Patio in full bloom

My last post on the patio staining was pretty vague, but a couple of friends have asked how hard of a process it was. Looking at the pictures you can decide for yourself:

One indifferent wife



One post-op dog



Actually two buckets of Behr Semi-Transparent stain colored for Terra Cotta using a roller got the job done in a couple of hours, and most of that was time for drying between hosing the concrete off, the first coat, then the second coat. It looked pretty ugly after the first coat, but the guy at the Depot told us it would.



After we brought everything back into the patio, I noticed our container plantings were looking really good this summer.







I am most impressed with the cactus I took off the hands of my neighbor. I wasn't sure what to expect, but give it a couple of weeks in direct sun and check out the difference.

Basic green and blah



Now flowering and thriving

Eventually #2 wins

From our last post, we took advantage of Sunday's sunny weather to tackle project #2. What was a gray, cold rear patio was transformed into something warm and welcoming. How do you think it turned out?