Ready for Summer

Poppies in the sun

Remember that little grape vine starter I got at Picnic Day last Saturday? We got home mid-afternoon and were motivated to overhaul the patio, all because I wanted a pot for my vine with a trellis and a grape design around the rim. We checked in on the dogs, then headed up to our second home Home Depot.

We have a very nice patio at the back of our condo - in fact, its one of the major reasons we bought the place. And you'll find us out there grilling and covered up in blankets even in the winter just to enjoy it, we love it so much. For the past few years we've had self-watering planters and big plastic racks to hold them, plastic Adirondack chairs, a deck box, and such out there. It was still very enjoyable, but we were ready to make it nicer. So we left Home Depot with a bunch of planters and ideas, got home, and got to work.

We busted our butts Saturday replanting most of our plants into their new homes. All the while Gretel hung out on her post on the patio while Mac followed us around, eating bites of soil while we weren't watching, napping and snoring. Ayla would come out to check on us, but big changes make her nervous so she hung out inside most of the time.

On Sunday we went to Lowes to look at more planters and ended up falling in love with a pair of deck chairs, an outdoor rug, a nesting table set, and a small bench as well. It must have looked hilarious, us unpacking boxes to get everything in the Jetta since we had the new furniture as well as a giant redwood planter box and who knows what else. That little car has been nearly as good as a truck for us! Once we were home again we spent the rest of the day working on the patio more, and cleaning up a few things inside. We spent so much time in the sun and either walking around at Picnic Day or working hard that getting into bed Sunday night felt like heaven!

So, on to the pictures of the refreshed patio, ready for a summer full of lounging, grilling, and fun...

Gretel on her post (she loves the patio), our avocado tree grown from just a pit from a grocery store avocado, and a little jade plant.

The Bar-B-Que, and clockwise from the bottom left a fern, tomato, mint from Mammoth, Princess lilies, hanging spider plant (great for oxygenation!), and a Maranta (Prayer Plant) we've had for years.

A shot of the blooms on my Princess lilies. So pretty!

In the redwood planter are petunias from last year, and California poppies (Chris has wanted to grow those for ages!), and a few solar lights; in the green pot is the tomato again.

My little green bench that I'm smitten with (with basil waiting to be planted), and on the rack are herbs, pet grass in the gray planter at the bottom, daisies in the red pot, my grape vine to the left, and a little cactus we've had for quite a while at the very top. This corner gets great sun exposure.

Close-up of my grape vine. I love the pot and the cute trellis, and the solar light makes it look very pretty at night. I hope to have grapes one day!

And a close-up of the purple daisies, as well as my tulips I replanted from last year reaching for the sun.

The gorgeous new eucalyptus chairs (a sustainable wood, treated with teak oil), with big comfy cushions; the nesting glass-topped tables; all sitting on the outdoor rug (cream colored, with a green palm tree border). Outdoor living!

So that's the new patio. Come visit us and we'll sit in the sun, enjoy the view, and sip margaritas while grilling steaks and veggies. Its our own little oasis!

Where's that margarita you were talking about?