Redesign to Reality

Sometimes you have a space that despite your best-laid plans, just doesn’t work for you. It could be you end up using the space differently than you had envisioned or that the idea and the execution just don’t line up. In this cassette materials used would have been perfect for the climate of 10 years ago but just didn’t perform as expected in the summers we get today.

Technically, there was nothing wrong with this patio installed about 5 years ago, the natural stone was top quality and the design was modern and ahead of its time. When the landscaping was completed after the home was built the homeowner opted to install natural stone tiles in a grid pattern set into the lawn. Everything was installed as it should be and it had stayed level and sitting well. However, the slightly darker color attracting the sun’s rays along with hotter dryer summers had quickly burnt the grass growing in between. With the heat being drawn to those tiles no amount of reseeding was going to win the war with the weeds.

I’m a big proponent, whenever possible, of making a material work especially when it’s a beautiful natural stone. It’s not always necessary to trash what’s there are start from scratch. In the previous fall, the owner said she was fed up with the space and was ready to go in a different direction. She loved the idea of an English garden courtyard where she could read a book or enjoy tea with a friend in the afternoon. That winter I drew up a plan to make that dream a reality.

We settled on boxwoods for the entrance. What’s more English garden than that? Weeping cherries for some shade and the plan was for a line of lavender and annuals along the existing wall. In the spring it was time to get to work!

The reality of doing the work was dependent on how it was installed originally.  Was it set mostly on rocks with a bit of topsoil for the grass or largely added to existing soil with an area directly under the tiles sitting on gravel? Would we be bringing in soil or rock? In this application, neither approach would be incorrect. It turned out to be the former so there was plenty of material there to make the base for the patio. We dug down a few feet to add nice garden soil for the edges and deeper for where the trees would be. The exact ratio of the garden to patio would depend on the layout given the stones already in place since it was very unlikely we could find any more to match.

We ended up staying pretty true to the original plan. The only change was the homeowner opted to install a variety of her favorite perennials and grasses in the garden area rather than a mass planting of lavender. Almost immediately after installation, it was tested by the heaviest rain in half a century. It seems like it will be the perfect place for an afternoon drink for many years to come.

If you have a spot on your property that you would love to have redesigned I would love to work with you to bring your vision to life!