A Garden Paradise on your patio by: Glenn Mast

Whether you only have a small garden area or if time is an issue, patio gardens are a viable option for many garden lovers and there is no reason why you cannot turn your patio into a garden paradise.

You will want to look at several factors before creating your patio garden such as how much space you're working and how much sunlight your plants will be able to get. Thinking about plant variety, size, shape and color will help make your garden stand out as a real showpiece.

 

You can create a hardscaping element in your patio, with your own materials, e.g. stone or brick, or you can enlist the help of a professional and choose from a number of other materials, e.g. concrete, tile, gravel or a wooden deck. 

Try sticking to something that suits the rest of your home's design and helps create a simple, but attractive, look. But remember that the focus in your outdoor area should mainly be about the plants and you don't want anything else to be too distracting

To create a distinction between your patio and lawn: You can do this by adding raised planters around the edge or creating a border with containers. Be creative with your plants here. Choose plants that will spill onto your patio or select plants of different heights.

Your patio garden could have plants growing directly in the ground or in containers or be a combination of both. This will depend on what type of patio floor you have.

Patio gardens are like an ever changing work of art. If you don't like something or if it doesn't work out, simply remove or replace it. Container plants give homeowners the chance to experiment with different plants, which can also mean less maintenance for the homeowner

First to consider with a container garden is what type of potting arrangement you will go for. The choices are limitless. The pots, containers and wooden planters themselves can add color or texture to a garden. Different sizes can allow a larger variety of plants, vegetables and flowers. 

To add depth to your patio garden, you can stagger planters and to enhance the beauty of the area, you can use different plant sizes, shapes and colors. You can also use containers to express your unique self. Get creative by using wooden planters, cracked pots, rusted wheelbarrows and kitchen sinks. 

Wooden wagons, for example, can add height and depth while serving as an attractive backdrop for plants or elevating plants of your choice. You can decorate the wagon with bedding plants, small potted plants, larger plants and plants that hang down. A feature like this can become your patio garden's centerpiece. 

If your patio has rails, you can use garden boxes which will help to maintain plants in beautiful form without much maintenance on your part. Simple ideas can make a big change to the appearance of your patio garden. A little imagination goes a long way.

When it comes to choosing which plants you want, you need to think about what relationship they will have with the sun, including what kind of partial shade is cause by other plants or trees, what total height they will reach, when will they flower or bloom, what kind of soil you have, how much watering will be supplied to them and, of course, how much space you have.

 

Using a variety of textures, colors and sizes can also enhance the space you have and make it seem bigger than it really is. Many vegetables are suitable for growing in pots as well. Deciding what plants to use will be affected by how much space you have and how big your pots are. Larger pots can be used for growing potatoes and tomatoes, medium sized pots for cucumbers, eggplants and peppers and smaller pots for lettuce and beets. Growing vegetables will provide you with a garden that is functional while also being attractive and adding color to your outdoors.

Think about creating a focal point in your patio garden. You could use certain flowering or foliage shrubs that will thrive in containers. It also gives you a good opportunity to try plants that you might not have been able to grow elsewhere in your garden as you can create unique planting conditions, e.g. creating the right soil condition for growing acid-loving shrubs like azaleas and camellias.

You could also consider having a water container garden. These plants will grow entirely in water with no soil at all, such as lilies, some ferns and water hyacinths. If you decide on using water plants, take proper care of them as they tend to attract insects to your patio. Many oversized containers, including old sinks and bathtubs, have made interesting backdrops for these types of plants.

A patio garden is a simple, yet beautiful, option for homeowners with small outdoor areas. Your patio is an important part of your house and a wonderful place in which to relax and get in touch with nature. Beautifying your patio with plants can drastically improve your outdoor living space.

Author Resource: Glenn Mast is a successful business owner of a couple websites that offer Amish Handcrafted Products. His sites offer products and information about Amish Made Products & decor for your home, lawn or garden. 

http://www.amishhandcraftedmetalwindchimes.com

http://www.amishbuiltlawndecor.com