Just how much direct sun does the area get?

Check out the link below for more ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rainyside

Dotty, can you provide any photos? Your description is good, but it would be of huge help to have a photo to more accurately visualize the area and see where and what plantings may be appropriate. As they say, a picture is worth.........:-)

And any kind of container planting can be an accent. Other than annuals, there is not much that cannot be grown year round in our climate in a container, provided you select the right plants for appropriately sized containers. The containers themselves can add height, a lot of color and interest as well.

Thanks for the link Annz -- some great ideas. Gardengal, I attach a picture looking from the house towards the south. The house runs north to south and there is a roof over the path to the east so we get a lot of shade at one end of the courtyard and at the other end there is a fair amount of sun. Right now it looks like a very bare room....the house is a "west coast modern", 1970 vintage with lots of windows. The plants in the pots -- one is a cut-leaf japanese maple and the other is a camelia.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Dotty ~

TOT! Spooky is a very pretty aahh girl?? What did her owee come from? I have a Spooky too! You can see her on the link if you are interested.

Moving on to more apropos topics - :-)))
My thots would be to move the (what I discern to be) Jap Maple and put it into the triangle area towards the front 3rd of same. I'd get a larger pot and plant a Fatsia in it in the open corner (away from the sliding glass doors) so it can spill from all sides. Maybe use the pot from the Jap Maple (assumption) and put in an Albeta spruce and place it in the corner of the sliding glass doors and the wall? I have one for you if ya'll wanna do that! :-)) I likely have at least 8 of them and have trouble figuring what to do what to do with all of them.

You have an awesome property there. Is that an Azalea with the orange blooms? Have a Spanish style home so always looking for the *hot colors* in everything. That one looks super me!

Dotty there is sooo much you could do with those awesome patios. You could put Trachys in there cause they'd be easy to protect (not that they need it terribly in your zone) and they'd also look awesome. Come Xmas you could deco them with mini lites!

Okay, I'll quit babbling but what an awesome house and property you have!

Let me know if you want an Alberta Spruce.

:-))
Holly

Here is a link that might be useful: Spooky

Thanks for the photo, Dotty - that's a HUGE help!! For one, it clarified that there are no inground planting facilities :-))

One way to approach this is as if you are decorating a room in your house.....except that it is outdoors. Obviously, if you intend to spend time out there, you need seating accommodations, so a table and chairs or a couple of chaises, maybe a bench or settee. Consider some wall art as well - the equivalent of a painting indoors. And then the containers.....

Container plantings look best if clustered in groupings. Quality high-fired, glazed ceramic pots are an investment but will add color and drama and look far more "finished" than plastic or wood. Select a color that accents or compliments the paint and other surfaces - a deep oxblood red or intense cobalt blue would add a lot of zing. And select pots in different shapes and sizes. Once you have the pots lined up, you are free to plant them anyway you want. For additional height, I'd consider bamboo. It's evergreen (or very nearly so), adds a lot of soft texture (and sound), most varieties will easily tolerate partly shaded conditions and it is extremely well suited to container culture. Other plants should be selected for their form and texture and color contribution, the same way you would select accessories or accent pieces for indoors. Two major groupings of no less than 3 containers each should do it. Keep the numbers uneven. And the odd individual container can be used also, but sparingly.

Other items you might want to think about bringing into the mix for more seasonal use are an outdoor carpet to anchor the seating area and perhaps even a small portable firepit or chiminea. And a small portable or wall-mounted water feature would be a wonderful addition.

I think you are limiting your creative potential if you address this as merely a "landscaping" issue - it's much more than that. This is exactly like furnishing a room inside your house, but an outdoor room and with outdoor elements. If you keep that in mind, it's hard to go wrong.

btw, it's a very handsome patio/courtyard. Nice job!

Gardengal, thanks so much for your observations. One more question: can you mix colours in the pots or should I buy all in the same colour? The pot that the JM is in is a brown that would coordinate with oxblood. And the JM gives me some height to include in one grouping. I think I will have to have a winter plan and a summer plan. Otherwise, it looks just like an empty room and in our wonderful rainy grey winters the furniture can't stay outside. Thanks again.

I'd keep the pots in the same color range, but not necessarily the exact same colors. I agree the oxblood would coordinate very nicely with the brown/mahogany tones of the existing container. A couple with some mixed color glazes that pick up similar tones will work also.

As an aside, teak or metal (or metal and glass) garden furniture is able to withstand our damp winters outdoors easily, as are the new synthetic wicker or rattan pieces. Plastic or plastic resin furniture can be left out here all year as well, but doesn't seem to offer the same type of class/style as the higher quality, more upscale materials do. You might want to consider some of these when the time comes to replace your existing furnishings. Just think, it's like buying new furniture for your living room - what fun!!

Dotty,
I would consider doing several groupings of larger glazed ceramic pots and use evergreen shrubs/bamboos/small trees as the anchor plant in each large pot, with smaller perennials at ground level in each pot to drape over the edges. Things with good winter appearance and nice year round foliage color/texture would make it inviting year round. All of the following plants have great year round foliage interest or branch structure, will take some shade, and do well as container plants with automatic drip irrigation. The foliage has enough interest that they look good even without a lot of flower color, which you can also add seasonally by slipping in a few perennials or annuals. Here in northern California, that would include Florist Cyclamen for fall into winter color, Impatiens walleriana or I. balfourii, Tuberous Begonias or Wax Begonias, etc. for spring thru fall color.Heuchera species and cultivars also work well for both foliage texture/color and blooms.

For the larger shrubs, you could use Nandina domestica, Fatsia japonica, Mahonia lomariifolia or Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies, Choisya ternata 'Sundance', Drymis lanceolata, Camellia sasanqua, Throchodendron aralioides as good year round evergreens.

For medium sized evergreens, you might consider Daphne odora variegata, Astelia nervosa 'Red Gem', Hebe menziesii, Helleborus argutifolius, Coleonema pulchrum 'Sunset Gold', Iris confusa 'Chengdu'.

For some attractive bamboos, almost anything that is hardy in your area could be considered as a container bamboo. A couple that I find attractive for foliage would include Indocalamus tessellatus, Pseudosasa japonica, varieties of Pleioblastus, Bambusa glaucescens 'Alphonse Karr', to name a few.

For a deciduous shrub, I really like Edgeworthia chrysantha, Cotinus coggygria in its pale chartreuse green cultivar, Hydrangea paniculata or H. quercifolia.

For lower growing foliage plants at the base of taller plants, I like using things like Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', Carex tumilicola, Carex oshimenis 'Evergold',Ipheion uniflorum 'Froyle Mill' or 'Rolf Fiedler', Juncus effusus or Juncus patens, Dianella intermedia or D. revoluta, Rubus calycinoides, Tiarella wherryi, Tricyrtis hirta or T. formosana.

You may notice that there are a lot of plants with variegated yellow or chartreuse foliage color in this list, which I think helps brighten up a dreary winter patio with warmer notes of color year round.

Good luck with the exterior plantscaping of this patio, it looks like it should be lots of fun to furnish and get looking lush and inviting.

I am absolutely amazed at the help and thoughtfulness you people are offering. I am going to research all of the choices and will post pics when I am done. Thanks SO much!

I could see a hydrangea 'Glowing Embers' in the mix, tucked into a shady spot. I added 8 new hydrangeas to my project last year and having never had any before I was stunned by both the foliage and the flowers of GE. It just jumps out :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067340}}

That's a beautiful choice. If it doesn't go into this area, I'll look for one for my perennial garden. I forget how lovely they are. Around here, they eventually go electric blue because of the acidity in the soil but they go through many colour changes before they do. I remember one that went a beautiful dusky, stormcloud blue. I don't think Bambis like them either.

Dotty, if you can't find Glowing Embers I've got a noid hot pink that I grew from a cutting, it's an very old variety that was in the neighbors yard when we moved here in 65. The people who have the house now removed the bush two years ago but I took a cutting first. At the moment it is planted up close to our house and so far it's staying that hot pink color. I could start one for you later on if you're interested.
Annette

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067341}}

Thanks AM, it's lovely! I love the pink colour -- don't particularly like the electric blue that they go to so often. We are going to be away for some time in Feb so perhaps when we return I could call you? Thanks, Dotty

There's no hurry I'll start one for you as soon as the new growth is mature enough. Have a good time, give me a call when you get back. A

Dotty, your patio area is lovely. I also think groups of pots in similiar tones would look great. I also think that a sculpture, fountain or some sort of art would look great with the added pots.Perhaps something hanging on the wall shown in the picture . I have a few types of bamboo I can give you when you are back, I'm also going to be away for part of Feb. Send me an email if you'd like some,
Cindy

Like GG48 mentioned, a nice little water feature would add that 'pull up a chair and stay awhile' feel. This is one I picked up at the end of the season last year for 60% off. I haven't finished deciding how high or where I want it but you can get the idea. I think this type would fit your space. This is a shade area that will have camelias, aucubas, etc. Don't mind the funky lattice, my puffball pomerian gets in there and rolls in the bark so I have it up until I can finish the bed :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1067342}}

Your patio looks like an awesome place for camellias. May I suggest c. williamsii 'Debbie.' It has very vigorous upright growth. Mine was easily trained in espalier form against a wall and quickly grew to about 12' tall - and would get bigger if I didn't prune. (You mentioned wanting height) I think the evergreen foliage will be nice as year-round interest. The flowers are beautiful and plentiful.

This thread gets better and better! I have wanted a water feature for a long time -- I asked for one for my birthday one year, but am still waiting. Perhaps this is the time. And I am thinking about a bamboo in a tall pot to add height for one grouping, I will email you Cindy, thanks. I have a Camelia in a pot from last year (need a new pot, the one it is in is ugly) but it seems it's a little early to have a super choice of pots in the garden supply store. Checked there yesterday. I have the camelia under an eave so the flowers don't get brown and I can enjoy it from inside the house. Can they take rain as long as they don't get morning sun and not go brown? I also have ledges that I envision trailing greenery. It's going to be fun...

There is just something about water....I have a water feature around every new corner, front,back, and both sides. I'm in the process of designing two new ones that have a series of different sized copper tubs with rain chains connecting them. It just seems like running water helps you take the time to notice the other things around you.

That's what I did - planted my camellias in beds under the eaves (which are quite wide). Works very well keeping the flowers out of all the YVR rain.