Another Patio

Those who have been reading this topic's articles for a while know that I love patios. I see patios as "outdoor rooms" for entertaining friends, and for early morning contemplations. I see them as havens from the daily run-here-run-there grind, charming places for relaxing and literally stopping to smell the flowers. The patio is, in a sense, sacred space where the work-world ceases and where magic begins as one watches birds and flowers, listens to the breeze and bird song, and tunes into Mother Earth's seasons.

The patio at my former home was truly enchanting, but I have moved to a smaller place and I have a different patio now. It is smaller (no surprise there) and, instead of a Mexican brick paving surrounded by bougainvillea and shaded by a jacaranda tree, it consists of a concrete slab surrounded by desert gravel and stucco walls. When I first saw the patio, before moving into the apartment, I was dismayed at its bleakness - but only for a brief moment. I almost immediately began to realize the possibilities of working with a blank slate.

The patio was among the first areas to be organized and spruced up in my new abode, and remains in constant evolution. Instead of the koi pond that bordered my previous patio, I now have a fountain whose splashing and bubbling sounds invite birds to the feeders. A large feeder entices mainly house finches, and a much smaller feeder attracts colorful, quicksilver hummingbirds.

Aloe vera and flowering plants - kalanchoe, salvia, lantana, desert verbena, and others - border the concrete slab now, softening its edges. In addition sunflower seeds, dropped by the birds, have begun to sprout. Interspersed among the pots of plants, garden art brings warmth and whimsy to the patio. A metal cat watches over the aloe vera, while a metal hummingbird perches near the hummingbird feeder and brightly painted ceramic mushrooms crop up here and there.

When a friend visited, shortly after I moved in, the first thing she did was head over to the patio. Upon seeing it, she said, "You've already got it nice and sweet looking." Those words filled me with contentment and satisfaction, knowing that the patio is inviting to others (and not just to myself).

The "outdoors room" has also received a seal of approval from my cats, Blue Moon and Cosmo, who apparently think of it as their personal window on the world and who frequently grace it with their presence.

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