I think the checkerboard grass/pavers will be very pleasing to the eye.

Thank you popmama. They are planted now and waiting for the grass seed to come up. It is not as warm as I hoped it would be. Supposed to have some nice sunny days soon. Course then I have to water.

The next phase is the small tall kitty house and it is made from some junk. Four wood bifold doors with louvers removed on three for front and sides. I left them in for the back. Then I will use a tempered glass salvaged window for the top. It is really a flat one out of a screen door. It is only 30 by 30 inches so not much snow to gather on top and it will give nice light to the top shelf. One side is mostly put together with wood supports and wire. Second side is about half put together. I need to paint some more 2 by 2 pieces of wood. I just realized I totally forgot to eat today. It is now almost 7PM. Soooooooo I am taking a food break then I will get back out there and paint those two last boards and maybe some others if I can find more 2 by 2's Or maybe I can rip a 2 by 4 with the hand saw. It is charging up now.

I am doing a second patio in my carport. The back one is my private patio. I like to sit out here at night The carport patio will be my public patio for those that might want to stop by and visit. It is of course beside the garage and right on the road. Since both are patio's I will keep them in the same thread.

The carport had an old truck and a flat trailer in it for years looking very ugly out my kitchen window. I am all about pretty and bright so truck went by by after hubby died and trailer moved away to the side yard. I will have to keep the Ranger in the carport most times. :( Maybe I should paint it purple too. OMG my dearly departed would just have a fit if I did that. But you never know. says she that did an 11 foot long by 6 1/2 foot tall plus mosaic on her hallway wall. I use the Ranger as a tool and it is tight getting it into the garage with the Blazer and car.

There is an old metal table and chairs and a glider that need painting. And I have the first coat of paint on one planter and the tank I hope to use as a water feature. Only there is no sun in the carport or very little so I need to figure where to put that. I do have electricity for a pump. I do not want fish in my tank. More mouths to feed. Even though they would be small mouths. Since it is shadowed in the carport area I want light and bright colors. Table and chairs and glider will be the same color as the tank I have one coat on and I think I will do turquoise seat cushions for the chairs and glider. My inspiration is my flag.

So a big work in progress on this patio too. I am so torn going so many directions at one time. Company is coming May 10th. I would like to have both patios done by then. NOT doing a floor in the carport. I would love to get some more gravel in there but finances are tight right now.

Planter tank will live out by the other containers. I moved it under the carport roof because it was going to rain.

I do like the pale green post and the bright purple tank/planter! It should look great once you get it filled out. Too bad you can't afford to get an outdoor rug - the type you hose off if they get dirty. Something like this would brighten up the space and pull your colors together. It would also pull together more garden junk projects in different colors. Just a thought for the future. You are off to a great start!

Paisley Floral, Floral Print Indoor And Outdoor Rug, Purple, 5'x7' · More Info

I forgot to add that my porch is in the shade so I am familiar with shade loving plants. They can be colorful! Here are the colorful planters on my porch from a couple of years ago. I planted impatiens (which are the most wonderful flowers - constant bloomers and little maintenance) with caladium aka elephant ear and polka dot plants. I also add coleus plants to the mix. The elephant ear, polka dot plants, and coleus look great in the house too.

Thank yo so much for the plant ideas. I did buy some elephant ears but they did not come up yet. Planted in huge pot in the house. I still have hope. And impatients. There are several I did not think of and they go well with my colors.

Those rugs are so pretty. Would love one on my front porch. I am not sure how well they would do over the very ruff gravel.

Love the bright can flowers. I would have to ask a friend to save me some.

I have a lot of garden junk I just have not hauled it down from the loft yet for the new patios. I actually do have two sets of tippy buckets on the back patio. Maybe I will move one set to the carport patio and do the shade loving flowers in it. Since it is actually totally apart right now. I needed to re do the soil in the buckets. The purple planting tank is an old water trough. So is the tank I hope to use for my water feature. It was my cows and her teeth marks are still on the edge. LOL I was trying to get the painting done before I filled up the space with trip over stuff. The winds have been brutal. My garage loft will heave a big sigh of relief when I get the saved garden junk out of it. I also have several canning kettle planters sitting empty I need to fill that can hold more shade loving plants.

Whelp tomorrow is another day. I really hope to be able to get the kitty house done then move onto the next project/patio. I can only be in so many places at one time.

I just remembered I had a mosaic fountain planter that fell apart. I should turn it back to the planter it was meant to be. Give it some color, turquoise ,or maybe leave it the off white for contrast. OH sheese another project and more potting soil to drag home. Not to mention plants.

Nothing ever is finished around here . I still need latch for the roof. Shaking my head at why I never remembered that. This tall Catio is made of four wood bi-fold doors with the louvers removed and hardware cloth added. The shelves stagger back and forth so they can easily get up and down. I am exhausted trying to get this done today because I can not work in the yard tomorrow I have book work that has to be done.

I still need to put the metal or glass window roof and later I might add windows to the sides for winter. The pet door is in my bedroom window and they come out it and can either go to the tall what I will call their winter out door quarters or the larger 10 by 10 foot kennel on the other side. Red cushion is where they come out the cat walk into that area. They are loving it but I know they want cushions on those shelves. Well now I look at it the shelves do not really show. Four shelves and 5 spaces they can go to.

Happy Morning. I went into my office/sewing room/guest room and my elephant ears are all poked through this morning. I did not check them yesterday too busy. So happy to have them coming along. I think I can move the pot out to the carport soon.

The_Kat is your porch in total shade , filtered shade or maybe some morning sun? I think the carport gets very slanted evening sun. I never paid that much attention to it since there was always a truck parked in there.

I have lots of book work to do today then clean up my garage from the Catio mess then I can start back in junking up the carport patio. Believe me I would rather be doing that than books.

I love your cat paradise! lol What a cool idea for cats. I just bet they love it.

Part of the porch is in total shade although pots on the steps get some morning sun. I had a butterfly made up of that glow in the dark plastic that is supposed to soak up the sun and then glow at night. It barely glowed probably because it didn't get enough sun and that was in a pot on the steps that gets more sun. Impatiens, begonias, elephant ears, coleus, and polka dot plants love the shade. Another good thing about coleus - they are easy to propagate. You just cut off stems and stick them in water until they grow roots. They make a pretty "bouquet" while they are rooting too. Plus cats don't seem interested in chewing on them.

Stay away from asparagus ferns though! They are great in the shade but cats love to eat them. I remember when I was a kid (last time I had a cat) and my mom bought a big asparagus fern for a dark corner of the living room. Within a couple of days it was just some stubble in the dirt. The cat ate the whole thing! They must be very tasty.

I have also read that English ivy (another great shade loving plant) is toxic to cats.

Impatiens and begonias would be great in your tipsy-pots. I always wanted to make tipsy-pots but always forget to buy the supplies. When I had an apartment patio/balcony I liked to stack pots to add height or if you are feeling ambitious maybe mosaic a cement block to hold pots. Although if you allow your cats outside, they might like to knock them over.

LOL Yes kitties can be very naughty when it comes to knocking things over and pushing things off shelves. I do have three kitties that are loose outside. Wild ones I care for.

thanks for the shade information. I was just out there watching what the sun was doing this evening and it does shine a few feet into the carport but it is some what shaded by the big tree out in front. It does not have leaves on it yet so the shade might be more dense as the summer progresses.

I LOVE coleus. I had one once that grew 8 foot tall. I remember buying it on the way home from the dentist because I had a sore jaw and needed cheering up. Well that thing took off. It had lovely leaf edges and a thick stem. Dark purple center leaves with some green o the edges. Very pretty. It was grown inside as a house plant. I will look for some tomorrow.

I might have to re-think my water feature. It would only get shade and the water growing plants need sun. There is one place I could put it that gets half day sun. I was trying to watch today when the sun moved to shade and it started to rain so everything was shady. Tomorrow is another day. LOL It would be kind of in the way in the optional spot too.

I cleaned up my garage mess from the catio project and did my book work and making a list of what I need to pick up in town. I am not looking forward to tomorrow. I am not a shopper and have many things to pick up. Now if I were going to yard sales. Well that is a totally different story.

I always heard that water features should get sun or they start developing scum on the surface. You'd have to use those anti-mosquito things too to stop them from laying eggs in the water feature. Does the corner by the post get sun? You could set up your water feature there - you'd still be able to see it and hear it but it would get more sun.

Speaking of water features...I would love to see if any members have made rain chains from "junk". I liked this one made from different shaped cookie cutters - Cookie Cutter Rain Chain

I'm the same way about shopping. Thrift stores, antique stores, and rummage sales are the exception. My husband loves taking me to the Habitat for Humanity store so he can shop for man stuff and I can look for garden junk. He is actually pretty good about shopping at rummage sales and thrift stores. He even likes going to antique stores as long as they have tools.

Oh I missed this comment. sorry. I LOVE rain chains. I have never tried to do one though. It has always been a some day thing. But it would also have to come down in winter so not sure I want to add more work to my life.

I think I will let the water feature go and maybe just do one of the small table fountains. I do have one that would be pretty out there and give good sound. I need to figure some thing close to the plug in to set it on. The one turquoise table will be for coffee pot or tea pot .

I am still undecided if I would have enough potting soil to fill the big 70 gallon tank and not sure it really needs to be full this year and maybe add new soil for next year. for now I set a bucket upside down and a milk crate upside down and set planters on them. I also brought in another large mop bucket to plant shade loving plants into. Painting it now. Waiting on first coat to dry. do second then plant.

So this is not a good photo because this happened to be the one time the sun shines into the carport and I was tired and wanting to be done out there. It is setting evening sun and only lasts maybe an hour. I still need to clean up the street end so did not photo from the other direction. I have not put the pillows and whatnot out on the glider and chairs. Waiting on the paint to really set up.

I do not like the gravel flooring and seriously thinking of doing the pavers but then I would have to do the whole carport or have a major trip factor. Maybe I can get more smaller gravel. I will see how much it would cost. It sure would look better. right now there really is to much dirt coming through the gravel.

So this is still a big work in progress. I have quite a way to go to make it as my vision.

oops forgot photo.

Love the purple of your patio set! I like the combination of colors. I can see colorful string lights along the roof edge.

As for the planter tank...have you considered loading the bottom of it with plastic milk jugs or other fillers? That way you wouldn't need as much potting soil. I have even used big junks of styrofoam that come with my husband's insulin. (Not sure how safe styrofoam would be for planting edible plants.) Sometimes real junk comes in handy!

Yes I added what I had to the bottom as far as bottles and even rocks I raked up . Some coffee cans on end across the bottom. I still need another bag or so of planting mix. It is still on sale so hopefully I can get that tomorrow or the next day. A friends husband gave me 25 crappie he caught so I had to stop to clean them and package. Free food is always good. It is raining on and off today so no more painting.

I love the purple color and it changes color with the time of day. I was out painting planters on the back patio late last night and the purple is really dark with out the sun on it Still very pretty.

My company will be here late Wednesday so I am really hoping I can finish pulling this together and get the house cleaned by them. Needless to say I have been neglecting the house big time.

Forgot I did do the tippy pots and they are out of the photo. I will photo them and the large mop bucket is now painted and planted.Tippy pots are planted with a groundcover I had on hand that likes shade and trails. I think it will be pretty. If I were lucky the other ground cover I have would grow in and fill the space under the table and be pretty. If it is walked on it just grows lower to the ground. I have some in containers I had to move. I might just try to get it growing and that would be very pretty and hide the carport floor.

All great ideas! I see what you mean about the purple. I thought your patio set was painted black from the first picture. I imagine it is even a brighter color when the sun hits it. Is it painted the same purple as your tank planter?

Looks like you have created a great spot to entertain guests outdoors. I look forward to seeing your future improvements! Hope all goes well before your company arrives. Don't over do it!

It was a very dark green which has really aged over its 23 year life time of sitting out doors always exposed to the weather. It is the same paint as on the planter. I just saw a post on Fairy gardens. I will hurry out and see if I can get a photo of mine. It is not raining right at the moment. They the other purple will show. LOL Love the color changing as it does.

Ok More progress and now I am bringing in the junk.

Tippy Buckets in turquoise with a trailing ground cover planted in them.

Mop bucket painted turquoise and planted to elephant ears which are just coming up. And the other darker purple color showing now there is no sun on it.

Please excuse the light green buckets in the background I am working on them for the back patio. I will say I am getting pretty tired. Both spaces have been a huge project for me.

I really do love the turquoise with the purple. Now the patio set looks completely different in that light! Your tipsy pots will look even better when they are more filled in. I like the use of the buckets instead of plain pots.

I just had another thought for your purple tank...have you considered making it a side table by just placing a sheet of wood or some other found tabletop on top of it? You could even store things inside of it then.

OH that would have been a great idea. I planted it this year but maybe if the plants do not like it there A storage container would be perfect for it. Sorry I missed your comment before I filled it with potting soil. But next year that potting soil could go some where else. I always have to buy a lot of it each year. Last year I did store the garden hoses in this tank. But I can put them in the garage too.

SO now I have a roof on the new dog house. I robbed the old dog house roof for the new one.

Then I moved the old well pump into the kind of corner of the patio. I still need to paint it. It is just sitting on a long heavy duty piece of re-bar hammered far into the ground. I am glad I will not have to move this again. I am getting too old to lift it.

Love your green tipsy pots and metal chair. Are you going to paint your pump? If so what color? I like your choice of purple, turquoise, and pale green in your garden and patio.

I really like your bottle tree too. What are the blue flowers on the top of the post?

No wonder your neighbors watch you. They are probably marveling at your strength and energy. lol

LOL actually is is kind of creepy the neighbors watching.

Not sure on the pump color. do i do it up wild with many colors or boring white?

The flowers on top of the bottle tree are just plastic wind spinners and all three are on the ground this morning. We had really strong winds yesterday after I put them up. I need to do some thing to hold them in the holes. I am letting everything dry out then I think I will try silicone. My go to for everything. Maybe cut the angled tips off the ends and drill the holes deeper to secure them better.

Gads I was up at 5AM and have all my morning chores done. Drinking one more coffee before heading out to the garage to do a few things. Everything is soaked in the yard and I do not feel like getting wet and cold this early. But the sun is up for now A good sign so far.

Later when things dry out I am going to drape a length of shade cloth across the top of the arches by the fence to block viewing time and give myself some comfort in my own yard. Crazy to have to feel uncomfortable out there when it is my haven.

Sheesh do your neighbors actually sit or stand outside and watch you? That is creepy. I still think they are amazed by your energy.

We got a similar storm here. We had severe thunder storm warnings and south of us had tornado warnings.

Hope you have better weather so we can see more projects!

YES they do. The grandmother spied on us the whole time my company was here. And she thinks we can not see her through or over the fence but we can. Sh would stand there and listen to what we were saying. Then yesterday grandson was hiding out in the little shed that has a window watching me. He is 20 years old. He has said some very sick things to me and should have been slapped silly but I am not that way I just told grandmother I do not want anything more to do with him and to keep him off my property. And I told her why.

Grandmother has no idea what is really going on over here.Right after my husband died she saw men coming here and assumed I was already seeing new men. NOT NOT NOT. The men coming here were my investors and we were dealing with the death benefit . Thing is they wanted me to do one thing and I had a totally different idea so they kept coming here to try to talk me into their way putting more money in their pockets. OH NO!! but she thought I was having dates already. And she watches me like a hawk. I am 5 years older than she is and do not need her telling me what to do. Or making assumptions about my life. And see her kitchen window is just such she can see who comes and goes here and I have nothing to hide so I am not asking people that come to not park so she can not see them. And the really funny thing it I actually have several men friends that have come to help me do one thing or another. ALL of them are married and I totally respect a marriage. So now I try to bring them in the side door so they are really in full view just to frost her nosy self. I do not get mad I get even. Sorry rant over. LOL

I added more beer bottles to the green tree and as I get more green bottles I will move the beer bottles to another tree. I think I can leave the bottle trees up for winter and they will be pretty against the snow.

Do your neighbors even have a TV? lol It sounds like you are their sole entertainment.

I have to have my husband look for my bottle tree and collection of bottles. I was waiting until I had a big enough collection of bottles before putting it up. Now I'm not sure what he did with it (and he doesn't remember either). Before I quit working, a coworker gave me the blue bottles from the wine she drank. Luckily she was a steady drinker because she gave me quite a few bottles. I think I have enough to fill my bottle tree...that is if my husband can find them. A friend of his almost threw the bottles out when he was helping my husband clean up the garage. It sent my husband into a big panic because he knew what those bottles meant to me. lol

I love what you've done with the patios! That is a gorgeous purple on the furniture and tub and it's pretty with the turquoise tipsy pots! We love sitting outside and know what you mean about nosey neighbors, we have one too. How is the grass doing between the checkerboard pavers in the back?

Don't paint the pump, it's so pretty in rust :-)

Do you have any help with heavy lifting and is there a freecycle or Nextdoor in your area? I can't tell you how many times I see free pavers and landscape block just because someone is changing their look for something else. They usually just want it gone.