This past weekend's home improvement project: The patio!

Here is a picture of our patio! We have been waiting for the painters to finish working on our building and now that the patio walls have been painted, we could finally get some more plants. The design problem was that I wanted a partial screen of plants so that we didn't just have a view of a big blank wall but we couldn't have plants that were too bushy or we wouldn't have room for a table. I think the best options were either attaching a trellis to the wall and growing bougainvillea or jasmine or to get some tall bamboo plants. I think either option would have worked but the trellis would have been a pain to attach, the plants would have been messy, and I think it would have taken a while for them to grow in. So we got some bamboo. They didn't have bamboo like this at Home Depot; we had to go to a bigger nursery to find it. I think it goes really well with the mid-century style of the architecture. It is so much more pleasant to look outside now. Now we have a courtyard view instead of a view of a cement wall. I also put some succulents in planter boxes above the lower wall to add some privacy. The problem is I don't think they will get enough sun under that tree and I may have to replace them with something else. Overall, I'm very happy with the results!