BACKYARD MESS

Since it is spring going into summer (has been in Florida since, oh, January)  I figured I should clean our backyard. Especially since my husband was kind enough to buy me this swing chair for our anniversary.

Which looks like a scary contraption until you sit in it and it is sooooo comfortable. My co-worker had to make it dirty (said it looked like it was one of those types of swings) but I refuse to let him ruin it for me. It's a comfortable chair that I can sit in and read a book and relax under the tree.

Problem is is that I get to look at this:

And this is the "cleaned up" version (I always forget to get the really real before picks). Remember that my back yard was neglected and trashy? Well, this is after I cleaned up a little bit.

I wanted a peaceful backyard oasis but my budget...well, you know me- I'm cheap. I didn't have $300-400 laying around to buy new pretty patio cushions, new chairs for the table, flowers, an umbrella, etc. I had to work with what I had. So, instead, I bought flowers for only 15.00 and assessed what I had.

This was a good time to purge, purge, purge. I took every decorative item that wasn't hanging on my walls and laid it all out to see what would work outside.
After all, I knew a lot of things wouldn't work. They had to be pretty (pops of color would draw the eye and make it look fun!) but also weather resistant. We have too much rain and blazing sun so no candles and no flimsy fabrics would do.

Here is all the "stuff" I have:

This was also a good chance to clean out those unloved items that I never use.
Rearrange, reorganize. So, I inventoried. Unfortunately, my house still looks like this with all the stuff strewn about.

I gave my patio furniture a good soak down with the hose to clean them off of any debris. Then I took this old crappy flower pot and decided to redo it

 It was pretty beat up. It even has a hole in it. But I was determined to use it.

 
I spray painted it with leftover red paint I had on hand so the cost of a bright new planter-FREE.

I also remembered some huge Christmas bulbs I had that I love but only display at Christmas time. And I thought, "Why not use them as gazing balls?" They are red which matched the flower pot and would sparkle beautifully in the sun.

See there, the hanging part of the bulb? Yeah, just flipped upside down and voila! Instant gazing balls.
I set them on top of some red hurricane glasses I had which looked awesome (I just need to add some weight so they don't fall over and shatter).

 I brought around a pillar that had set out front for a long while with a pot on it.

This is the cleaned up version. And it still looked pretty bad. Plus, I needed another splash of color. So I took some of my true aqua paint sample left over from my failed attempt at my night stand.
I diluted the color with water and quickly painted the pillar. (it only took 10min).

 I like the splash of turquoise and is a great place to set drinks when sitting by the fire. 

Anyhow. Here's the after when I added pillows for the chairs (already had as well) and flowers.

My total cost for this makeover was...
8.50 for flowers.And lots of elbow grease of course.

I didn't do much to the main patio but I did make a nice display on the table.

Again, all free. Now I just need to add a few more plants/flowers to make my back patio a little nicer.