Outdoor Living Part 2, Water Features

I think I am Jamie Durhie's biggest fan...this morning I woke up to watch the Outdoor Room that was recorded yesterday on my DVR.  This one was inspired by Miami.  Since we live in Miami, naturally I was intrigued.  Low and behold, one of the features of the design was the outdoor daybed.  I like this version a little better because the bed is higher off the ground.  Initially I thought I wanted it lower, but now I think its better to have it at a sitting height so its easier to get in and out of.  I haven't made the final decision, but I'm leaning towards higher, unless I put them on a platform and then they'd definitely be lower to the ground.

It's funny because I woke up with a notebook in hand trying to draw a design for the new backyard outdoor living area.  I think I want to extend the pool deck all the way to the Koi Pond right in front of the tennis courts.  I am a frustrated Architect and Interior Designer.  Those are the careers I would have chosen innately however I was convinced otherwise because Math was not my strong-suit and I am the world's worst artist.  I can't draw a picture if my life depended on it.  Although I have to explain my drawings to others, I get them and I can "see" what the end-product will look like. They are not to scale, because I have no idea how to do that and I don't want to waste time figuring it out.  I just want to put my ideas down on paper so I don't forget them.

I was thinking of including one of my drawings on this post for your enjoyment, but I have to work on them a little.  I will try to add one some time this week.  Meanwhile I'll let you enjoy the Outdoor Room Miami-inspired episode.  I love the water feature that includes the lounging/dining area.

Photo from HGTV website

Although I like the idea of this water feature with the lounge chairs and dining table in the water, I would like a slightly different look for it for the new casa.  I would do it in more "earthy" tones and not as contemporary.  I'd also like the back wall to be a little shorter and possible have gardenia or jazmin shrubs on the other side of the wall  peeking over for fragrance and a softer backdrop.

Gardnia hedge 

 Gardenia flower

 Jasmin hedge

Jasmin flower

 I searched for a photo of a wall with the creeping flowers hanging over the front, but was not able to find exactly what I wanted.  You get the idea...

Backyard Edible Garden

My family and I are transitioning to a more "green" way of life.  I would have never thought I'd be interested in this sort of thing, because it seemed very time-consuming.  Now I realize it doesn't take much effort and is so beneficial for our health and the well-being of our planet (and our wallets).  We are looking into solar energy, energy efficient appliances, growing our own organic food, raising chickens to lay eggs and anything else that might seem interesting along the way. 

As I've written before, I am looking into the possibility of installing solar panels for the entire house or at least for the air conditioning unit.  I have contacted several vendors and am waiting for their responses ( more on this in an upcoming post).  When the time comes I plan to purchase all energy-star appliances.

In addition, a friend that lives in the neighborhood, recently put in a chicken coup.  This, in addition to the garden where they grow a lot of the organic vegetables and herbs they use for cooking.  When I heard about the chicken coup I was very interested in getting one for the new casa.  The idea of my children being able to experience that and being able to eat eggs laid by our own chickens, made me very excited.  I think it will be fun for them to experience. 

With the chickens we will definitely be moving into a new realm of obtaining food we've never done before.  Earlier this week I was watching one of my favorite HGTV shows, The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie, and came across this episode where he built an edible backyard garden.  I was inspired to do this at the new casa also.  We've had an herb garden in our current casa but we were not very consistent in keeping up with it.  We grew a variety of herbs, eggplants and tomatoes.  It was convenient to have, but when it was too overgrown it looked ugly and messy and one day I just took it all out.  I like the idea of growing the food vertically...it seems less messy and cleaner and at least I know our pets won't be able to get into it (other animals I'm not sure about). 

It's also nice that it can be grown in a condensed area rather that taking up a lot of land.  We have an acre but I have big plans for that acre!

I found a website to purchase the "pockets" for vertical gardening.  Woolly pockets are flexible, breathable, modular gardening containers.  There are a couple of options for these pockets, horizontal, on the ground or vertical, hanging on the wall. 
Here's a link to a post with the steps for starting your own vertical edible garden: http://www.good.is/post/how-to-grow-an-edible-vertical-garden-in-5-steps/

I look forward to growing my own herbs and veggies again!  I plan to include posts in the future when I actually set up my edible gardens and eventually start using them.