Backyard Patio Oasis

This is our backyard patio oasis. It is where we can go to relax on a beautiful summer day. Entertaining is a breeze with the three different seating areas, and I still have a large patio container garden!

Backyard Patio Oasis

Over the years I have shared our backyard patio photos. It has come a long way since we moved into the house 15 years ago, but it will always be a work in progress for me. Why? Well, things wear out, breakdown, and new types of easy-to-care-for outdoor living furniture come out on the market.

This year I arranged my patio into three full seating areas. I have always had at least two… the patio table and chairs and patio furniture underneath our awning. Last year I added a few chairs and a propane heater, this year I added a Polywood bench to the area.

That bench was supposed to go near the window in the backyard where the blackberry bushes used to grow (those bushes are now feeding the deer the next county over). However, the landscapers have not yet arrived (NYS only just allowed the landscapers to lay mulch a few weeks ago, so they are behind) and that bench has grown on me in that space. I could always order another one for the originally intended area!

This is what I ended up with underneath the awning this year.

A corner plant stand filled an ugly place. That is immediately to the left when exiting the slider out of the house. There is an outdoor plug underneath, and not much else. I decided to fill the space, and add some of my faux flowers to the stand!

These plantstands added a lot of shelving to display my outdoor trinkets. From artwork to my crafts to gifts, these plant stands offer a lot of room. While all local art festivals have been canceled, I will have plenty of space for when they come back next year!

I purchased a Polywood rocking chair last year at an end of season sale. I asked Hubby if he wanted one too, but he passed. I am fine with that as there is not that much room under the awning, and the second rockers would always be exposed to the elements. That is what these are built to withstand, but no one wants to sit in a puddle!

I have made a decision that all future patio furniture will be Polywood or something similar. It is durable, comfortable, easy to put together, and it looks nice as an added bonus.

That seating area is the Polywood bench, several chairs, an end table, and that middle “table” is actually a propane fire pit table.

A view from the grass. That actually shows the third seating area which is simply our dining patio table and chairs. That does not get used as often as it should, just when we have guests over. If someone can convince Hubby to eat outdoors more often, I would be grateful!

This year I put together eight flower baskets. These are two of the ones I made up.

Here are a few more flower containers I made. Aren’t those flowers cool? The spike-y looking flowers are called FlowerPower™ Spider Pink Osteospermum and the multicolored ones are called Osteospermum ‘Zion Copper Amethyst’ (African Daisy). I thought they were a nice change from generic daisy flowers.

These are the four flower baskets I purchased. I am always waffling if it is better to make them myself or purchase them, and so I compromise and make a few, buy a few. I have quite the collection of planters!

This is my garden bag vegetable table. This year I am growing lettuce (you can see where we have started to harvest by clipping the lettuce leaves which will grow back), arugula, mustard greens, and spinach. All have had some cut for harvest. Because it goes from cool to warm here fairly quickly, I watch the spinach closely to make certain it does not bolt.

You can click here to find out how to grow vegetables in garden soil bags. Be warned though! It is easy to do and produces a lot.

These are peas and peppers. I have had a lot of success the last few years growing peas in pots.

Last year, due to our travel schedule (we went to Italy for six weeks) I did not grow many peppers and we were sad about that. This year, I am growing six different varieties of peppers. Hubby will be making a lot of stuffed banana pepper soup!

Those are beans and cucumbers. The cucumbers make our favorite creamy cucumber salad.

In all, I have 12 bean plants spread across several pots. If all goes well, we will be making a lot of oven roasted Parmesan green beans, which we love!

That is my lone cherry tomato plant. Not pictured are red onions. I have everything growing I need for our favorite cucumber Caprese salad! Well, except for the mozzarella, of course.

Herbs I am growing this year are sage, thyme (two different types for the bees), oregano, and parsley. Hubby has already started snipping the parsley for meals.

We have completely used up all the basil we dried last year, so this plant needs to produce! I will start drying next week. How to harvest and dry basil. Of course, we use fresh basil all season, but I love having the dried basil for soups, side dishes, and entrees.

And we once again have a hummingbird feeder on our tree, and the owls watch over them.

That is a look through our backyard! Thank you for visiting.

● For more Gardening Posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.

● If you enjoyed this post, be sure to sign up for the Ann’s Entitled Life weekly newsletter, and never miss another article!