Here's what I see when I look out the window while standing at my kitchen sink.  Any minute now I expect to see a chipmunk hopping up those stairs and filling his cheeks with the seed from the platform feeder.

Over the weekend I acted on the inspiration I garnered from this AJC article on container gardening.  Ladyslipper Nursery is not far from my home and they had all the plants I needed to adorn the deck.   While I had full intentions of creating my own chair container, I found this pre-filled metal concoction irresistable; and I am relieved not to have had to sacrifice the antique chair I had targeted in my basement.

Here are the details:  Spiller = varigated ivy  Filler = parsley, dusty miller, and pansies, Thriller = ornamental grass

I did create the clay pot in the foreground with spiller of creeping jenny; filler of pansies and moss; and thriller of decorative kale.

Since I was particularly drawn to the caramel-colored pansies, I bought half a flat of them and complimented them with the lighter purple ones.

There's a pot of thyme on the third step.

And a combo pot of parsley, rosemary, and pansies at the top.

What you cant see are the cylindrical birdfeeders which hang on either side of the kitchen window.  One contains safflower seeds, the other thistle.

Then there's a block of suet attached to the railing at the top of the stairs - on the left.

And a flat tray of clean water to the left of the black chair.  Last year not only did the birds drink from it, they even used it as a bath!

The bird house was made from materials recycled from the destruction created by Hurricane Katrina.  SIL gave it to me last Christmas and I'm hoping for some nesters this season.

The Carolina Wrens have already claimed their spot underneath the deck stairs.  And the Brown Thrashers nest in the mammoth Cherokee Rose that cascades down our back yard.

What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?