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Whether you have acres to landscape, or just a small patio, a purposeful and comprehensive design can optimize the space you have and make it a pleasure for you to entertain and enjoy quiet time outside. When the weather is more favorable to being outside in the winter and spring, you can extend your home by giving yourself more entertaining space. However, even in the hot months of the desert summer, there are solutions to keep your patio comfortable and inviting all year long. Here are just a few design inspirations for your patio, to make it inviting, comfortable, dynamic, and enjoyable.
Choose Native Plantings
A beautiful garden full of flowers trees and shrubs can soften a patio, keep it cooler, and add design interest. The Sonoran Desert is a warm place but several plants do well with little maintenance. Native plants are plants that have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, and therefore offer the most sustainable habitat. They can withstand the heat and thrive, to offer beauty throughout the year with minimal watering and maintenance from you or your gardener. Look up native plants in your region. There is a good chance you’ve already seen them growing in the desert. Choose your favorite to bring home to your patio.
Try a Firepit
Added heat may be the furthest thing from your mind in the summer, but the nights do grow cold in the winter and early spring. However, this doesn’t mean you have to stop using your patio. A fire pit can add interest to a hardscape design and focal point. They are great for entertaining and staying warm, on the longest nights of the year and into the spring.
Focus on the Table
If you like dining outside, then a dining table can become the focal point of your patio. What a wonderful excuse to enjoy the beauty of the desert while dining. Try choosing a comfy table, has enough room to entertain and comes with an umbrella to protect you from the sun or rain.
Lighting is Everything!
Upgrade any patio area is by focusing on the lighting. A simple line or two of outdoor string lights can create coziness and a sense of festivity. Some people enjoy places for candles, torches, or hanging lanterns. What a quick and easy way to add ambiance to your outside space.
Barriers can Create an Oasis
Just a few shrubs, a fence, or a wall, can create privacy and segment a large space into several smaller intimate spaces for all sorts of activities. For instance, a fence around a dining area can separate it from an entertaining or space to stretch and focus on meditation. Whatever your interests, it creating different sections within your patio can empower you to engage in all different manners of hobbies and activities.
Set Up a Greenhouse
An amazing way to breathe life into your patio is to introduce plants, though some of them might not be able to weather all seasons. This is why a greenhouse can become incredibly helpful. Whether you are already an avid plant enthusiast or novice gardener, a greenhouse is a wonderful and attractive structure to practice and refine your green thumb. If you enjoy fresh herbs in your food, you can enjoy these, and more of your favorite vegetables through cooler months.
Spruce up Your Porch Steps
The steps of your patio are often the welcoming entrance. Set them off with plants cascading down the sides. Choose your favorite plants full of color, whether they are annuals or perennials, you can move and rotate them as the seasons change. This is a lovely alternative to the traditional flower window box.
Invest in Sunscreens
The sun in the Sonoran Desert can be incredibly hot and dissuades many from even spending time outside. However, investing in sunscreens can keep your patio cool in the shade, while cutting down on the cooling bill all at the same time. In addition, the excessive sun quickly breaks down your patio furniture. Our sunscreens block UV rays which are equally harmful to your patio furniture and also your skin. To find out more about how CC Sunscreens can improve your patio, schedule a free quote and consultation today.