Monday, May 28, 2012

Backyard Umbrellas






What to do when you have a backyard that's as shady as mine? (Meaning grass refuses to grow and lovely "dry riverbed" landscaping isn't in the budget.) Improvise!

So this was our Memorial Day project. First task, clear out the trash, leftover lumber and weeds. Next, excavate lovely stones that had sunk into the earth and become overgrown.

Next, buy lots of three for $10 clearance hanging baskets of impatiens. Also $5 Dollar General umbrellas. Wedge the umbrellas between the slats of the fence.

Use OTHER trash in the backyard, too:
Old futon frame goes on top of the ugly shed to create horizontal bars for hanging baskets.
 
Old bamboo "video game" chair frame goes on top of THOSE like a goofy little hat. We'll call it "for architectural interest." Also provides another spot to hang a spider plant spending its summer outdoors.

Move some pots from the front yard. Rearrange rocks. Rearrange pots.

Rearrange rocks and pots AGAIN.

And, voila! A much prettier view from the hot tub than we had 3 days ago.

Kim Norman

2 comments:

Verlie said...

:-D Love it, Kim!!! Plant morning glories, or pole beans, or sweet peas to grow over the upside down chair hat on the shed. This is great! Love the umbrellas. Hope there are not complications with them in high wind.

Kim Bookwriter said...

Thanks, Verlie! Well, we shall soon see about winds, with the remnants of Hurricane Beryl heading our way tonight. Wish I could grow those lovely plants you suggest, but it's just too dang shady. Hence all the impatiens. I did find a pretty plant I haven't tried before. It's a variation of Citronella. A happy, bright yellow-green. It has done well in that dense shade since April. I'll remember that next year when it's time to buy new plants.