A Quick Stone Patio

Here is an easy stone patio that can be finished in half a day. All you need are 25 to 30 large, flat stepping stones approximately 18" by 24" each, give or take. You can buy these at many suppliers of landscaping materials. Just dig out any grass that you have and loosen the soil beneath.

You do not need to add any sand or gravel for leveling the stones. Large stones like these are stable enough on their own. After setting stones and leveling them with the loosened soil beneath you can fill in between with mulch or add more soil and ground cover plantings.

It is a good idea to enclose a space like this with some plantings behind. A mix of evergreens and some some flowering shrubs or perennials will finish it nicely.

Keep in mind that you need not locate a patio like this immediately off the back of your home. This patio and garden is placed at the back corner of a relatively small back yard. This "outdoor room" was created at the same home described in the post showing the front greeting pad at a home in Naperville, Illinois.

Front Entry "Outdoor Room"

Sometimes we neglect the concept of creating outdoor rooms in the front yard. But in reality, this is an important element of design. Too often the front porches of homes are small and not very inviting. You can transform your entry by adding a garden enclosed "greeting pad." This is space for welcoming guests, entertaining small groups, or simply a place to relax and wave across your street to the neighbors.

Pictured here is a front entry garden we created for home in Naperville, Illinois a few years ago. The original entry was simply a 3 ft. wide concrete walk that led from the drive to the front stoop. The homeowners disliked this and desired a more spacious and lush entry.

We removed the old concrete walk and replaced it with brick pavers. To its right (as you walk toward the entry) we created a large greeting pad with more pavers.

The space was enclosed with a "seating wall" made of concrete block wall stones from the same company that makes the pavers. This L-shaped wall stands about 24 inches tall and each leg is perhaps 15 or 20 feet long. No mortar is used. You simply affix the top two courses, coping included, with a suitable adhesive. These kinds of walls can be completed rapidly and with little effort.

Even though I generally discourage the use of concrete retaining wall stones, their use in seating walls is a good way to use them.