Trying to make it all fit.

Because I live in a condo with what would be considered a generous side patio, but a patio nonetheless, I have to be considerate about how much garden art and potted plants I can feasibly fit out there.  Right now I have some good sized plantings, but they've reached a point where we struggle to fit my family of four around the patio table.  Liz squeezes past the sago palm and gets scratched by it, Jen pulls out her chair and about breaks off the fuschia branches behind her.  My husband has to duck around the finally lushly flowering jasmine to do his barbecuing, and I bat back honeysuckle vines as gently as possible working towards the garden hose.

I have moved around a couple of plants to try to open up space a bit more, but it comes down to needing to get rid of one or two.  I will try to find the sago palm a new home, that's a given.  It's a nice plant, just too large for our area.  I might need to get rid of the scheffela as well.   I had a previous scheffela bush that I loved, but it got uprooted and lost when we redid the deck, so I replaced it.  This one, though, spreads out so much in its growth it takes up way too much horizontal space.

We are hoping to soon replace our old and sagging wood deck with brick.  Until then, however, I'll try to think out a plan of reorganizing my outdoor room to allow for the most pleasing plantings, fun garden art and, most importantly, practicality.  Because as much of an eyesore it is, the barbecue has to stay.