and read a book.
I got the little red and white rug so Charlie would have a soft spot to lie down.
The plant you see above has pink blooms and I thought they’d be lavender. So I gave it to Nathan, who was thrilled to add it to his pink flower section of his garden.
Make sure you have the right exposure for plants:
First Nathan planted many of his plants in the ground. Then he dug them up because he couldn’t get the sun exposure just right for the plants. That’s a very good reason to plant in pots. You can move them around until you get it right.
He’s talking about going back to the nursery and getting more vegetable plants. Maybe I’ll go with him and pick up another bag of soil while he’s along to carry it for me.
I have three types of seeds ordered. I’m trying to bring more yellow into the color palette, which is purple and yellow a bit of white. Purple is such a restive color. It has become my favorite color for my garden.
But I’ve been unable to come up with yellow flowers that are pleasing to me.
The white clematis is blooming. It doesn’t seem to bloom long. When it gets hot, it dies back until fall. As do a number of other plants.
Above is the sweet pepper plant that I got. Last year the peppers I grew were a bit too spicy for me and I gave them to neighbors and to my daughter. That pepper plant sure put out a lot of peppers.
Mid-Patio Garden:
I brought these containers out to the middle of the patio to allow them to get more sun.
There is lemon grass on the left, which one year grew to about four feet tall.
Rosemary is on the opposite side. Then in the big pots there is black mondo grass that came back from last year, petunias, and a cone flower on the far left.
I don’t know what color the cone flower is; orange or white. The other one in the same pot died. They usually don’t make it through the winter here in pots. This is the first year one made it. I’m anxious to see what color flower it will be.
Oh, and I also got purple sweet potato vine. I always try to get both the chartreuse and the purple plant. They grow like crazy. Since they’re annuals they don’t come back. But boy do they put on a show all summer and fall!
I like to add sweet potato vine in pots with flowers for the additional color, and because they fill empty spaces so well.
Blue Raised Bed:
And here is the blue raised garden. I didn’t have to add a thing to it this year. And since Nathan raised the irises up from the soil a bit one is forming a bloom.
I gave him some of the irises. So far his garden space is out front underneath his window, whereas I have bushes there. He was so happy to see that one iris bloom on his was about to open up.
Next time he looked someone had broken the bloom off. He was very upset and said he’s installing cameras that will send the photos straight to his phone so he’ll know right away who the culprit is.
I wouldn’t want to be found on camera messing with Nathan’s garden. There will be hell to pay if someone gets caught snapping off a bloom.
Galvanized Tubs:
I didn’t add a thing to the galvanized garden space either. Lemon balm and sedum have completely taken over and I didn’t want to fight them. I’m just letting nature do its thing.
When my three packets of seeds get here I will start them inside and then find a place to put them. Perhaps in the blue raised bed. Maybe in one of the pots that isn’t too full by then.
One of the types of seeds I ordered is yellow cosmos, which my blogger friend Deborah told me about. I also ordered a form of clematis and a packet of yellow zinnias.
I’m soaking moon vine seeds right now and will plant it later today. I love the big white blooms at night. They go away as soon as the sun hits them.
Veggies I Have Planted:
The veggies I have thus far are cucumber, tomato and pepper. I doubt I’ll get more. I had the same three last year.
So that’s my patio garden for 2019. A very limited color palette. Herbs that aren’t perennials that I get every year, such as the pineapple sage for Charlie’s upset tummy. You can see it above in the far left corner. He’s already munched on it quite a bit.
Nathan said his pineapple sage is getting big. Mine is getting munched.
So the settee is the main addition, along with the Japanese maple (Mabel).
And of course a token photo of Charlie boy staring up at me and Ivy Lou staring out at the patio, waiting for a bird to fly into view.
I wonder if Ivy thinks she lives in a forest with all the plants that are out on the patio? It sure is a nice view for her anyway.
Did you know that April marks the 10th anniversary of Cozy Little House?
Oh how cozy and serene. What garden art and ornaments do you like and have?
I will be using your photos and ideas for my new backyard this summer – moved to a new home last fall. So thank you for your creativity & gardening passion. How much soil was needed to fill the blue raised bed and did you have to put a liner down?
Brenda, your patio is gorgeous! You have done such a beautiful job with furniture and plants. Everything looks to be thriving! And what a great place for privacy just to rest and relax without someone interfering with your solitude…I would just love it so much! We have a pergola inside our fence and we love it out there. No room for plants though but I’m thinking of making little baskets to hang from the fence! Happy Easter! Love and hugs!
Hi Brenda, love your patio space, and congratulations on your blog anniversary! Felices Pascuas ??
Congratulations, Brenda! I so enjoy your blog – it’s so interesting with a nice variety of ideas, subjects, and those sweet fur pals. Your patio is amazing – well done! The settee is perfect. You mentioned that you’re looking for a yellow flower and haven’t found what you liked. Have you seen the beautiful yellow petunia – Surfinia Patio Yellow by Proven Winners? I know that you like petunias and have such lovely ones. You may wish to check this one out. I’ve had it and love it.
Best wishes for continued blogging, gardening, and feeling better every day. You are an inspiration.
Mary
Congratulations on 10 years! Your outdoor space is gorgeous! Everything is looking so healthy and lush. Where I live, we had two inches of snow this week and its pouring rain today, so it will be awhile yet before I can get out there to work on flower beds.
Have a wonderful Easter!
I enjoy your blog so much. So many good ideas you have given me. And you tell life the way it really is making others with the same problems know they have a friend. Happy 10th anniversary. I love your patio and all the flowers you grow. I’m in Ohio so it is a few more weeks before I can start planting but I will be pulling weeds the next few weeks and making trips to the garden stores.
LOVE your patio…you have done wonders and so glad you have Nathan to share such with too…isn’t he a great gift though?? It looks so inviting and relaxing…I am amazed it is looking so good and it is not even May yet!!
Such a lovely extension of your home. All I could do was sigh as I looked at each picture.
What a beautiful oasis, Brenda! So welcoming with the new settee area. And those black and yellow–are they petunias?–I love them. I can’t believe how far ahead of us your Spring is. It’s still cold–46F. today at noon–and cloudy and rainy here in MI. I’m just chomping at the bit to get out and do some digging and planting but everything is so bloody wet. If we don’t get some serious sun pretty soon—I don’t know what I”ll do! Wait, I guess, right?
Anyway, your patio is gorgeous and your new patio door looks great, too, from the outside.
Enjoy your weekend with your fur babies and your settee.
They are petunias.
That would happen to me. My spring bulbs would just start to bloom and they would be snapped off. I scolded my children for it. My son blamed it on a squirrel. I thought he was making it up but then I saw the darn squirrel run right up and snap another one off.
HappiAnni….wow..ten years..wonderful…..Your patio is awesome…love it all. You are a hardworking woman.. Happy Spring and have a blessed Easter Day.
Beautiful! I love your color palette.
Happy 10th anniversary and looking forward to many more.
Carol and Molly
xoxoxo
Looks fantastic, Brenda! It amazes me how everything is so lush there already. We’re barely getting started on the greenery here in IL! My patio furniture is still under a tarp.
Blessed Decade! I love the patio set-up you have! Its just like a ‘regular backyard’, except you don’t have to mow the darn thing 😉 So much color – and i love the nooks, too! I noticed in one angle you have a building overlooking with its HVAC unit on the roof, but even with that, you still seem set-off and private, and thats very nice. Will you let Ivy out in the patio ?
I had to sign a document when I adopted Ivy that I would never let her outside, so no. What you see is the back of the strip mall.
Thank you for sharing. I love the coziness of our patio garden. Very welcoming and peaceful.
Very nice settee. I imagine Charlie will enjoy sitting beside you on it. My sweet potato vines stay alive all winter here in Florida, mine is in bloom! 10 years of Cozy Little House and going strong. Thank you for all your hard work on the blog that we get to enjoy.
I just love your patio. For an apartment it’s amazing & you always have it looking perfect. Love your fur babies too!
Oh that cozy spot for the settee is so inviting. Your patio is doing great. I do not have a green thumb. We just adopted a puppy and he is four mths old now and is pruning my plants already so worried about planting new stuff. Happy Raster to you and Charlie and sweet Ivy. Oh and 10 years. . I’ve been with you a long time.
Yes you have! And helped fill my garden.
I know I’ve seen your patio before, but today it looks much larger and longer.(wider?). Anyway, I am in love with all of your plants, and all I can say is WOW! Your new love seat looks great with the pillows, and the red and white rug in front of it. Everything looks so inviting, wish I was able to visit you and see and “smell” the flowers in person. Our growing season in Wisconsin will be later this year, and I won’t be putting anything out till the 1st of June. Looking at what you have makes me so excited and anxious to get going. Thanks for the lovely photos today, and Have a Happy Easter!!!!!!!
Very cute and quaint patio. Love your plants.
I so enjoyed the tour of your patio garden, it’s so lovely and peaceful. And I love that picture of sweet Charlie-boy. He looks like he’s smiling.
Hi Brenda,
You have such a large patio space. That is awesome. It looks great already. Hope you can figure out a way to let Ivy out there with you this Spring when it is nice. Maybe on a tether. Happy Easter.
Kris
It’s possible that Nathan’s Iris had it’s stem eaten by slugs. They love iris! to stop them I surrounded mine with crushed eggshells and pistachio flowers.
NUTS! I meant pistachio shells, not flowers, sorry!
He found out that the lawn company when trimming around the sidewalk broke off the bloom. Remember that’s how I sprained my ankle when they left a hole around the sidewalk. Still hurting a lot with that. Seems to be getting worse instead of better.
Oh my gosh your patio looks amazing, Brenda!! I’m so glad you showed wider shots so we can see all the different areas you have created. What a haven for you, you are so blessed to have this private outdoor space! The settee is perfect under that tree….I also like to have various sitting areas around the garden, so I can view it from different vantage points. Thanks for the link back to my blog! Have a great weekend, my friend – happy Easter!
Such a beautiful space and love the varieties of flowers and herbs you have planted!
Love your patio — such a colorful and restful area to spend your time. I love small areas that are cozy and alive with plants rather than large garden areas. It’s the cozy that draws me in. Enjoy!
Hi Brenda, I love your patio garden. I am going to try to do something with my deck this year. Right now it is Ugly!
Suzan Ladybug cottage
Everything looks so pretty I draws you out to your patio. I hope you have a great day and a Happy Easter
Spectacular!
Brenda,
Where did you get your blue raised bed?
I have been wanting to start one and this looks great!
I got it at a site called Gardener’s Supply. I ordered it about 3-4 years ago. I don’t think they sell that same one now. It is made of plastic and clips together. No bottom. https://www.gardeners.com/
Thanks for the info. I will check it out.
You are so lucky to have that enclosed patio. You have made it so cozy. Can’t Nathan enclose his back patio too?
Everyone’s patio is enclosed here. He has the same set up that I do. He just put his plants in the front yard to give them a little shade.
I love your patio, so peaceful. I have a vine grown from seeds in a pot with a trellis that I love. It comes back every year and reseeds prolifically. It has bright yellow flowers with a black throat. It is called black eyed susan vine.
Oh your garden is lovely! Thank you for sharing! I love your clematis, and am a bit envious…I have never been able to get it to grow…probably because we get hot fast….
Keep up the delightful work…
Nancy
wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com
Happy 10th Anniversary!
Your patio is so beautiful. Love the peaceful look. My yard is wide open with lots of trees so much shade so most of what I would like to plant will not grow well.. I get very little sun. I will save this page so I can go back look at it and dream.
Charlie looks like he is giving his approval. He is so cute. Ivy looking out the window wishing she could be out there checking things out. So cute.’
Have wonderful day and a beautiful Easter enjoying your plants.
Thank you for sharing.
Gorgeous garden! God bless your green thumb!
Stunning, Brenda!
You have a green thumb. And speaking of green, love how your green pots pick up the green in your settee and chair pads. Looks like a very comfortable sitting area for you and Charlie to look out over your pretty patio. Hope you and the babies have a wonderful Easter.
It looks beautiful, Brenda. I am so happy your lovely, serene space is looking so pretty. A garden is the best place to spend your time , and yours is wonderful!
So pretty. I just love your garden. In fact I love your entire style of decorating. Really enjoy your blog. Love the pictures of your fur babies.
Congratulations on your 10 years of bringing joy and knowledge to all of us that have the pleasure of reading your blogs.???
Many years ago my brothers about4 years old walked down our street and came back with a handful of flowers for our mama. They were twins and cute as a button. Mama of course knew these came from a neighbors yard. She had planted flowers down her long walk way to the sidewalk. Mama took my brothers back to the lady and had them tell her they were sorry for picking her flowers without her permission. The neighbor was very understanding and forgave them but explained it was a lot of work planting that many plants and they should never take other people’s plants without asking if it was OK They never did. Maybe someone did not think and took Nathan’s flower. I hope he has many more on his plant and it multiplies for next year.
That same thing happened to me when I was about 3-4 years old. Pedaled my tricycle to a neighbor’s yard and picked mama a pretty bouquet. Mama took me back and I had to apologize but the lady was very kind.
Very pretty and I love the settee in such a cozy spot. And of course, the babies, always love to see them.