Patio and garden blended ideas

Getting the right patio and garden combination can turn a terrific backyard into an oasis your neighbors brag about to everyone. We can understand someone who isn’t into gardening not wanting too many plants to deal with by the patio. But there are options for every patio style, personal situation, and yard size. Let’s have a look at some dazzling options.

Shade

The first thing many folks consider on a patio is shade. Good thinking too. No one can enjoy their favorite outdoor spot with the sun bearing down on them in July. On the other hand, large shade trees can cause problems.

• Leaves have to be handled in the fall.
• Limbs could damage the home eventually.
• Tree sap and birds can leave patios stained.

The wise move on shade trees is to plant reasonably-sized ones. These type trees won’t grow to 40 ft and tower over your home. Here are some examples of shade trees that grow only 10-20 ft tall. Star magnolias, Dogwoods, and Crepe Myrtles are good fits for patio shade.

Butterfly art

Sitting on your shady patio it is nice to watch some flying art in the form of butterflies. If only there was a way to lure them in for a nice patio garden combination. Of course, there is! Butterfly bushes are lovely all on their own. As a bonus, they draw in many different species of winged beauties.

Watching these butterflies is wonderful entertainment sitting with family and friends on a cool patio waiting for the burgers to be done. Cool climate butterfly bushes include:

• Royal Red
• Purple Ice Delight
• Pink Delight

Turf touch

If watching butterflies is relaxing then cleaning grass clippings off a lovely flagstone patio is not. That’s why many landscape designers recommend having mulch beds next to patios instead of turf butted up to the stone. For one thing, mowers could damage the patio stones. That’s no good! Beyond that, when the grass clippings blow onto the patio, it causes more work for the homeowner.

Nothing looks better than lush zoysia alongside a backyard patio. However, there is an easier way for that area to look awesome with less mess… mulch beds.

Space to grow

Some homeowners may not have the grass issue as a concern. Small space backyards are known for tiny patches of grass while making use of container gardening. The beauty of this patio and garden blended idea is that the plants are mobile. Also, for folks with a newly installed paver patio, the options are limitless.

• They can match up containers with the style and color of their pavers.
• Giant containers are available as well as smaller ones.
• People with an eye for color design may even offset darker pavers with lighter colored plants.

That’s not all. To get the neighbors really chatty about a blended patio garden, many people go with wooden planters. These are a nice contrast to the stone patio. There are some containers embedded into light posts, which is ingenious!

Water world

One last way to make a patio garden area all it should be is to add water. Patios made from slate can match up nicely with a small water pond with similar rocks. These ponds can hold exotic fish to trill the little kids during get-togethers. And of course, there are pond plants that will add some curiosity for backyard guests hanging out with the family.

Some may find these pond plants easier to keep alive since they get watered automatically. No judgment on the non-green thumbs out there.

Be sure to ask us about our patio and garden blended ideas when planning a patio and backyard layout. We want to cause the neighbors to brag on and on about these lovely combos.