I don’t think I’ve mentioned the new patio I had put in on the side of the house. The old patio had the original cement rectangular bricks from the 1940s or 50s, and they were not only ugly but also an accident waiting to happen.
So we started the patio in the fall, didn’t finish before mid-December, so picked it up again in the Spring. Finished during the same weeks I was having the floor redone. Pro-tip: for maximum stress and disruption, always be sure to have two major house projects going at the same time.
Anyway, here are some pics of the new patio and of some of the green growing things that now live on the patio. In no particular order…
Zucchini & cucumber on the left, spicy peppers and tomatoes are on the right.
The photos above are of the patio behind the gate.
The ones below are the patio toward the front of the house, in front of the gate.
The bleeding heart vine above is happier than the one below, but that one is coming along, too! The top one gets more sun.
Totally open thread.
Baud
Looks bucolic.
Old School
Ooo – that looks nice.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
Does this mean that you’ve moved to your own private Idaho?
WaterGirl
@Baud: Bucolic is a word that sounds like something unpleasant. The word inventors screwed up with that one!
WaterGirl
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq):
Maybe? I never saw that movie, so while I recognize the phrase, I don’t understand the meaning. :-)
Baud
@WaterGirl:
“I’m not bucolic, you’re bucolic!”
WaterGirl
@Baud: Yep, exactly!
Mousebumples
Might have been talked about in the am thread, but SCOWIS overturned the 1849 state abortion ban today!
Thanks to all of you who helped WisDems with those races over the past few years.
Dorothy A. Winsor
That looks lovely. One of my neighbors just showed me a cherry tomato he’d picked from his garden, the first of the season
Elizabelle
Beautiful. My patio.
Does not look anything like that.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: I have already have the post ready on that – did you not get my email? But Anne Laurie is working on a post and I didn’t want it to conflict with that.
JML
Lovely patio. congratulations!
Mousebumples
@WaterGirl – your patio looks great! Lovely flowers, too. 🌸
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Neither did mine!
I do have a table and chairs on the front part of my patio, too.
Like normal people do. :-)
Steve LaBonne
Wow, that’s really, really nice. Enjoy!
stinger
Is it Sunday again already?
Seriously, gorgeous patio and plants, WG!
WaterGirl
@Steve LaBonne: Tears today for you and Martti. So hard to let them go, even as you know you are giving them your last gift so they don’t suffer.
stinger
@Mousebumples:
Thank you for such good news!
WaterGirl
@stinger: Just simpler to share my own pics myself when I’m in the mood. :-)
Josie
As I look admiringly at your patio, I can imagine the amount of work it took to do all that. Did you pot and grow all those plants yourself? I am impressed.
WaterGirl
@Josie: At first I thought you thought maybe I did the patio bricks, which I most certainly did not!!!
WaterGirl
@Josie:
@Josie: You haven’t even seen the pots on the front deck. Flowers are my vice. I do have a helper. We work together.
Steve LaBonne
@WaterGirl: Thank you so much. Our vet does everything possible to make it no more awful than it has to be. But we don’t want to be in their special room again for years (looks at 8 and 10 year old greyhounds with fingers crossed…)
WaterGirl
@Steve LaBonne: I suggest writing your greyhounds a stern letter. :-)
Steve LaBonne
@WaterGirl: More like a begging letter- please stay well for a long time to come.
Chetan Murthy
@Josie: That’s what I immediately thought, too! That sort of garden takes -work-!
Maxim
Looks great!
Josie
@Steve LaBonne: In my 80 years, I have been in that special room more times than I wished. It never gets any easier. You are doing the best you can for your loved one, and you have all my sympathy.
Baud
eclare
Beautiful patio, WaterGirl! You and your plants will enjoy that for a long time.
WaterGirl
@Chetan Murthy: Even with all the planting finished for the year, it feels like watering and fertilizing is a full time job this year, in all this ungodly heat. :-)
Geminid
That’s some nice paving work. Someone derinitely knew what they were doing.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
I haven’t planted anything in my front porch box planter that faces west for the past several years. I figured with the increased heat it would be a battle to keep anything watered and alive.
rikyrah
that looks so nice :)
good shade :)
Mousebumples
@stinger: you’re welcome. Enough shitty news these days, so I’m glad to share more positive outcomes.
Bulgakov
What a beautiful space to hang out in.
Steve LaBonne
@Josie: Thank you. We knew we had made the right decision but man that doesn’t make it hurt less.
cwmoss
Watergirl — What is the broad leafed plant in the last pic?
SkyBluePink
What a perfectly beautiful space! And what a green thumb!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
A+ on the container gardening of all kinds.
My wife and late mother, massive flower gardeners in yards, would approve.
Joy in FL
Beautiful patio. Beautiful plants.
Where is my daily photo of the adorable Henry?
Mel
Such a beautiful patio, and gorgeous plants. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos.
NotMax
Needs moar hot tub.
;)
WaterGirl
@cwmoss: It’s name is “Illustrious”.
It’s a kind of Colocasia. Illustrious and Coffee Cup Colocasia are my favorite Colocasia.
Chetan Murthy
@WaterGirl: In literature, the “English garden” is a thing. It’s always meticulously laid-out, and all neat and such. And that’s the vibe I get from those pics, and why I thought “that must take a lotta work”. Sure, the patio tiles are nice, but even if it were just grass on the floor, it’d still be a lotta work.
WaterGirl
@Joy in FL: Henry got a haircut yesterday, so he looks totally different from the last picture. :-)
WaterGirl
@Chetan Murthy: Yeah, the patio is pretty well-behaved, everything in place. My flower beds are a lot looser, but those pics are for another day.
NotMax
Wouldja believe patio music?
:)
Joy in FL
@WaterGirl: Henry is always a source of goodness : )
FlyingToaster
The Balloon Juice Feed at Bluesky is down (my feed provider is on it), so feel free to use the list instead:
Balloon Juice Jackals Bluesky List
cwmoss
@WaterGirl: thank you. We had one in our yard (PDX) when we moved in July 2019, but it didn’t survive our 116 degree heat wave in 2021. Now I know what it was so I can replace it!
mr perfect
I’m envious, WG. Wish my yard looked half as good.
NutmegAgain
Sooo lovely! I have a jealous. (I only prioritized a big ass fence when I bought my house, not other potential outdoor features, and I regret that.
Anybody else bought a house before the covid real estate craziness, and now there is nowhere to move because it’s all too expensive?
WaterGirl
@cwmoss: It looks a lot like Black Beauty, but the leaves are bigger and I think more striking.
beckya57
Ah, summer in Shampoo-Banana. Don’t miss it (currently 67 in Tacoma ha ha).
Your patio and garden are lovely, though.
Nancy
Great pictures of the garden and new patio. Now where are the pictures of the new floor?
;-)
jackmac
Very nice patio! I have a side yard that has grown increasingly shaded over the years, so much so that nothing but weeds, ivy and some insubstantial grass seem to make it. Three other sides of the house are pretty lush lawn.
So seeing this has me thinking that perhaps my solution is what you’ve done. Not this year, of course. Spring/summer objectives this year were a new driveway and keeping flowers alive in wilting heat.
Driveway is done and flowers are doing pretty well. But I’ve planted so many petunias only to discover how high-maintenance they are.
WaterGirl
@jackmac: On a shady side of the house, I think it would be lovely to have a patio space where you can hang out.
I wish I had space for an above ground pool. If you like to swim, you could do that, too.
Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq)
@WaterGirl: I wasn’t going further than the B-52s song, you wild potato.
WaterGirl
@Smiling Happy Guy (aka boatboy_srq): I dated a guy from Idaho when I was young. Maybe that counts?
Geminid
@jackmac: Periwinkle is a nice groundcover for part shade areas. The Vinca Minor that is, not its rougher cousin Vinca Major. Vinca Minor stays green all Winter, flowers mid-to-late Spring. It grows pretty thick once it’s established which cuts down on the weeding.
dearmaizie
Your patio and surroundings are beautiful! That has to bring you some cheer. Would me, if I were your neighbor!
Jackie
@Nancy:
Yes, my question also! WaterGirl, you promised… :-(