Advice on patio design

I’m about to repave my patio. It is l-shaped and has a different level on the side return and a very big step from the outside door. My plan is level the patio and slightly reduce the size of the big step to improve flow and floor space. I will also move the water butt down the garden.

Question. Should I consider extending the patio into the garden. I love having the grass but this is a one time thing. Opinions? We have seating area already and we do very occasional BBQs which I can do in front of the storage shed or on the grass by the fence.

I have too many pots so will need to reduce - went a bit pot crazy last summer!

Plan and dimensions included. About 6.7 m wide and 2.15 wide at its smallest, 6.6 at its longest (l shaped)

Thoughts?

 

If it was me @Greenfield81 I would reduce the amount of grass by digging out some beds that you could use for the contents of the pots - and more plants of course! The existing patio looks ok for size.

 

I would definitely extend the patio if it was mine, the present set up looks a trifle cramped to me.
It would depend of course on how long your garden is and whether you need the grass space for kids or dogs?

If you had a longer patio, it would enable you to have a run of shallower steps which makes walking easier and safer.

 

You mentioned having another seating area which I think I can see at the bottom of your garden, in sun. If that’s the case, I think the size of your intended patio is fine. I would consider removing the privet in front of your bay window to increase space and light and perhaps widening the intended border. A width of 0.35m alongside your fence would be quite restrictive, depending on what you intend to grow.

 

I would extend the patio by a couple of feet and consider having the front edge curved. Your garden currently has straight edges (oblong) and a curve in the new patio would soften the look. The step could be replaced with two shallower ones.

 

I would extend the patio and add borders either side of the steps. It would give you more space on the patio, more planting space so you could have taller plants in the borders to visually divide the patio from the lawn (as well as the pots if you want to keep them) and make the garden look less long and narrow. Something like this (pl ease excuse my rubbish computer drawing skills).

 

Extend it, if you can to 4m from the back door. Even without the pots the sofa seating looks squished into a corner and would be better with more generous spacing. As @lizzie27 says, that would also allow you to have shallower steps which are safer in wet or icy weather and as you age.

I don't have a problem with pots if you don't mind the regular watering, feeding and preening to keep them looking good As @JennyJB says, a new, wider, curved bed leading into the garden would soften the edges of the terrace so you can use some of the potted plants if wished.

To make the garden look wider, introduce some sweeping curves to the other beds along the fence or go for more formal zig zag diagonal lines and triangular beds with focal plants at the points to lead the eye round instead of straight to the end. Some plants with height and form variations would also move the eye more than blobby round shrubs. Think about a few climbers too on the fences, if allowed or erect some posts and wires or trellis with the fence line to support climbers such as repeat flowering roses and or easy viticella clematis.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone! Based on this, I will look to extend the patio by around 2 ft / 60cm - balancing this with having gren space for the kids to play. The step down to the turf is only 20cm so don’t think I’ll need an additional step down?

For the border along the patio, you said 35cm is too narrow. What do you suggest? This would be to grow my jasmine plants along the fence - currently in planters.

Finally, does anyone know if I could sell the old concrete slabs? I heard they can be valuable but don’t know who would be interested.

 

You may be able to sell the slabs if they are in good condition. Jet washing them first will give them a facelift and look more attractive for sale.

You may have a local website like Gumtree that's worth trying.

 

How wide would you suggest the plant border needs to be? I'm balancing this with the available width of space for the outdoor seating.

Its a trampoline at the end of the garden for the kids, but I would consider converting it to a small seating area in the future

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to mark this up - really useful. And I like the idea of slightly curving the borders as you suggested! The drop from the patio to the turf is only 20cm, so standard for a step. So not sure if I need additional steps from the patio surface.

 

The width of a border needs to allow room for the chosen plants to grow with decent room for spreading their roots and being fed and watered. 35cm is really mean and will mean you need to be constantly improving the soil every year and watering because not much rain will get in there.

If it's deep and has good soil it might be OK for a couple of climbers trained along the fence or wall and some alpines at the base but not for anything that gets bushy and makes a rain shadow.

 

Thanks again! After considering this, I'll be adding an extra 60cm / 2ft to the patio - if I don't do it now, I'm sure I'll regret it later! What did you mean by the zigzag diagonal lines? I'm trying to grow jasmine and rose along the fences, but only in the first yr so not grown much yet. As for the shrubs in the borders, I have a mix of nepeta, lavendar, agapanthus, rudbeckia and verbena bonariensis. Basically low mainteance, and relatively drought tolerant as the summers are becoming. Any other suggestions? I like the idea of adding more height!

 

Instead of having a straight sided rectangular lawn you would cut beds to make the lawn look like its zig zagging down the garden. Like this:



This will give your plants space and light t grow, change the focus down teh garden and allow you to add height, colour, form, texture to make the garden interesting.

 

As your space is limited there, just extending it to 50cm, although not ideal, would give more root space and help to retain more water and nutrients for your climbers but they will be relying on you for watering and feeding because of the proximity to the fence.

I like the idea of a zig zag lawn but if your children want to play football or other games, it may not be practical at this stage. I had a long narrow garden in my last property and divided the lawn halfway with an arch and climbers to add extra interest.

Before.



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