It all started with this image of an outdoor patio from this month’s Southern Living magazine:

Doesn’t this porch look like the perfect place to settle in with a cool drink on a warm summer day?  I love love love the mirror and other accessories you normally only see inside homes!  It got me thinking on how I could make my porch and backyard more inviting, and more like a place I’d like to “live” in.

Maybe you don’t have a patio like this?  You can still create an “outdoor room” with your furniture arrangement:

Above, I love how the grass acts as a sort of rug.

This gravel was poured in over a never-used portion of driveway in this family’s back yard.  Containers lined around the edges provide a moveable and re-arrangeable garden.

Even if you don’t have a lot of space, container gardens are easy to grow and maintain.  I love the look of boxwoods in containers:

They can act as a sort of wall, giving you more privacy once they’re larger:

Here, they used fiberglass planters over the doorways and windows.  With their trailing plants and vines, I think they are really very pretty.

Gardens can also be whimsical and fun!  After all, if you don’t like how something looks, you can always cut it back, or replant it somewhere else.  This bike tied up on the wall with it’s flower basket is about as whimsical as it gets!

And remember, if all else fails, you can’t really go wrong with a geometric arrangement:

I hope these images have given you a little inspiration – I know they did for me!  Do you have any big plans for your patio and garden this year?

*all images from Southern Living