Tired of staring at the same boring concrete slab? Looking for ways to dress up your favorite outdoor space? A patio hardscape might offer the perfect solution that balances function and design.
However, designing a customized patio for your outdoor activities isn’t as simple as it seems. You can’t simply lay down some stones and purchase patio furniture. Taylor Landscaping can help you construct your hardscape in Louisville, KY. Check out our recommendations when planning your project for the best results.
Hardscaping Isn’t As Easy As It Looks
The patio is your outdoor living or dining room. It offers a gathering place where friends and family can enjoy fresh air and natural surroundings while spending time with their favorite people. Enhancing the patio makes this essential social area look and feel richer and more stimulating.
If you don’t already have a patio, you might crave one for picnics and cookouts. Perhaps your current patio space looks too plain and needs sprucing up. While hardscaping services can satisfy your goals, they involve hard work and intricate planning. You can’t simply lay out attractive, flat stones and enjoy the full effects.
Remember These Tips Before Creating a Patio Hardscape
Building a patio never fails to excite property owners. After all, you can let your imagination run wild with most landscaping projects. However, keep the following tips in mind when planning your project.
#1 There Is More Than Meets the Eye
You can’t just lay paver stones on the ground for a stable, lasting patio. Durable surfaces have several layers that include:
- Flattened subsoil
- Gravel
- Concrete reinforcement
- Flat stones laid on top
Your landscaper will likely excavate and level a small, measured portion of raw land before laying each layer for a stable patio surface.
#2 Visualize Your Setup
Once you have the patio surface, you can more easily envision how you want it to look. This is where Pinterest boards and professional design services come in handy. Consider the following built-in elements:
- Seating
- Outdoor kitchen accessories
- Planters
- Garden walls
- Water features
An experienced designer can help you carve out a space that contains your outdoor hobbies and social needs while making neighbors envious.
#3 Don’t Forget Drainage
Every patio needs adequate drainage, especially if it features retaining walls and similar structures that could limit water flow. While drainage solutions aren’t necessarily the most thrilling part of constructing or renovating a patio, they protect the surface from:
- Erosion: Even patios without walls need good drainage. Otherwise, the soil may gradually rinse away, causing the surface to cave.
- Material damage: When water puddles in a particular area, it seeps into the rock and cement. The patio hardscape will expand and contract from excess moisture exposure, leading to fractures and sunken places.
- Overwatering: If you have garden beds built into your patio, you risk overwatering your beloved plants. The same issue can happen to potted plants on the ground.
- Poor function: No one wants to socialize when ankle-deep in stagnant water. Plus, mosquitos gravitate toward long-standing puddles.
A proper drainage design is essential to any well-built patio.
#4 Consider Natural Lighting
Sunlight is another frequently forgotten aspect of a patio hardscape. On one hand, you need ample sun exposure to nurture your outdoor plants. On the other hand, you don’t want to suffer from excessive heat and blinding light during your outdoor cooking sessions.
Explore patio designs with structures that provide partial shade so visitors can enjoy relief. You can also choose plants that thrive in less sunlight or relegate full-sun specimens to their patio portion.
#5 Plan Your Plants
Which plant options will work best in your environment? This isn’t merely a question of whether the plants will thrive. You should also consider what you can realistically nourish in your household.
Think about your habits and lifestyle choices before purchasing plants or designing garden spaces:
- Pets and small children: Kids and animals will get into almost anything, especially your colorful flower garden. Consider your prized plants’ accessibility and toxicity to protect the plants and vulnerable family members.
- Vertical spaces: Think outside the box with vining plants or vertical garden spaces. You can use hanging planters, old pallets, and support beams for additional greenery.
- Maintenance commitment: How much time and energy will you realistically put into caring for the plants? If you spring for demanding options, you could waste money on struggling or dying plants.
- Other landscaping features: Another way to think outside the box involves adding plants to smaller hardscape or waterscape features. There’s something whimsical about rock sculptures with shallow-rooted succulents or small fountains filled with vibrant lily pads.
Since professional landscape designers excel at creating unconventional designs, you have limitless possibilities to craft a patio filled with flourishing greenery.
#6 Prioritize Functionality
While design enhances visual appeal and balance, function always trumps aesthetics. What purpose do you want your new patio to serve? Perhaps you want a safe, contained space where your kids can play. You might want a tranquil place to enjoy coffee while thumbing through the pages of a well-worn volume.
Both areas require vastly different layouts and materials to fulfill their purposes. Some common patio layout examples include:
- Open flagstone layout: Flagstone’s flat, puzzle-like qualities make it perfect for open spaces with lots of foot traffic.
- Bistro layout: Entertain and feed guests in an open-air space that accommodates outdoor dining furniture.
- Privacy layout: Enjoy intimate or quiet moments in a secure, private nook with seating walls.
- Zen layout: Prioritize plant growth and conversation with this cozy outdoor social space.
#7 Think About Maintenance
Now for the hard part: what can you realistically put into maintaining your patio? Trendier, more elaborate designs often require more time and energy from you and services from professionals. Keeping it simple with sturdy outdoor flooring, a few potted plants, and colorful furniture minimizes your chores.
Ask Taylor Landscaping for Landscaping Guidance in Louisville, Kentucky
Whether you envision an elaborate or modest patio hardscape, entrust your project to Taylor Landscaping. We can also recommend bespoke ideas to enhance your front yard. Call 502-709-3708 for landscaping services in Louisville, Kentucky.
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