here is where the fun begins

ignore the mess for now. instead imagine this:

in this corner will be the planters. the lemon tree with trailing rosemary dripping over the edges of the pot. an assortment of vegetables. possibly the coveted artichoke.

the planting area will be edged in large black lava rocks and the fence and open spaces will be screened with reed fencing. the back-left corner could use some height to block the building across the way, perhaps one of the banana plants i have at my sisters, with some sort of climber to cover the walls. in front of that a tree fern would do nicely. behind that something big and leafy -- a split-leaf philodendron if i can find one. if not, a monstera or acanthus would do the trick. i'd also like to add a croton or two for color some calas and of course, my little japanese maple in its red ceramic pot as the center-piece.

and back there is where the black bamboo will go, definitley in a pot, partly to make it taller and partly to keep it from taking over the apartment complex. in front of that a small homemade compost bin screen by a much larger lava rock and more leafy plants.


once the boxes are out of the way, i'll center the bench under the window flanked by potted plants -- the pygmy date palm in the picture for one, and possibly my peace tree rose or the blood orange that my sister has also been babysitting. on rollers, of course so i can still get into my storage closet.

its all coming together in my head. now i just need to put it together out there. stay tuned...