22. December 2011 by Carol Whitaker.

This Outdoor Garden Room on the deck was bland before the garden was brought up to the deck. Now, with furnishings and garden hugging the deck, the outdoor room is in the garden. A simple garden solution for a common mistake. This photo is the after. See the before picture of the deck at the bottom of the page.

Gardens should always offer respite from the world for the gardeners, their friends and family. All gardens should have a place to be, a room to enjoy. Creating a place to be, whether it’s to relax at the end of a hard day and watch the sun set and smell the Lady Of The Night as she comes into bloom, or spy as the hummingbirds take nectar from the Powder Puff Tree in the morning while you enjoy your coffee.

The outdoor garden room can be as simple as an end table and two chairs, a bench under a favorite shade tree, or as elaborate as a dinning table and chairs for 10. All outdoor rooms should be surrounded by the garden. If your garden is only turf grass, you can begin by creating a small surface to place your garden furniture on, and then begin planting around it. Or plant first and then bring in the furniture. Your furniture placement in the garden is as important as it is in your home. Furniture should be placed so that you have optimum visual enjoyment of the garden.

As the weather is so beautiful here in south Florida and this time of year is great for enjoying outdoors, I want to share some photographs of garden rooms with you. For those of you enjoying the cooler weather and snow, spring is not far away. These photos are intended to inspire you to create your own outdoor garden room, be it humble and small, or elegant and grand.

The outdoor rooms range from simple little back porch potted gardens and seating, to fanciful and elegant.  All improve the outdoor world of the homeowners who enjoy them and get to spend time in their outdoor rooms in the garden. Watch for the series of rooms to follow. And enjoy your own home outdoor sanctuary.

Below is a before photo of the turf grass coming right up to the deck. What a difference a garden makes to an outdoor room. They are like two different decks. One with a garden and outdoor room, one without any adornment at all.

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22. December 2011 by Carol Whitaker.

Mona Johnson has been working tirelessly to expand and create a naturescape landscape at her home and in her neighborhood. Watch the blog for an interview with Mona and a stroll through her garden, after the holidays.

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