Have you been considering a new walkway in either your front or back yard? How about a new patio or slab near your barbeque pit? Is your yard leaving you feeling incomplete or uninspired? Do you dream of an English garden and beautiful pathway meandering through your yard? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have probably already considered using poured concrete, stamped concrete, bricks, river rock or possibly even wood planks. However, have you also considered using pavers to add some interest, pattern and texture in to your plans?
Pavers come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. As such, the ideas are limitless on what you can do with them when it comes to combining function and visual interest. These pavers are easy to use and typically will come with ideas on how to utilize them in a variety of ways for a number of projects. The following are just a few of those ideas to give you something to start your creative juices flowing in designing your landscaping plans:
1. Create a free-flowing walkway with spaces in between each paver that can be filled in with crusher rock, grass or other interesting ground covers.
2. Lay the pavers close together, set in mortar to form a solid pathway or crushed rock with no spaces for plant growth in between each of the steps.
3. Place the paver stones close together, using either simple or complex patterns to create a beautiful patio, a quiet corner dreamland or large entertaining area.
4. Build a barbeque pit as either a stand-alone slab or have it attached to a built in small structure for a barbeque grill.
5. Another option for a freestanding slab would be to place a fountain or fire pit in the garden with a couple cement benches around. (If you go with the fire pit you have a wonderful place to make s’mores and sing campfire songs each summer.)
6. Lay the paver stones around your swimming pool with mortar in place to make a solid swimming pool deck.
7. Create a unique driveway, which gives it a rustic feel and will entice your neighbors to envy the beautiful path you drive on each day.
8. Use them to build a retaining wall to hold back earth from collapsing in your yard or on the driveway.
9. Build a flower box or a small retaining wall to partition off a garden.
10. Building an outdoor fireplace and slab for entertaining on cool evenings.
No matter your interest, there are numerous ways to include pavers in your landscaping plans. They are an excellent way to incorporate visual interest and aesthetic functionality, while also maintaining a budget. Your landscaping professional can help you design the projects you have planned in your head. He can assist you in budgeting for the paver products themselves as well as the labor needed to complete the work (assuming you are planning to contract out the work versus providing the labor yourself). Your landscape professional will also be able to help you order any garden accessories you desire, i.e., fountains, statues or other ornamental items.
Written by Robert Thompson, owner of TLC Lawncare & Landscaping, where they are one of the preferred concrete contractors Columbia MO has to offer. When it comes to decorative or stamped patios, TLC is here to help!
