5 Backyard Patio Ideas

Thinking of creating a new patio in your backyard? Need a few backyard patio ideas? Let us help. After a quick brainstorming session, we came up with these five backyard patio ideas that will be sure to please.

Combine Patios and Decks

Landscape Stone Idea

A common, yet still exciting backyard idea is to combine a patio built of stone, brick, concrete or other typical patio materials with a traditional wooden or composite deck. Or try building a wooden decked patio with a gazebo or observation area. This effect makes for a great private area to set up a dining or conversational enclave, really setting your patio apart from the rest!

5 Backyard Patio Ideas

The Ultimate Outdoor Kitchen

While not one of the cheapest backyard patio ideas, creating agourmet outdoor kitchen will be sure to impress everyone! Think about the perks and advantages of being able to entertain exclusively outdoors without even having to go inside. For the cook, there's a huge variety of grills and ranges specifically designed for permanent patio installation. We're not talking your ordinary everyday charcoal or gas grill here (although there's certainly nothing wrong with that either).

How about an outdoor built in refrigerator or wine cooler? Or design to built in ice pit to chill your favorite beverages on a warm summer night. Oh, and for those cool nights, to get some extra life from your patio, don't forget to add an outdoor patio fireplace. They can be had to burn wood or propane, or you can go all out and have a pro install a gas line foryou.

Old Fashioned Style and Charm

Bring back the Victorian age with a patio that is designed to fit the time period. Porch swings and old fashioned rocker chairs can help to evoke the feeling of a bygone era. Or perhaps you want something a little more modern, but still with a funky retro vibe. Find some old metal rocking chairs at an auction and build in an area for shuffleboard. Eclectic, yet fun backyard patio ideas!Soothing Water Garden

The idea for a backyard patio water garden can be simple to accomplish or can be taken to any level of extremes you desire. Put in a simple patio fountain to create the atmosphere of nature that only trickling water can do. Now combine that with a full blown water garden including a fish pond with a water fall.You decide how far to take this idea...

Nothing Wrong With Turf

For another unique backyard patio idea, think about inverting the whole layout. If you have a small back yard or area for your patio, install edging for your patio, backyard patio made of common materials like brick or stone. This will define the patio.

Then fill in the useable area of the patio with a thick and dense grass turf. This idea is sure to give you the feel of a traditional patio without giving away the luxury of still having grass in your backyard.

5 Backyard Patio Ideas

Waterfall Designs-How to Make Waterfalls Look Natural

When you look at waterfall designs, there are those that are absolutely beautiful and those that just don't quite make it. So, how do you create a spectacular one?

The key is to make it look as natural looking as possible. Observing those found in nature will allow you to see how those created in home landscapes should look.

Landscape Stone Idea

Although you will see some water features where the water flows gently over rocks, many have very dramatic waterfall spillways. A waterfall spillway often is created by a large flat rock, which is built up beneath it by smaller round stones. Picture in step with an overhang. The higher up the flat stone is from the level beneath it, the higher the waterfall.

Waterfall Designs-How to Make Waterfalls Look Natural

These flat stones might be pieces of bluestone. Theyalso might be thick slabs of fieldstone. There is no reason why you can't mix them as this might occur in our natural environment also. Another aspect of waterfalls in nature is that they generally will have more than one spillway.

The sides of the waterfalls are often made of different sized stones. Larger ones are mixed in with medium, small and even pebble sized rocks.

Plants are usually incorporated into waterfall designs. In the woods, soil deposits in and near the falls would have created pockets for plant seeds to lodge. Plants that are suited to the specific conditions of the area will grow well. If the waterfall is in a damp, shady area, you might find such plants as ferns. If the area happens to be sunny, those plants that like the sun will survive. Plantsthat are indigenous to the area will be part of the landscape as that is where they grow best.

All of these ideas can be used for various types of waterfalls. One thing that is good to remember is that all waterfall designs look best when it appears that water is tumbling down from a higher elevation. You don't want an unnatural mound sitting there. This is true whether you are creating a waterfall for a swimming pool, pond or stream.

If you are lucky enough to have property that slopes down towards the area you are going to be viewing the waterfall from, you will have the best type of water feature. Sometimes you can tweak your viewpoint to take advantage of this. For example, if your land slopes towards your house, you will be able to see the waterfallclearly from your home. However, if your land slopes towards the rear yard, this is not so. In this case, you might want to add a special sitting area in which you can view the waterfall from.

There are many different stone types and colors. Fieldstone, Some are found in the woods. Others come from mines. The mentioned above mixing different kinds of flat stones. Mixing stone types or colors can be done, although the majority should be similar. If you think about mountains and geology, similar stones collect in certain areas. Sizes, however, should definitely be mixed.

Waterfall Designs-How to Make Waterfalls Look Natural

Different Pool Landscaping Ideas

A pool is a great addition to your landscaping project. It can add splendor and appeal to your home or your property. A pool also brings fun and enjoyment to family and friends during the summer season. A landscaped pool also makes a great venue for any special occasion and events like parties and family reunions.

Plenty of pool landscaping ideas can help you achieve the perfect swimming pool for your home or your property. In adding a pool to your landscape, you have to consider three factors, which are physical appeal, maintaining privacy and shade.

Landscape Stone Idea

Physical appeal simply means the beauty of the landscape. For instance, adding colorful flowers to your landscape pool will certainly bring life to your pool and softenconcrete surfaces. To maintain privacy, you can put trees or plants around the pool so that you and your family and can easily relax without having to worry that the whole neighborhood can you see you. Lastly, you need to make sure that you include a shade or a shelter for you and your guests to protect you from the sun when you are out of the water. You can plant trees and put structures like big umbrellas or cottages near the pool. By researching pool landscaping ideas, you will certainly come across many creative ways to enhance your pool area.

Other pool landscaping ideas to consider:

Different Pool Landscaping Ideas

Pool type:

You can build either a real or a vinyl pool. Concrete pools are more expensive than a vinyl pool however they are more versatile. You canchoose from a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit your taste. Concrete pool is more luxurious with various color options while vinyl pools while inexpensive have limited designs.

Decks and patios:

These features are also great pool landscaping ideas. You can position them close to the swimming pool so you can just sit and relax by the poolside. You can put patios and decks using different kinds of pavers like bricks and natural stones that will add appeal to your landscaped pool.

Landscaping Rocks:

Add a natural and rustic appeal to your pool using boulders and rocks that are of different shapes and sizes. You can create natural looking rock formations near the pool that can be very relaxing.

Different Pool Landscaping Ideas

Sketchup and Online Landscape Design-Creating a 3D Landscape

Sketchup is 3D design software that is used for many different industries.

However, for the hard to visualize area of landscape design, it can provide one of the best portrayals of the 3D landscape.

Landscape Stone Idea

Sketchup was originally owned by @ Last Software, but it was bought by Google. Hmmm ....I guess Google thought it was pretty good. And it is.

Sketchup and Online Landscape Design-Creating a 3D Landscape

There is a free version and a paid version. For the average person, the free version is fine. If you want to get more intricate with such things as grading and showing different elevations, then you will want the paid version.

For residential design, you can use this program in a couple of different ways.

The first way is to design right in the program. With a click of the mouse, you can set the drawingin a perspective position. Guidelines help you make sure you are drawing correctly. You can enter actual heights and lengths of objects, such as a house. You can put in the dimensions of the house, ie., length and width. Then use something called the pull tool to extend it up to the correct height.

It is all very user friendly. Also, what is created has an artistic flair to it, which makes it a lot of fun!

You can also view different materials for landscape elements. For example, if you are drawing a patio, you can go to the Materials area and choose what you might like. There are many different materials and you can change them as you like to see the differences. Some choices are stone, pavers, brick and concrete.

Plant palette is offered also. Theseare fine. However, for a more sophisticated look, there are other inexpensive components you can buy to use in your design.

The second way of using Sketchup is to create a 2D drawing in such programs as AutoCad, and import it into Sketchup. In this situation, you are working from your drawing so that an exact replica of the design is created. This allows you to see what a drawing will look like when built. Changes are easily made if there is something you don't like or want to add.

Some of the components you can add to the 3D landscape design are people, cars, grills, pergolas, plants, any many, many more. These are available directly through the program or through something called Google Warehouse. They are all free.

There is a lot of flexibility with thecomponents. You can resize or rescale them if you need to. You can also change colors of both components and materials.

By adding window components to a house, you can actually position a person inside the house. This allows you to attain a view as if you were inside looking out. What a great feature to see what your view will be like.

You can also create scenes. Scenes let you save a particular view. These scenes can also be exported into jpeg images. You can also create an animation which is a fly by or walk through of the entire design!

Any or all of these features can be used to suit your purposes. The software can be used in both simple and sophisticated ways. There are many other features available also. All in all it is a great 3D program.

Sketchup and Online Landscape Design-Creating a 3D Landscape

Gardening Tips For Landscaping A Hill Or Slope

Not every gardener is lucky enough to have flat property on which to garden. If you do have a slope or a hill, it is often very difficult, confusing and challenging trying to figure out how to landscape. There are many ideas and tips on gardening on a hill, which helps you deal with the special challenges and problems you are likely to encounter. If the garden is extremely steep slope, stay away from planting grass or gardens that need any kind of maintenance, as it can be cut or hazardous trying to look after them.

A couple of great tips on gardening on a slope are to plant trees and shrubs. Their root system will slow water runoff, especially during heavy rainstorms, and anchor the soil. Tall perennial grasses also work well on hills and require nomaintenance. If you like the natural look, sow wildflower seed over the area, which will look beautiful and keep the topsoil from eroding or washing away. Wildflower seeds are readily available in bulk at large garden centers and nursery. For every square foot you need approximately fifty seeds. If you have a small area to seed, buy a small can, but for large areas, wildflower seeds are available in bulk. Make sure that whatever you plant requires no regular maintenance if it is a steep hill.

Pennsylvania I saw a beautifully landscaped hill planted with different colors of azaleas. The site in the spring and early summer was breathtaking. This was on a steep hill so it not only helped with erosion but was gorgeous too.

Landscape Stone Idea

For shady areas, the tips on gardening on ahill are a little different. Most wildflowers require lots of light so a shady area is not a good choice. Instead, consider shade-loving ferns, low growing perennials and vines. Not only does the leaves slow erosion by catching the rain before it hits the ground but the roots help keep the soil from washing away. Another couple of great tips on gardening on a slope are to create stair steps or terraces. This requires some work, as you need to do a lot of digging. You may need to construct a retaining wall, depending on how steep the slope is. A level area to plant helps with erosion problems and makes it far easier to work in your garden.

For anyone that has a few garden challenges, such as land that slopes, they are always happy to find tips on gardening on a slope. If youare lucky enough to have weathered or interesting looking rocks on your hill, then it is the perfect area to create a rock garden. It would be good to plant some low growing vines and perennials in your rock garden to add texture and interest to your rock garden.

Definitely come up with a plan before you attempt your hill garden. Ask your garden center for some advice about your garden. they will be of great assistance. As with all gardens it is most important that you take time to enjoy your gardens whether they are on a hill or in beds.

Gardening Tips For Landscaping A Hill Or Slope

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

Gardening Tips For Landscaping A Hill Or Slope

The Basics of Building Stone Retaining Walls

A retaining wall must be strong enough to hold back the pressure of a great weight of soil, yet it must be porous enough to allow for drainage. The most popular types of walls are built of stone. In using stone to build a retaining wall, there are two basic types of construction: the dry-wall, which uses earth as a filler between the stones, and the mortar type, which uses cement as a bonding agent.

First, the basis of any retaining wall must be sunk below the frost line. This is about 6-12 inches in the northern half of the United States but may be more in some areas. For a flat wall (one without buttresses or projections), the width of the base should equal one-fourth the height of the wall. The wall can taper to a width of about one-fourth ofthe width of the base.

For buttressed walls, the base should be approximately one-fourth as wide as the wall is to be high. This refers to the widest points, when buttressing is to be used. In the narrower areas, the base may have slimmer proportions

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Drainage pipes should be imbedded in the wall at intervals of about 24 inches, and about 6 inches from the lower ground level of the retaining wall. In some walls, it is possible to eliminate these drains, if the wall itself is porous enough, but any construction using mortar as a bonding agent, makes essential drainage pipes.

The Basics of Building Stone Retaining Walls

In dry-wall construction it is possible (though not advisable) to start the wall at ground level, and not sink it below the frost line. The most inexpensive way to construct a dry wall is to chooselocal stone, picking large stones for the main ones and smaller stones for the chinks. The largest stones should be used to form the base of the wall with the smaller ones leading to the top.

The side of The wall facing out should be as level as possible. Any obstructions and outside edges of stones should face inward. This gives the wall a better footing on the soil it retains and insures a good appearance. Stones with round surfaces do not form a good wall and should be discarded.

Stones should be placed in a good bond, which simply means that the edges of stones on one course should overlap spaces in the lower courses. Where a stone on an upper course is crooked or does not fit firmly, earth and smallstones should be packed in to improve the bond and no vertical crevices should be left.

The wall itself should slope back against the soil that it is retaining. This gives it greater strength. As a rule of thumb, the width of the base should be one-third of the height. Although this degree of slope is not essential, it is the practice in many areas to slope the wall as much as five or six inches for each vertical foot. Soil should be firmly packed into all pockets in the wall and should be continued back into the earth being retained.

Both the strength and attractiveness of a dry stone wall may be enhanced by using it as a garden wall. It may acquire a mossy and aged appearance simply by green-planting in the crevices. More color can be obtained, however,by planting any of several flowering plants, whose strong roots will serve the added function of holding the wall together.

Plants which may be used to good effect are: flowering types such as phlox, garden pinks, sedum, snowy rock cress, azaleas, alyssum, evergreen candytuft, heather, and creeping veronicas; spreading plants such as moss, lavender and phlox, hardy verbenna; small rosettes as well as little tufts that need sun and room for roots like sempervivium, yarrow, dwarf iris and dwarf pinks; and plants you can grow from seed sown among the rocks such as some ivies, bleeding heart and varieties of poppy and phlox. Semperviviums, prostrate, junipers, azaleas and dwarf azaleas could keep a rock wall green all winter long.

Mortared and ConcreteWalls

Mortared walls are simpler than dry walls. The mortar serves as the bond so it is not as essential to make the stones . For a masonry wall, cement mixture of one part Portland cement and two parts sand makes for a good bonding agent.

Apply the mortar liberally to form a bed for each stone as it is added. Chinks between stones should be well filled with smaller pebbles or gravel. The mortared wall is more permanent than a dry wall and, in fact, easier to build.

The Basics of Building Stone Retaining Walls

Cool, Shady Garden Courtyard Design Ideas

Southwestern architecture and adobe homes are not complete without a courtyard feature. Popular with homeowners, as in Arizona history, the courtyard is exposed to outdoor air yet provides the presence of cooling shade and running water from lovely water features amidst verdant plants and flowers. The mild climate in this area of the country allows you to twelve months a year benefit from such an outdoor living room as part of your Arizona landscape design.

Stucco and masonry stone walls are the essential features that provide privacy and seclusion in your home's courtyard, accessible from inside the home and also via an ornate iron gate. It is common for the beckoning courtyard to be floored with stone flagging or pavers and walkway of the samematerial to lead from the driveway or patio to the entrance to this outdoor room. Seeking relief from the intense desert sun is something all Arizona residents desire. Without prevalent large trees for shade, the hotel presents the perfect solution for instant relief from the heat of the sun.

In most areas of the USA, a flat open shade roof structure, popular on the patio is called a pergola. The slats in the roof of a pergola will always be board lumber that can provide light to heavy shade depending on the width of spacing between each span and the direction the roof boards are running in. The trellis ramada is also a flat, open shade roof structure found in Spanish architecture regions of the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico. The lines of the traditional pergola are too lightweightfor adobe style homes. The ramada offers the same benefit in the right style to compliment the design Arizona landscape design and homes.

Shade from your courtyard hotel is lovely, but adding the cooling effects of water features to your courtyard in the form of a fountain is even better. Not only does the stone paving floor and moving water give you the benefit of a greatly reduced outdoor temperatures, the sound of running water is relaxing and refreshing. Water features also provide humans with increased levels of serotonin which instantly elevates anyone's mood. The faster the courtyard fountain runs and the more water that is contained in the pool or pond, the higher the levels of serotonin are released into the shaded air for your personal emotionalbenefit.

Centrally located or tucked into a corner, the courtyard water feature can be designed as a fountain or small watergarden pond. These cooling, soothing additions to courtyard design can be constructed from masonry or tile, installed cut stone and natural stone shapes. To soften the look of the enfolding hardscaping found in paving, stone and masonry elements like stone and stucco walls and lush courtyards and fountains, Arizona will feature many beautiful plants in a pleasing landscape design. Some courtyard plants will be there for foliage interest and others will lend the color and interest of flowers. Good attention must be used to select the right plants for the sunnier spots and those that love shade where necessary.

Landscape Stone Idea

Cool, Shady Garden Courtyard Design Ideas

Cool, Shady Garden Courtyard Design Ideas