PRACTICAL PATIO POINTERS

A natural "sitting out" area in a large frontyard
( Click to enlarge )

Lucky is the urban dweller that has space for a patio. These days developers seldom leave more than a token space in new construction and often not even that. Rooftop, garagetop or decks are the norm.

If you are one of the fortunate ones to have a patio, treat it as an outdoor room that you will use frequently in the summer. If you haven't installed one yet, how you plan to use it should determine where you locate it. If you entertain a lot or like to eat outdoors then you want it near the kitchen or ( as the one in the photo above ) located away from the house and surrounded by screenings of shrubs, trees or trellis .

Patios are normally flat and open so adding benches, planted containers and other ornamentals will add another dimension. Arbors, pergolas or trellises will give it further interest and welcomed shade in a sunny location. It will also support flowering vines or roses for added beauty and fragrance. Sweet Autumn Clematis is a wonderfully prolific and fragrant vine that I have on my pergola and its sweet smell fills the surrounding area. Placing containers with fragrant flowers on or near the patio is another option.

Planting shrubs of various heights not only adds privacy but can control the wind and screen out views, making a small yard more appealing and mysterious.

For added pleasure, the sound of water can't be beat and a small re-circulating fountain or a fish pond nearby will provide it. A bird bath for our feathered friends is also a good choice, especially those with a solar powered fountain that keeps the water circulating.

Decorating your outdoor room with furniture adds a splash of color and coziness. Old existing pieces can be reused until you budget for the one of your dreams. Cover resin tables with an exotic, colorful tablecloth and splurge on an outdoor dining service and some fragrant candles. Add colorful cushions to chairs. String some Italian lights or Chinese lanterns around the pergola or some outdoor solar lights and lanterns nearby for evening entertainment.

I am one of the fortunate urban dwellers to have a patio and I seldom cook indoors once summer is here, which will probably be around mid-to-late May. As April in Chicago is still a month of transition I spend it planning on what needs to be done in the garden. Thus far, I've replaced my old worn out highback chair cushions with some colorful stripe and floral ones. Expensive; ouch , even though I got them at half price. It's early yet but I need to replace the cocoa mats in my hanging baskets, buy a new halved whiskey barrel and other containers for herbs and flowers.

It helps that my birthday is in May and that I'm SO easy to buy for. Plants and paint.

As Rosanna Rosanna Danna says " It's ALWAYS something. " There's never NOT nothing to do in the garden if you look hard enough.