The thing that concerns me is the mid-summer sun. Echeverias would look lovely, but they might burn up in the summer, depending on how hot it is there. Mine get cooked in the summer, so I had to move them all to the shade. Aeoniums get huge, and they can burn as well. I would buy needle- leaf or variegated ivies and leave them in their pots (6") and drop them into the planter. In the winter, you can drop red cyclamens in the four inch pots in between the ivies, and when they go dormant in the spring, you can substitute petunias or another colorful bedding annual like portulaca. Another option is Sprenger's asparagus ferns- but beware. The roots expand and you can't get the dang things out without breaking your pot. They drop berries which turn into plants within nanoseconds. I keep mine in plastic pots for this reason. These tough plants will take either full shade or blazing sun. It's just tough to find anything that will thrive in full shade for half the year and full sun for the hot summer months, especially if its roots are being cooked in a black planter. My dad had this problem on his patio- he bought gorgeous (expensive) hand-forged rusted-metal hanging pots, and that summer every plant was cooked in its own little cauldron. Boo. Renee

If you have a yard out back that slopes away from the patio, consider installing dry well(s) to carry the water away and dump it in the back yard at an elevation that is lower than the patio. Scout you problem area and decide where you want to place the collection well(s). You could create a minor depression that is lower than the surroundings. What I propose does require some digging. Basically, a dry well will be buried flush to the ground, water will run into it, and near the bottom of this well, a drainage tube will be attached, laid in a ditch which has some pitch toward the back. Carry this ditch back until it is exits at lawn level. I used a plastic sump well. It is easily cut with hand tools and is low cost. Near the bottom of the well, cut a hole to receive the drain pipe (tubing). This should be a snug fit, but does not have to be water tight. I used standard thin wall drain tubing, but a littlier heavier wall is recommended to guard against collasping. However, I have a 25 yr success with my thin wall. Various fittings are available for the tubing, for example, a Y connector. I plumbed 2 wells together using a Y-connector and then drained both wells out a single pipe. Its ok to let the drain tubing extend a bit into the dry well, say 2 to 3 inches. Once everything is in place a test made to insure that it will drain properly, back fill the ditch and around the dry well. Fill the dry well with fist sized stone for the first 2/3 of depth. We want to create a permeable filter that will support your weight if you step on it, and to keep debris out of the drainage system. Full the top layer with smaller stones until flush with the top of the well. Over time, leaves, sticks, and other stuff may collect on top of the stone fill. Periodically, brush this stuff away. Any small particles that get through the filter will flush on out the tubing. This well will accept a good flow rate and remain clog free for many years. You will need to pay attention to the exit end of the drain tube. Here, it is desireable to spread the stream to slow it down and to counter errosion. If you can establish a good sod layer for the exit, that may be all you need to do. Otherwise, you may need to provide a gravel bed to spread the streasm. If the slope is steep at the exit end of the drain, install some flat rocks to create a tumbling water fall and stream spreader. The hardest part of this project is digging the ditch in which to lay the drain pipe. My soil contained 30% glacial till and that was tough - keep finding stones. To cut down the labor, I used a garden roto-tiller to cut the ditch. I unbolted the outer tines so the the cut width was no wider than the machine. I used the tiller to loosen the soil and I periodically shoveled the loosed soil to one side of the ditch. I carefully piled the dirt in a compact ridge near the edge of the ditch because it was going back into the ditch and it was desired to minimize effort. Mine was an old fashioned tiller with the tines running at slow speed. If one of the tines hit a rock, it merely lifted the machine without breaking any thing. My ditch was 3 ft deep at the dry well. Your installation can be more shallow if you are in a low frost depth zone. You can adjust the well depth by cutting off its top. having the drain pipe buried at least 12 to 18 inches deep tends to hide it presence in very dry weather. In dry weather, grass may brown out sooner above the pipe where it is shallow.

Ive lived in my house for 20 years and probably had a handful of times water would appear in the basement. I knew something also was wrong with a plumbing issue but couldn't afford to have someone do the work. Finally in 2007, I had my plumbing looked at and 15,000 dollars later my pipes were replaced and a new bathroom renovated. I mentioned to the plumbers about the random water in the basement where they were working and didn't see anything underground. I also had my driveway paved and made sure they slanted away from house and they put a drain to connect downstairs. Then I found my downstairs downspout was clogged and I found out I had an empty septic tank. I was running out of money so I hired a contractor do unplug the spouts and replace the pipe underground while he filled the abandoned septic. Then came the fall and the rain and after heavy rainfall the water flooded my basement. The brand new carpet that I finally could afford was soaked and it continued to run into my house for the next 5 hours. I was devastated and heartbroken. I went outside in pouring rain at midnight and dug a trench to get the water from my house. no problems in 2009 so I thought I did some good. Wrong I had my basement flood twice in 2010. the water outside the house is not higher than my base of house, the water comes up from undergroud through any little crack in cement floor. My kids and boyfriend have helped me soak the water up and been luck we were home at the time. But oh so tiring. So far I think we've saved the walls from mold. Anyway, my question is-if we dig a hole near the base of the house will the water go there instead of my basement is it something we can do ourselves? I am out of money and out of ideas and I've got to save my home. The basement is like a apartment and my two boys live down there. This house is all I have. oh my gosh sorry this is so long I guess I needed to vent. Ive talk to city officials plumbers and water guys but they are not sure where the water is coming from.

Punt???? Just kidding. Chances are the disappearing pipes terminate in one or more beds of gravel,french drains of sorts. Being at the top of a hill lend's itself to "day lighting"all the drains unless something like a building or swimming pool is in the way of some. The options as I see them are. A. Stand where pipe in question disappears then decide which direction it look's to be headed ( might even dig up a few feet). Decide if there's a clear path to low ground nearby then search that area. A T shaped probe desighned to locate sewer lines is available. Just push it into earth feeling for resistance of underground pipe. You might dig up a few rocks and old shoes before finding pipe but success awaits. B. If grade look's to make day lighting unlikly,probe nearby for french drain. C. Out of necessity irrigation/lawn sprinkler companies are pretty good at tracing plastic water pipe,a 4" pipe should be easy. If there's a wire wrapped around pipe,that's to assist location of non-matalic pipe under ground. D. Install drain new lines and/or french drains.