Create an outdoor room

Southern Living, Aug 2002 by Doyle, Alicie Welsh

Transform a deck or courtyard into a comfortable outside living space.

Not everyone is blessed with rolling lawns and expansive terraces. You may live in a townhouse or condo with only a small courtyard or deck and no yard to speak of. Don't let that stop you from creating an exciting and stylish outdoor living room.

Just follow the lead of Rosemary Conroy. Every summer, she transforms her modest rooftop deck in Baltimore into an inviting spot where everyone wants to hang out. "I have always been intrigued by interior courtyards. They're like secret gardens. This one is small enough to manage, and every design detail counts," she says.

The Room's Decor

Rosemary treats her secret garden deck like a true living room. The weathered wood floor, painted in a diamond pattern of gray tones, gives it more decorative appeal. For the furnishings, she mixed together a green wrought iron table and chairs, light-- colored Adirondack pieces, canvas lounge chairs, and blue ceramic-top portable tables that fold up for easy off-season storage. A generous chest does double duty as a seating spot and storage space for all the gardening tools, "sort of like a hidden potting shed," notes Rosemary.

A lively cornflower blue fabric forms the basis of the color palette; it is used for cushions, pillows, and chair covers. "This bright blue really looks good with the colors in the garden. I like it in combination with the chartreuse in some of the leaves and the lavender flowers." Varying shades of green complement the cornflower blue. These color choices create a cool feeling during the hot summer.

Container Garden

Of course, the deck's main attraction is the numerous pots of plants and flowers that form a virtual oasis in the city. Rosemary and her neighbor bring out their ficus trees and set them around the deck to add some height to the presentation. Other houseplants are "taken on a walk" for the summer, as Rosemary calls it, and placed on tables and in other strategic locations. Next, she adds a few junipers and barberry shrubs to give the garden an initial structure. The latticework at one end of the deck is covered with several clematis vines that bloom at different times.

With the structure in place, it's time for some fun-layering and adding color. Some of Rosemary's favorites for container gardening include yucca plants for their tropical feel, spider flowers for their height, coneflowers for their blooms and heat hardiness, verbena for its purple color and billowing shape, and black-eyed Susans for their showy August blooms.

No matter what furniture and plants you choose to outfit your outdoor space, the key lies in making it an intimate retreat-distinct from your interior rooms. Plan for visitors, though, because such a spot is unlikely to remain a secret for very long. ALICE WELSH DOYLE

ROSEMARY'S CONTAINER TIPS

* Use plastic pots for the plants in the back that don't show. You'll save money, and they're easier to move than clay pots. (Also, you don't want too much weight on a deck.)

* Rotate the items in your garden to keep it interesting. When a plant finishes blooming or gets too thin and gangly, give it a rest in the back and bring something else up front.

* Pay close attention to the garden, going out early each day to take a look. With full sun, things can quickly get away from you. Use a slow-release fertilizer at the beginning of the season.

* The amount of water needed depends on the plant and the pot. Go pot by pot, and develop a relationship with each one. Some containers-16 inches and smaller-may need watering twice a day.

* When things get a little dull in August because of the heat, consider adding more perennials, such as colorful hibiscus, coneflower, and verbena, and treating them like annuals.

where to find it

CREATE AN OUTDOOR ROOM

Pages 182-184: Design by Rosemary Conroy, Conroy Designs, Ltd., Baltimore, (410) 243-8817.