Retreat at Mountain Brook - Private Balcony 2 BR

Summer Living Outside at the Retreat

At The Retreat at Mountain Brook, residents enjoy large floor plans with lots of indoor space. But perhaps just as important is the outdoor space that accompanies each apartment home in the form of a patio, balcony or sunroom. Our residents love to use these spaces for entertaining friends and family, or just to enjoy the relaxed feeling that comes from spending time outside in a beautiful setting.

The Idea Specialists© at the Retreat have been compiling ideas, trends, tips and techniques designed to inspire– on how to furnish your outdoor area and make it completely yours.

First, consider outdoor furniture that fits your lifestyle. Keep the weather in mind. You’ll want to choose furnishings with attractive finishes that will hold up in the elements. Shops and stores near The Retreat that offer a selection of outdoor furniture include Blackjack Gardens, Home Depot, and  Family Leisure.

A word about accessories: Don’t forget that pillows instantly refresh or pull a look together. Add in decorative outdoor-friendly pillow in the colors your desire. Feel free to mix patterns and prints to truly express your own personal style. And to provide even more ambiance, consider hanging soft lighting to enhance the ambiance of your special outdoor area. According to Best Reviews, the five top styles of outdoor lighting include Brightech light strand, Lighting Ever LED curtain lights, Brightown globe string lights, Taotronic LED waterproof string lights, and Urpower LED solar lights.

Container Gardening at the Retreat at Mountain Brook

Of course, no outdoor area would be complete without a variety of flowers and other easy to care for plants in beautifully designed containers. Get the look you want by following the three-step formula of thriller, filler, spiller. Find the container that suits your style at nearby shops including Oak Street Garden Shop, in Mountain Brook Shoppe Birmingham in Forest Park, Charlie Thigpen’s Garden Gallery at Pepper Place and Leaf n’ Petal which has several locations nearby. Other options include garden centers at Wal Mart and Home Depot.

planting flowers“Start with thriller which will be the big, bold focal point of your container plant designs. This plant provides an eye-catching vertical element. We use Angelonia in many of our designs,” says Jamie Cross, greenhouse manager for Oak Street Garden Shop.

Other options can include tall ornamental grasses such as Purple Fountain Grass, or flowers such as Cosmos, Salvia and Dahlia.

Filler is usually composed of mid-size, mounding or rounded plants that surround and enhance the thriller and fill the space in the planter. You can use one filler or opt for two or three different plants in your container gardening design. Cross recommends Lantana or Vinca as options because these selections do not require deadheading. Other filler options include: Petunias, Begonias, and Ageratum to name a few.

container gardening for porch or patioSpillers are splashy plants that cascade and tumble over the sides of the container. Cross recommends Trailing Vinca. “It’s a beautiful plant with marvelous training capacity,” she says. She added that “We also carry a variety of ready-made container plantings because we like to see how they grow out, and because some of our customers prefer to stop in an select something that they can enjoy right away.”

Other trailing options include: Sweet Potato Vine, Ivy and Alyssum. And for more ideas, check out their blog at Oak Street Container Gardens.

So, relax and luxuriate in your own personal outdoor retreat at The Retreat at Mountain Brook’s beautiful apartment community and share your personally decorated space with friends and family this summer. If you want to enjoy the advantage and spaciousness that our community provides, feel free to schedule a tour with our team members by calling us at (205) 956-9722.

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