Brick Front Entry

Here is a photo of a simple and easy brick entry at my daughter's home. The same style and color of brick that was used for the back patio is shown here.

The upper left photo shows the the old concrete walk that we broke up with a sledge hammer and used shovels to dig out about 8 inches of soil to allow for the gravel base for the new pavers. That work was done by two people and only took an hour or so. The same landscape contractor we hired to bring in his Bobcat tractor for the back patio hauled away the old concrete walk and diggings from the front entry area.

Like the back patio...we designed and installed these pavers with the idea of not needing to cut a single brick. This is an easy project that two people can finish in a day. With time to spare!

If you want to know the specific brand, style, and color of brick pavers just send me an email to dpearl1@hotmail.com

Outdoor Rooms - A Back Patio

Bear in mind that there are many kinds of "outdoor rooms." We will present others in future posts. This patio was designed by me and I helped install it at my daughter's home in Joliet. Along with me and my daughter, we had the help of her two sisters and two friends. The entire project was finished in a single weekend.

It is important to note that we hired a landscape contractor with his Bobcat tractor to excavate the site. He removed the old grass and 8 to 10 inches of soil. This allowed room for the gravel base for the brick pavers. We used his tractor to bring the gravel from the street where it had been dumped to the patio site. I strongly recommend that you not attempt this back breaking work yourself with a shovel and wheel barrow!


During the first day the excavation was finished, the gravel leveled and compacted with a rented compactor. That made the second day's work relatively easy. We merely had to set the bricks on a 1" layer of coarse sand. The sandstone retaining wall was set in place after the pavers were finished.

Future posts will talk about some ideas for how your patio should look...its shape, size, and brick style. But our patio was able to be completed so quickly due to the fact that not one single brick had to be cut. We purposely designed it that way. Brick cutting is time consuming, messy, and you have to rent a loud and expensive diamond saw. We will show you how to design your own patio to avoid any brick cutting.

You can see from the pictures that the patios consists of rows of concentric circles. Several manufacturers of brick pavers produce these in a number of colors and styles. There are four or five different brick shapes on the same pallet and the manufacturer will give you a "cheat sheet" that show which shapes and how many are needed for each circle as you work out from the center.

Complete details in future posts.

Colors of Autumn

In the Chicago area we are enjoying spectacular fall colors. Here are two photos of some plantings that illustrate some nice groupings. While I had no hand in the design or planting of this driveway entry for this home in Naperville I believe these deserve to be pointed out. Many of my own clients are unaware of the autumn splashes that many plant species make for us.

Near the back of the first photo we find a service berry (amelanchier) with its red-orange hues. This same plant appears in the second photo. Note the cluster of ornamental grasses in the foreground. This entry has been further embellished with cornstalks, pumpkins, and chrysanthemums set on bales of hay.

The second photo shows a burning bush (euonymus alatus) in prime fall color. To its left is a grouping of Montgomery spruce. Behind are viburnums and a service berry (amelanchier).

Garden Design...Five Key Concepts

Here are five key concepts I have learned, and preached, after 20 years in the creative business of garden design, landscape contracting, and lawn and garden products:

1) Have a plan...have a theme. Create 'outdoor rooms.'

2) Planted beds are everything. Large beds are good. Large lawns are not so good!

3) Three things to never use: plastic lawn edging, gaudy colored stone, and forced concrete block retaining walls.

4) Hardscapes will make or break your garden.

5) The finishing touches...objet d'art, objet trouve.

In the weeks ahead be sure to click back in for the full story on each of the above 5 Key Concepts. You will clearly see how your gardens will benefit. You can quite easily create lush and colorful gardens that are easy to maintain, will save you lots of money, and be environmentally sound. And hopefully, be the envy of your neighborhood!