Away From the Rest of the World

Everyone needs their own little hideaway - - a place where they can get away from all the stress and pressures of the world around them.

For Steve and I, it's our patio and garden.

A couple of years ago, our dear friend Jerry (yes, the same Jerry in the previous post - - who married us again) helped us design a garden off our patio. He worked many long hours - - digging, hauling dirt, and getting the design "just so". He and Steve and I then made sure the walkways were laid out straight, and were evenly set in the ground. We set around concrete benches, a wrought iron archway, and a fountain. Jerry then helped me select planters and flowers, and we had our garden!

I then picked out patio furniture, added a few more planters to the patio, and our own little personal paradise was complete.

Here are some pictures of our "hideaway" - -

View From the Patio:

This shot shows the walkways and the layout of the archway,
the fountain, and planters along the retaining wall.

Hollyhocks:

My Mom and Grandmother always loved Hollyhocks,
so I planted some in their memory.
They are doing great! A couple of them are as tall as I am already!

The Fountain and Fu-Dogs:

This is an Antique Cauldron Fountain, complete with river rock accents.
It's a beauty - - and believe it or not, I found it on "Clearance" at K-Mart!

An Angel for My Mother:

My Mom absolutely loved angels, and had quite a large collection of them.
I put this angel statue in my garden in her memory.

View From the Garden:

This is the patio, as seen from the garden.
You can't really see the umbrella table very well, because it's a little dark in that corner.
We usually have the gas grille to the left of the umbrella table, up near the retaining wall.
We like to cook out during the summer months,
and it's nice to eat outside in the shade of the big umbrella!

The twin swing on the left also has a canopy that goes over it,
but it's inside for repair at the moment - - a slight tear that is being mended.
The seats on the swing also fully recline!!

Another View of the Patio:

This view shows the steps leading up to the yard.
The yard is higher than the patio and garden,
and the retaining wall goes all along the back of the garage and house.

The pole light (center) was an actual street light
from the Square in Downtown Taylorville, Illinois,
where I spent a lot of time when growing up
(we had family friends that lived there, and visited often - -
I also lived there after high school).
It's really bright, and lights up the whole back yard!
It really sets off the park bench and hanging plants up there.

Well, that's our little private personal space. We love it, and enjoy entertaining friends and family members back there.

Thanks so much for stopping by and going along on my little "garden tour", and as always, comments are ALWAYS welcome!