A New Patio Garden in San Diego

These photos show the dramatic before and after transformation of a back yard garden located in San Diego's North Park neighborhood. Here you can see that the old patio was an outdated use of 12" x 12" concrete stepping stones. Alternating stones were stained darker to give a checkerboard effect.

The open soil area was a long neglected patch of bare dirt. The goal was to design a new 'outdoor room' that increased both the patio area and reduced the amount of concrete to the left to give more room for planting.

The concrete areas that have the orange paint marks were removed. This allowed for a lot more planting space adjacent to the back porch. All of the checkerboard pavers were removed and replaced with modern brick paving stones. A seating wall now partially encloses the patio closest to the home on two sides.

Here are some photos taken after the installation of the paving stones and seating wall had been completed. At this time the budget did not allow for a lot of planting. But the owners were able to get started on the planting right away. They love to garden and intend to fill in the open areas as time permits.

This project was designed by me and completed by Paving Stone of San Diego for whom I work as an independent designer. We also recommended that the open planted areas have the soil improved. The old soil, mostly heavy clay, was removed to a depth of six inches. An amended high quality top soil was added to these spaces. The new soil is wonderful to plant in.

Planting choices wisely include succulents and other low water use plants. And as important, no lawn! Lawns are extremely water thirsty and require vast amounts of maintenance time. You should eliminate as much lawn as you can.

This project was completed in only two days and ready to use immediately. The watering and maintenance needs will be minimal.

Please contact me if you would like more information or a design for your home.