Topic: Patio

[Wrennie]

The area around our picnic table was dirt and some uneven flat rocks. Marton collected some more rocks and started to build a patio yesterday.
 Heres a sorta before picture;



Thats actually more even than the part he was working on.
Heres what he has done;



Does he look tired to you?



Where his knee is, the edge of the patio is raised about 6 inches.
Everywhere you dig on my property is full of rocks. He laid them all out like a big puzzle to decide how to arrange them, then had to shore them up with smaler flat rocks underneath to make it level. The sand in between them is from the ditch on the other side of our house. The whole project $$$ FREE!

[Dianna]

  Yes, I would say he looks a little tired, Wrennie. That is some job that he is tackling and he is doing fantastic!

How large is your patio now? I would love to have a patio like that. When Marton gets through, just send him (and some spare rocks and sand) on down here to SC.

Sure can't beat free!

[Wrennie]

Right now its big enough for 1 folding chair. I'll have to get a picture of the whole area he wants to do.

[duh]

I can't wait to see the pictures of the entire area.  It's going to be great.  And what a price.  Can't do better than free.

[Jim]

Looks great.  Dianna has been talking about building a patio for the fire-pit every since we moved to the country.  That's a great idea.  I'm afraid I would have to buy the rocks though and the sand. 

Lots better than a concrete patio though! 

[Patty S]

Wrennie, that looks great!   Does the sand have clay mixed in with it?  I regretted the energy it took to haul sand in for my pathway (to keep tiles from breaking), when it turned out that the sand I bought was supposed to have clay in it, but turned out to be 100% sand.  It has been tracked into the house, displaced by rain, & has been a general pain in the arse! That was 3 or 4 years ago, & I still have sand in abundance, but it comes in real handy when I need sand to add to strawberry soil, or to help lighten a packed clay area in garden beds... I don't think I'll ever run out of it!

How about planting some Steppables between the stones? (Scotch or Irish Moss, Blue Star Creeper, etc.) It's nearly impossible to "wear it out" from walking on it, it never needs mowing, weeds aren't a big problem, it hoses right off when stuff gets spilled on it (or if a pet makes a deposit), & once it starts spreading itself around, it eventually takes over the area between the stones & looks great!

Maybe you can find somebody who has it already growing, & get starts from them.  I got a bunch of Irish Moss from a friend, who let me go to her house & trim hers up, where it had crept up over the stones on her patio.  (I didn't "need" it, so I took it to Sarah's, cuz I thought she might want to replant it around the outside of her pond.  Since then, I'm thinking that I'd like to fill in the short pathway with it, on the other side of our deck, so I'm going to go get more of it.)

Here's a pic of my Blue Star Creeper.  Gotta love Steppables!

[Penny]

Lokks great Wren.....and FREE is even better!!

Way to go Marton~~!!!

[Triss]

Looks beautiful Wrennie, such a natural looking patio rather than a concrete slab.  Great work Marton!

[Wrennie]

I hate concrete. Our front steps are concrete, and i cant wait to get rid of them.

Patty the sand came from our ditch so there is clay soil mixed in there.

I have some creeping sedums to put in the spaces, was thinking of thyme. Also have some 'treasures' to put in the bigger gaps. Such as little glass ladybugs, a blue glass moon, {small}

[patches]

Wrennie, that is really looking great,    but I know it's a lot of work!    I love the natural look so much better than concrete! 

[barleychown]

That is an awesome patio! Congrats!

I think the creeping thyme would be awesome there. I have a few spots in the front where woolly thyme and red creeping touch...it's a good look.

[duh]

I love the idea of the tiny ground covers for between stepping stones and such.  I think it will look great on your patio along with the little garden art objects you mentioned.

I have pavers for my sidewalk up to the house from the driveway.  between is pea gravel that needs to be refreshed.  I'm thinking of a thin layer of soil and some of the irish moss. 

In fact I'm hoping to you ground covers rather than grass throughout the front yard.  It is all dirt now except the one stand of 4 mature trees.

[Bonnie]

That's a great looking patio you have going on, and you can't beat the price.

[Wrennie]

This is from the yard facing the house. Where the shovel is, is how far out he wants to come, and then over to the left of the table to where the hill starts to go up.


See how he had to build up underneath to get the top level, its about 6" tall here.


heres from the front door looking at it, where he was sitting, and then from at the kitchen window.



And it rained all day yesterday and look! The sand stayed put!

[patches]

Boy, it's looking good,     Wrennie!  Marton is doing a terrific job, but he sure has his work cut out for him!   

[Dianna]

That is really going to be a fantastic patio when Marton gets through with it! Color me green with envy...

[Wrennie]

He got more done this past sunday;

[Triss]

That is a work of art Wrennie.  I absolutely love it! 

[Dianna]

  That is beautiful, Wrennie! Looks like he did a lot more work on it.

How large is that patio going to be?

[patches]

Boy, he is really moving along with the patio!     Actaully, it looks like he got a lot more done.     Geesh, it doesn't look like it will be too long until you will be able to sit out there and enjoy it! 

[duh]

that is absolutely fantastic.  Couldn't ask for a nicer looking patio.