Creating an Outdoor Oasis on the Cheap!
by Kathleen Wilson
Description: How to create an inviting outdoor space.
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We all should have a haven in the outdoors; it is
soothing to the soul! It can be done with little
money,
little space, and just a bit of creativity! Check
out
these five great ideas for creating your own private
hideaway!
1. Carve out a space, an outdoor room if you will!
It
can be a large patio or deck, a corner of the lawn,
even a small porch or balcony. If you look hard
enough,
you can almost always locate a place to make your
special room!
2. Treat your room as just that, a room! Create
walls,
seating area, and floor. No, I don't mean a visit to
the home improvement center, just place objects to
suggest these boundaries, it offers the emotional
comfort and security of a real room. Suggestions?
Place
planters to create walls, paint on your porch floor
a
faux rug, outline your area with found stones or
brick
form construction sites (always ask first!), pick up
yard furniture from yard sales, create benches from
a
piece of lumber laid over concrete blocks, hang
plants
to offer partial privacy to your space.use your
imagination, and think as you would decorating an
indoor space!
3. Add container plants. As mentioned before, they
can
add structure to your outdoor room, but also add
accent
color, texture, scent, and charm. Buy inexpensive
terra
cotta pots at your local discount store, and paint
them
to add your distinctive touch. Using ordinary craft
paint or leftover house paint, you can sponge,
stamp,
or stencil any design you like! Try choosing colors
that will compliment your flowers! Or to pull
together
a "room" full of unlike planters and furniture,
choose
one beautiful color and paint all your items with
that!
My favorites are a vibrant periwinkle blue, or a
pale
lime green, but hunter green, terra cotta, and earth
tones all look very natural in a planted setting.
Also
look for unusual containers at garage sales to add
whimsy to your room.old cast iron pots (spray with a
sealer to prevent rust) wooden boxes, even old boots
can be converted to a new plant home!
4. Plants themselves can be quite costly, so here
are a
few ideas to fill those containers! Division or
cuttings can propagate many plants quite easily.
Most
perennials actually prefer to be divided every few
years! Ask your gardening friends if they have any
divisions they might like to share with you, most
gardeners love to pass on their passion! You might
even
have some in your own yard ready for dividing.
A
great
site to learn more about plant propagation on the
web
is http://www.gardenweb.com. Or you can check out great
books
from your local library for free! Seeds are also
very
economical. Many dwarf varieties of your old
favorites
are available for pots, and some good choices might
include zinnias, alyssum, marigolds, dwarf cosmos,
basil (I love the purple varieties, very
ornamental!),
nasturtiums and dwarf sunflowers.
When you buy
annual
flowers, always buy them in the smallest possible
size!
They are much cheaper, and they grow so fast that a
month after you buy them you wouldn't know the
difference between those bought in tiny pony packs,
or
those you paid extra for in big gallon containers!
(Except the extra money in your bank account!)
5. Finally, use your space! Have your dessert there,
read a book there, drink lemonade, play Monopoly! Or
better yet, sneak out when the kids or hubby are
occupied and spend a few minutes just remembering
what
a great gift the great outdoors is to us all!
Kathleen Wilson is the author of "Quick Decorating
Ideas Under $20: The Budget Decorator's Bible" and
editor of the free ezine, The Budget Decorator. Find
more free ideas and info on her book and workshop at
http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com. Click here
to sign up for Kathy's online home decorating course.
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