Our little piece of heaven

We have slowly transformed our courtyard since we arrived 7 months ago. The two photos below are from September 2016 when we looked at renting the house.

It certainly didn’t look very promising.

This is how it looked when we arrived 7 months ago. Much better.

Bit by bit we have been adding our green thumbs to it. We brought these wall pots from the States as we absolutely love them. We’ve had them for years and somehow they have managed to make it through each move.

The rose bush that was already here that blooms three different colors of roses.

Bob made a fountain as we love the sound of water.

A secondhand table with a colorful tablecloth for the center of the courtyard. The Hibiscus blooms constantly and has taken over this pot.

Little touches here and there.

The bowl in the foreground of the photo was supposed to be a birdbath however the birds seem to enjoy dirt baths more. They do drink from it occasionally. The doggies of the village love it as they think it is a big bowl of water for them. The height is perfect for them.

We brought the blue and green curtains with us from the States as we put them up North Carolina to block the afternoon sun and the annoying neighbors. Late last week we added the white curtains as the sun has moved. This simple curtain drops the temperature easily ten degrees.

In August we added the lemon tree that you see in the center in the above photo. Bob’s parents had an amazing lemon tree in Australia which not only provided wonderful lemons but incredible shade. Our is starting to produce some lemons and has grown a lot since this photo above was taken.

At night we have solar lights that give it a magical touch.

The Bougainvillea and incredible Jasmine were also already here but had been cut (read: hacked) back to almost nothing. They are now both bursting with blooms and the scent of the Jasmine is heavenly.

We’re really happy with the transformation. We love that it is so low maintenance. It is a perfect place to work or relax or entertain.