Xref: kermit rec.gardens:270949


"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
I have a back patio that is a bit rough. It started as a simple slab of
concrete. Last year we planted several perenials that were very pretty
but all very low to the ground. Since then we have added a new patio
cover and a barrier in front of our air conditioner. I'm inclined to put
something in front of that barrier that would be pretty. I'm also
thinking about a climbing plant that flowers for the patio posts. I live
on the east side of washington so we have a fairly hot summer, cold
winter etc. This area gets lots of sunshine in the afternoon. Here is a
pic of the area.

http://homepage.mac.com/davecalhoun/PhotoAlbum35.html

Thank you for your opinions.

Dave

ps, here is what the patio looks like with the flowers blooming.
http://homepage.mac.com/davecalhoun/PhotoAlbum37.html

In reference to your air conditioner screen, I saw a cool idea awhile back
on Gardening By The Yard, the HGTV show. The homeowner was using a piece of
plywood to screen a firewood pile and wanted to dress it up a bit, so they
painted the plywood to resemble a trellis with climbing vines. They first
used a roller to paint the whole board with a brown paint, then striped it
with masking tape to resember the criss-cross slats of a trellis, then
painted it again with mixture of black, green and yellow paint. When the
masking tape was removed, there was a criss-cross pattern in brown across
the greenish-black background. Then, they used smaller brushes to paint
some very simple vines in green trailing up the "trellis", and added some
simplistic flowers by painting football-shaped objects in varying colors on
the tops of the vines. It was a very cool idea -- I'm going to try it this
year on my wooden shed, which is a terrible eyesore on the small patio I
have. If you're interested in doing this, search the HGTV Web site for
Gardening By The Yard and "painted trellis". There are instructions on the
site for how to do the painting and, to my recollection, some photos of the
process.

Cheers,
Rhonda
Alexandria, VA
Zone 7