My Patio Garden in July

Around the end of June I completely redid the patio garden…. a chain drugstore was having a big plant sale and all the dollar type stores were pushing garden stuff on their season isles. Plus, we found a local thrift shop that was loaded with “treasure”.

I really liked the way the plants looked in the plant hangers, so I got some garden twine and made some so I could hang more plants. I was going to just do herbs (the ones I planted last month) but they don’t seem to be doing well, they are growing but not like the other herbs. I think it’s the seeds, they were a little old. So there would be at least a few signs of life, I added some flowers and my old sage plant. Below is what those two end planters look like with their grown from seed chives and dill. Sad but growing. Maybe by the end of autumn, I can make a small bowl of dip with them?

This is the far left side of my patio garden and your first glimpse of my cat/mushroom/butterfly/crazy lady garden theme! I was going to go for badger/mushroom/snake but sadly I could not find any badger statues. I posted about the little sunflower bird-feeder already, you can find the post HERE. I used dollar store wire trash bins as cheap plant stands. I really needed one for the mint, it’s the one in the corner and that’s basil next to it on the right. They are both really growing strong. I have even been able to pick some off and use it in the kitchen without killing them or giving them bald spots!

3 tomatoes ripening nicely | Bath toys being used as cute garden decorations | old Easter basket from the thrift shop and my fairy head planter from England, with her hair looking a lot like mine does in the morning… except mine isn’t green.

This is the center and partial right side of the patio. I hung my police box and it spins nicely. I never put anything in it for the birds… I don’t want them to wreck it! I also put up a few shelves I made out of some off-cuts of wood we had laying around.

I found the little kitty on a swing bird hose at the thrift shop, except he didn’t have a swing and his paint was faded. I gave him a makeover of fresh paint, then added the rope and the wood to restore him to his swinging cat glory.

I found the porcelain gardening cat spoon-rest at the thrift shop and thought she was better suited to my garden than to my kitchen. I also found a good use for some old decorative bottles I had, the dollar store solar lights fit into them perfectly.

This is the far right of the patio. I removed the large table with the BBQ on it, it was just taking up to much valuable plant space. I broke it down and used the top to black off part of the fence, the frame to make a little planter box and the legs to hold up a tray to make storage under a smaller table. I also replanted a lot of stuff into different containers. I didn’t want to spend money on purpose made pots (I find the prices ridiculous) so for a quick fix, I used dollar store plastic buckets and bowls, plus a few thrift store finds.

I think the dollar store blue bowl on the discount store ($1.99) plant stand looks really cute. I also used an old fashion looking colander for the leaning fern. I got those really cute ceramic mushrooms at a 99c Only store, they were a really great find. The 3 other hanging plants look a bit sloppy, I’m going to make 3 new plant hangers for them in green.

I have every intention of continuing to post about my patio garden. I don’t think the garden will change too much over the next few months. The initial plant buying, seed growing, furniture buying and “decorating” was because we just moved in. I know I’ll continue to add small bits and pieces, plants will die or change and I still have a few more little projects I intend to finish and share before it’s time to pack up for winter.