Linrose ~ Go for it, you'll not regret it. We have a jacuzzi, a claw foot tub and a shower in our 'secret garden' behind our cottage. The jacuzzi gets rather too warm during the summer months, just from the sun beating down, so you have to go in once the water cools down. We had solar heated water to our shower through a garden hose, coiled up on a round aluminum topped table with a round glass table top over the hose and it was hotter than all dickens. The hose blew out. We're going to move the shower to be closer to the tub and have hot and cold from our water heater which is right close. There is something really wonderful about outdoor bathing. It's soothing and healing. I love being out there with the butterflies, birds and the breezes, the scents and the colors of blossoms all around. Rozannadanna ~ loved your pictures! FlowerLady

Thanks for the added info, Thrifter. DoGooder has given you some good suggestions. Be sure to check on specific varieties of fern you find at the nursery to see if they would do well in wet conditions, since some types like it drier. Ligularia is another plant that will do well in damp shade. Cranberries make a great groundcover to weave between other plants in damp shade, though their flowers aren't too noticeable. The berries, though not profuse, are beautiful, and won't harm your kids if they pop one in their mouths. Blueberries will grow in the areas with at least a few hours of sun by the fence, and the more sun, the more berries. Siberian Iris will grow in quite a bit of shade and are perfectly happy in quite wet sites. The more sun, the more flowers. They will give you a grassy effect after they are done their spring bloom. Plants you might want to avoid from PixieLou's article: If your kids may eat stuff in the yard, foxglove is toxic and Smilacina/false Solomon's seal has berries. Impatients has a blight or disease of some kind that has decimated most plantings of the regular impatients over that last year or two. You probably also want to avoid beach roses (rugosa roses) since they are large and have fairly wicked thorns and your yard is small, so you want to have room for the kids to play without getting into thorns.

Judith I think I have a pretty good idea of what you have on your mind now. From what you've said the shower will be going against the brick wall. That will leave the other side "open". What I'd suggest to consiser is make use of that side too so you'll have double the use of that area. If I was in your shoes, on the other side of the area, near the current metal fence, I'd have a sitting area. In Key West they'd probably have one or two andorondike chairs. This way, after you put all that work into your tropical get-away you'll be able to enjoy it even more, with a cool spot for reading or relaxing. You could literally spend the day in their if you where so inclined. But now back to your dream picture. It really is a nice area. What really gives that area the tropical look are the plants and just as importantly, the wood work. What I would recomend for your project is to first "pencil out" a design, then install the shower and floor/ground cover and add plants last. Once the shower is in and maybe a chair or two, you'll know exactly what you have to work with. The shower is the most important thing, especailly the functionality. WHen you put that in, I'd assume it'll drain into the yard, you have to make sure the area has the proper grade, so water moves away from the area. So get the shower in and work around that. Next you can look at the sides. I think the brick wall is nice. On the side with the metal fence, what would be best for the long run is to build the same wood fence you have now. Add another twelve feet or so. Or like you said, you could go with a roll of bamboo fence. Or even cheaper I think, is a roll of reed fense that's available at Home Depot or Lowes. Last would be to get the ground done, which is really part of doing the shower and should probably be done first. Now's the time to refer to your plan and start building that in. In your picture, what really sets things off is that nice "teak?" floor. If you have it in your budget to do that, great. But if you look at your picture between the two deck areas, you'll see a gravel path. That's what I would go with to keep thing cheap. Under the shower I would put 4 large, square terra cotta pavers for the floor. In the areas that won't have plants I'd put white pebble gravel. The white rock really "pops" in a shaded area. Prior to laying the gravel down make sure you give it a douple or tripple layer of gardeners cloth, or what you find best, so that once the gravel is down, you won't have to worry about weeds. And for a pathway through the area, I'd use the pavers you have, but I would double them up into squares, and stagger them to recreate the nice curved path you have now. This again is all Key West style. I'd assume they use this because it is the cheapest way of doing things and it comes out great. Once all that was done and working nicely, I'd add the plants. If you really want a secluded area with lots of privacy, on the backyard side entrance, I'd have the two big banana marking the backyard entrance, either near the fence and the wall, or closer to the center. Looks like you have may enough room for a banana in each corner. Once all that's done, you can fill in the interior as you see fit with plants, pots, stones, pagoda's or whatever catches your fancy. Plenty of ways to do it cheaply. You won't have the huge teak deck that the picture has, but one thing you will have, hopefully, is some contrasting red, burgandy, in form of caladium "small elephant ear", canna or Thai plant. And that is actually the one thing that would make your picture perfect. Anyways, that's just some ideas for doing it on your own. All the supplies can be hauled in from Home Depot, aquired fairly cheaply, or for free. Good Luck!

It's sort of legit. I don't think *soap* will damage the siding, but it can attract mosses and mildews which might stain. That can be counter-acted by regularly cleaning the area with a mild vinegar solution. OTOH, transparent polycarbonate panels are inexpensive, non-obstrusive, and durable. And won't scrape your skin if you bump against one. On the third hand, I wouldn't want a shower in a location that would have water running against the house and thus down to the foundation. The general idea is to do all possible to keep water *away* from the foundation.