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Patio Landscaping IdeasSpring is coming, and if you're looking for some patio landscaping ideas, you came to the right place! Patios are a great place to relax in the summer, and if you plan now, by summer you'll be able to kick back and relax on your newly landscaped patio. First, let's take a look at your patio. Is it large or small? Sunny or shady? Flat or terraced? Is it exposed to a lot of wind? All of these questions need to be answered in order to address your landscaping possibilities. Luckily, these are really easy questions. It shouldn't take you more than a minute or two to take a look. Backyard Patio Landscaping Design TipsDo you want to incorporate patio furniture? If you do, make sure you plan a space for it so you don't feel crowded. You can also plan your landscaping to fit in with the style of patio furniture you choose.This is easy to do... just match colors of pots with the furniture or the cushions. You can also match or contrast flower colors with the furniture. With a large patio, you can not only use pots for your landscaping plants, but you can build large rectangular planters that can break up the patio into areas. If you have benches, you may want to choose some that also contain a built-in planter... it adds a little color and textural interest to your seating area. Trellises can also be anchored into pots to add some vertical color and greenery. Patio landscaping ideas for a smaller area may include container groupings or plants installed into small planting beds at patio level. In small areas, you may want to consider permanent seating to make the most of the space you have. A small water feature may fit in nicely. Patio Landscaping Plant IdeasIf your patio gets some extreme weather, like strong winds or hot sun, choose your plants wisely.Wind-hardy plants include bamboo, pampas grass, nandina and ornamental grasses. Sun-hardy plants include sunflowers, roses, daylilies, and lupines. If you think of a single giant flower head when you think of sunflowers, take a look at the ornamental varieties available. They come in all sizes and colors and produce bouquets of flowers. If you have room for small trees, you may want to think about a small palm if you live in a warm enough area. Small citrus trees are attractive, as are weeping willows, Japanese maples, and corkscrew willows. If you want patio landscaping ideas using container plantings, choose your pots carefully. You'll want to get different sizes that complement each other in their design. Fill them with a good potting soil, and plant them with a variety of plants that do well for your hardiness zone. Remember to plant your containers so there is a tall focal point, some short or trailing plants as well as something sized in between to fill up the space. Some people refer to these as thrillers (tall focal point), fillers (the medium sized plants) and spillers (the small trailing plants). When choosing your container plants, look for a variety of texture, color and greenery. Some plants will have smooth round leaves... others will have pointed leaves or serrated leaves. Some leaves will be rough textured or varigated in color. Group the plants you are thinking about in your cart at the nursery to see how they look together. Some thriller plants you may want to consider: canna lilies, yucca, bamboo, hibiscus, fountain grass, sweet bay or fuschia. Some filler plants that you may like are: caladium, coleus, basil, lantana, swiss chard, lavender, flowering maple, shiso, cineraria, eucalyptus, celosia, hyssop or dusty miller. Some spiller plants you may want to include would be: alyssum, lobelia, nasturtium, petunias, pansies, violets, ivy geranium, sweet potato vine, candytuft, vinca, verbena, black-eyed Susan vine or creeping Charlie. Good vines to put on trellises in pots would include clematis, climbing nasturtium, canary flower, morning glory, and sweet peas. Once you've got your containers planted, place them in groupings in corners or near the edge of your patio. Use more containers to highlight your table, and to shape the seating area. The nice thing about container flower gardening is you can move them around if you want. Just like rearranging your living room, you can rearrange your patio landscaping when you use containers. Now that you have a few patio landscaping ideas, let's get busy! More Landscaping IdeasEasy Landscaping IdeasDesert Landscaping Ideas Flower Bed Landscaping Ideas Hot Tub Landscaping Ideas Ideas for Landscaping a Hill Ideas for Landscaping a Pond Pool Landscaping Ideas Swimming Pool Landscaping Tropical Landscaping Ideas Rock Garden Landscaping Ideas |
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