Thought I'd share some of the ideas I came up with for my deck. My lot is long and narrow with neighbors close by on both sides. So I wanted a little illusion of privacy, without putting up fence or screen, which would make me feel closed in and cut off nice views. So on one side, I had a carpenter friend put up wooden beams (just nailed to deck railing verticals) with steel pipe bar across for hanging baskets. Here's what it looks like:
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/basket_hanger.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/hanging_baskets.jpg[/img]
You can hang anything you want on it... At christmas we put up christmas greenery, etc... You can hang lights from it... Here's a close up of one of the baskets and one of the pots (all the stuff in all the containers is plants I started from seeds under lights indoors early in the year, which is how I can afford to have 20 some pots full of flowers on my deck)
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/petunia_basket.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/coleus_pot.jpg[/img]
On the other side, we built a planter bench with trellis behind it. All these pics were taken about mid June, so fairly early in the season. Later on the trellises fill in with leaves:
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/planter_bench.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt102/rainbowgardener/trellis.jpg[/img]
(if you care to, you can double click on these images and see them full sized)
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rainbowgardener
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bullthistle
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rainbowgardener
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Well I just got back from a week of vacation.... Had a friend come over one time and water all the pots and baskets (and a different friend coming daily to feed the cats). But we've been having a ton of rain this season, so it's not as much an issue as sometimes.
Yes "Mama" kitty made it in to the picture. She actually came with the house. We bought the house from a rehabber, so no one had lived in it for over a year. She was a feral cat who was already living on our deck when we bought the house, eight years ago. She's very tame now and fixed after having one litter, of which only one remains.
But yes, with five animals, a million plants, goldfish in the little pond, 3 bird seed feeders and a hummingbird nectar feeder, it does mean it's hard to just take off for more than a weekend, we always have to arrange some coverage.
Yes "Mama" kitty made it in to the picture. She actually came with the house. We bought the house from a rehabber, so no one had lived in it for over a year. She was a feral cat who was already living on our deck when we bought the house, eight years ago. She's very tame now and fixed after having one litter, of which only one remains.
But yes, with five animals, a million plants, goldfish in the little pond, 3 bird seed feeders and a hummingbird nectar feeder, it does mean it's hard to just take off for more than a weekend, we always have to arrange some coverage.
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vintagejuls
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rainbowgardener
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rainbowgardener
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Yeah, since that picture was taken it's faded out a little. The deck faces mostly east and gets only morning sun and the coleus is in the spot closest to the house, so it gets the shade first, but still in the height of summer it's a little more sun than it really likes, so it bleaches out a bit. Hanging in there though. I did start it from seed under lights in the basement in the winter.
Sometimes I bring the coleus in for the winter and I have had them make it through another season. But it doesn't really love winter indoors and it's usually not in great shape by spring, so I don't always bother.
Sometimes I bring the coleus in for the winter and I have had them make it through another season. But it doesn't really love winter indoors and it's usually not in great shape by spring, so I don't always bother.