Patios offer stellar opportunities to add beautiful comfort to your outdoor living space, our real estate agents would like to share some ideas with you about how to use these spaces to their very best advantage. 

• Discover the Versatility of Container Planters
  Just as you can move your furniture to change the look of the inside of your home, you can change the exterior with plants that can be moved. To ease this process, heavier plants should be placed on wheeled platforms. Placement and purpose of the containers can also serve a variety of functions. For example, you can define entryways with tall plants such as juniper or boxwood. Juniper can be easily shaped into column-shaped accents. Foliage and vines can define a wall surrounding your patio but are less mobile.
  
  
• Define the Space
  You can clearly define the borders of the patio, creating the cozy feeling of an enclosed space by planting around the edges. Planter boxes with benches do double duty with seating and attractive plants. You can add color with a wide array of flowers such as creeping zinnia, trailing lantana, and azaleas. If you prefer vines, blue passion flowers and climbing shell vines are excellent choices. They enjoy the full sun of the patio edge.
  
  
• Blend the Patio into the Landscape
  If you'd rather integrate the patio than segregate it from the rest of the yard, select low-profile plants that reflect the style of the rest of the landscape. Plant some of the same varieties from your garden in pots on the patio. This is a great way to add texture and organic appeal to an otherwise austere setting. Why depend upon rugs and pillows to add color when you can decorate within the color pallet of your choosing with flowers and vines? Some popular choices are coral bells and nemesia. Brightly colored peppers prove that edible gardens can be lovely to look at as well.
  
  
• Consider the Sun
  As previously mentioned, plants that enjoy full sun are good choices for the perimeter of a patio but will not flourish well in shade. Better choices for shady spots are ferns, which come in various textures and sizes. Shrubs that do well include Japanese plum yew, hydrangea, mountain laurels, and rhododendron. Flowers and foliage options include Lenten rose, Italian arum, ajuga, caladium, and bleeding heart. Talk to a professional at your favorite nursery or home improvement store to determine your best choices for the environment as well as the appropriate soil in which to plant them.
  
  
• Put Your Plants to Work
  Imagine for a moment that you are cooking on your patio. How nice would it be able to pluck a few tarragon leaves to flavor that steak? Patios are a great place to grow all the herbs the discerning chef could want! But plants can offer you more benefits than flavor. Did you know that flies and mosquitos despise the small of basil, and oils in the leaves actually kill mosquito eggs? Catnip not only entertains our feline friends but also repels mosquitoes, cockroaches, mites, ticks, and spiders. Marigolds offer a beautiful pop of color and are the grand champions of pest control, from eelworms to mosquitos. Lavender lends a scent to the garden that relaxes people but sends biting insects far away. The pyrethrin used in many insect control products is produced naturally in chrysanthemums. Ticks, fleas and ants will steer clear of your patio space. 

Many Atlanta homes for sale are already graced with spacious patios just waiting for your gardening skills. Contact us for more information.