Full View Of My Patio Garden

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Today, I’m showing you the full view of my patio garden inside my large privacy-fenced patio.

No matter the season, you can always count on nature’s critters to come around and entertain you.

In Full View Of My Patio Garden, this is The Bewick's wren on the fence

This is the funny little Bewick’s wren. Small in stature, but loud in sound. This bird can certainly belt out its song.

Green grasshopper on the fence

And then there are the grasshoppers that you hope don’t hop right into your home when the door is open.

Almost every time I water lately, grasshoppers hop out of the plants to avoid getting wet.

Funky Male Cardinal:

This is the funkiest red male cardinal I think I’ve ever seen. Has it been roughed up somehow, had a long soaking bath, or is it sick?

In Full View Of My Patio Garden, a Funky looking male cardinal

Does anyone know why he appears this way? He isn’t going to attract any female cardinals looking like that, I don’t think. But then nature is a mystery, so you never know.

Squirrel Drinking Water:

Squirrel drinking from the water I set out

This critter is Charlie’s nemesis. He lives to see a squirrel so he can pitch a fit. Squirrels are so fun to watch. They’re always full of mischief.

I try to forget that they’re rodents because I think they’re adorable.

In Full View Of My Patio Garden, Zinnias and lemon balm that somehow is growing in a cement crack

The big patch of purslane is at one end of this cement crack, and the other end is here. It looks to me like lemon balm and zinnias are growing in the crack of the cement.

My raised garden and self-seeding morning glories growing on the fence

The morning glory vine, a volunteer that sprouted by the fence, is becoming thick and lush with leaves. Soon, I will see purple blooms.

The blue raised bed is full of a bit of everything. Mint, iris, and mounds of hostas that other plants have covered up.

I’m sure there are more plants in there, but I can’t see them right now.

Iris & Sedum:

In Full View Of My Patio Garden, Iris in a galvanized container with sedum underneath

I planted the iris in this oval galvanized container. Sedum planted itself and is about to take over the container. Once sedum gets going, there’s no stopping it. Look at it spilling over underneath the clump of irises.

Lovely view of many plants along the fence. Sweet potato vine, gardenia petunias, salvia, sweet alyssum, coneflowers, and hibiscus

Over here, under the overhang of the tree, are most of my container plants. As the weather grew hotter, I moved them down the stretch of patio to provide more shade.

You wouldn’t think they’d bloom under the overhang of branches, but they do get some sun and bloom just fine in this spot.

If I hadn’t repotted the red hibiscus and moved it farther into the shade, it would probably be dead by now.

Purple sweet potato vine and sedum autumn joy just outside my patio door

Right by the patio door are these plants you see above. The Sedum Autumn Joy will be turning a burnt orange soon, as the season moves a bit closer to autumn.

In Full View Of My Patio Garden, sedum autumn joy about to bloom in the fall

Full View Of My Patio Garden:

Now you’ve seen virtually all of my patio garden. I don’t put plants next to the wall of my apartment because the wood there is already pretty rotten, and I don’t want my watering them to make it worse.

Summer will soon yield to another fall season. I started planting and tending to this patio space back in mid-April. I’ve watered, snipped, and cared for it throughout the summer.

And unless something unforeseen happens, I will do the same next year and every year after that.

That is just what a gardener does who loves digging in the earth, planting seeds, and packing plants into the soil.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cats, Ivy, Simon, and Daisy. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. My interpretation of life is that the glass is always half-full.

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49 Comments

  1. Hi,
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  2. Wow! This can be one particular of the most useful blogs We’love ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Excellent. I am also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.

  3. That looks like a juvenile cardinal, hasn’t got all his grown up amazing red feathers yet!

    1. Maybe there are some females out there in the same shape. I don’t want him to be lonely.

  4. That male cardinal is molting – look at Google images.

    You have a wonderful green thumb…I always thought your patio plants and house plants were some of the lushest, pretties plants I’ve ever seen.

    1. Well, thank you, Melanie!

  5. Such a beautiful garden, and such great photos of it and your “visitors”.

    1. I so love the visiting critters!

  6. What a beautiful collection of flowers and plants, Brenda! How many plants do you think you have been nurturing this year? And how is the little jade tree doing?

    Even though the squirrels are pests in some folks opinions I enjoy watching their antics when they come and raid the bird feeders. After all they are another of the many wondrous creatures that we share the planet with and I am always awed by the number of different species there are. I do intend to do something to keep the squirrels from stealing the bird seed though. And figure out a place to put some food for them, too. Maybe then they won’t be so interested in the birds’ food. Mayb

    Give Charlie a pat and a yourself a hug. And enjoy those flowers before they are gone for the Winter!

    1. I know I have nurtured more plants this year than I did last year. I had to give two outdoor chairs away to make room for them! Jade is in the shade. Her leaves were getting burned in the bright sun. I too love those silly squirrels. So fun to watch!

  7. It looks like the cardinal may be a junior who is molting away his juvenile feathers and getting his full adult color. We’re on our 3rd or 4th egg hatching this season for the robins, and 2nd egg hatch for the cardinals. They make the most of the summer weather here!

    1. Wherever the birds went for about a month, they seem to be coming back now. Thank goodness! I missed them.

  8. I love your beautiful garden and all your photos ,I am very glad that Charlie is better .
    We must take care of our precious fur babies .
    I am flat of my back most days ,awaiting spinal surgery in September from a bad fall last year.
    Thank you for making my days better !
    I am so glad I found your blog page !

    1. I’m so sorry about your fall. I hope your spinal surgery is successful and you’re no longer in pain soon.

  9. A few days ago, I saw a blue jay who looked quite ragged and like the thatch was missing from his head. I was really worried. Then another photographer blogger posted an almost identical photo of a blue jay in his yard. He commented the jay looked so ragged because he was molting. Relief. It was a similar look to your cardinal. Apparently the process goes by quickly.

    1. Oh good! I was afraid it was sick.

      1. Oh good! I was afraid it was sick. I just read that molting makes them irritable because it itches.

  10. Such beautiful pics, Brenda. The wren one is perfect! Love the way his “feet” span the fence gap.
    And your garden is wonderful – good job, you! Hoping you and Charlie are well and continue to be so. Thanks for sharing with us,
    Mary

    1. Those little wrens always seem to look awkward with their feet. They’re full of mischief.

  11. Simply beautiful Brenda.

    Carol and Molly
    xoxoxo

    1. Thanks, Carol and Molly!

  12. Your garden is beautiful. I wish you could work on my yard. We have no rain in summer, or very little, and everything goes dormant or dies. I never know what to plant for these conditions and we have to watch our water usage. I make up for it with indoor plants that do fairly well.

    1. At least you have your indoor plants. We get quite a bit of rain.

  13. Brenda,
    Good morning! You have created a magical wonderland in your garden! Everything is so beautiful, except the grasshopper. I do not like those things.

    I hope Charlie is feeling better. How is your eye?

    Have a great day!

    1. The right eye is fine. Kind of itchy today. Charlie is sleeping.

  14. Your patio plants are wonderful! I too have just a patio but alas I don’t have your green thumb! But I keep trying!

    1. Please keep trying. It’s all trial and error.

  15. Hopefully, the cardinal is just molting. Here in Michigan, this usually occurs in late July and August. They lose their feathers and sometimes have bald heads after the stressful season of mating and taking care of their young. They will grow completely new feathers to protect themselves against the coming cold weather season.

    1. Sure hope he looks better after!

  16. I love your photos. Theyare absolutely beautiful. They make my day. Wishing my flower garden was half as gorgeous as yours.

    1. Well thank you!

  17. Leslie aven says:

    I THINK IT’S A YOUNG JUVENILE MALE, JUST COMING INTO ADULTHOOD. THEY LOSE THE “BABY ” FEATHERS SLOWLY REPLACED WITH THE BEAUTIFUL RED ADULT ONES. THEIR BEAKS AND FEET ALSO TURN FROM THE BLACKISH BROWN OF YOUTH TO THE ORANGE YOU SEE HERE.
    I SAY THIS BASED ON THE ONES I HAVE SEEN RECENTLY JUST OUTSIDE MY WINDOW, FEASTING ON THE SUNFLOWERS I PUT OUT FOR THEM.

    1. I was wondering if they were youngsters.

  18. The top part of the iris rhizome should be above the soil in order to bloom. The iris will never bloom if it is buried too deep and the rhizome is completely covered with soil. I had about 200 blooms this May that I started with just 10 rhizomes 35 years ago taken from my mother’s backyard that she planted in 1961. I have divided and they have multiplied all these years. You should be very proud of your lovely garden. I can only imagine what your former gardens must have looked like (probably-paradise).

    1. I have heard that. Next year I’ll dig them out a little. Or maybe in the fall.

    1. It kind of does. But it jumped away pretty fast.

  20. Cardinal has some type of bug or parasite like mites .My sedum is already changing – central VA

    1. I hope not, poor thing.

  21. Maybe the poor cardinal has mites and has dug at his skin too much? I hope not. I have a tree out my window and I watch the birds and saw one who was going crazy with itching, and I felt so sorry for it.

    Aren’t grasshoppers wonderful to observe. I love their bodies, and you captured all the details in your photo, which I loved studying.

    1. You might be right about that.

  22. Anonymous says:

    I thought it might be a baby cardinal?? Your patio is gorgeous, you have made a beautiful spot to enjoy and relax in. Have a super Sunday!

    1. I was wondering the same thing.

  23. Your patio is so very lovely! Thank you for the grand tour. It is amazing how much wildlife you get to enjoy in the space you have. What a haven for you!

    1. The great thing is you don’t need much space to attract wildlife. Could be a balcony.

  24. Could the cardinal be molting? He does look a bit shaggy!

    1. I’m not sure what that is. I’ll look it up.

  25. Dianne Tolar says:

    You have created a beautiful space!

    1. Thanks! I love it.

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