Do you know that expanse of brick or stone in the backyard? The one with a few broken pieces, or maybe a sunken spot in the middle? Maybe it just looks boring and monotonous?
Easily turn it into your own little Oasis instead of an eye-sore!
Little Slice of Heaven
Usually occurring right in the middle of your patio where there’s the most foot traffic, that sunken area, missing bricks or stones, or spot with broken, cracked pieces that are trip hazards. You can cover it with a rug or table or instead - while it may look awful now but use your imagination.
Dig that area out and, regardless of what shape it is, you can install a reflection pond, fire pit, or better yet a garden Oasis!
Patio Oasis DIY
Just like creating an in-ground container or planter, there are only a few extra steps involved:
- Dig out the broken area to 12-18” deep, or more if it’s poor soil beneath the stone
- If you encounter water when digging, you may need a gravel layer for drainage
- Amend with good potting soil, organic matter, compost, topsoil, and other additions
- Install drip Irrigation if you are in a very dry/hot area
- Select plants suited for your soil type, growing zone, style, and sunlight needs
- Choose low-growing, dwarf, mounding, and spreading plants, plus a few thrillers!
- Mulch the area with bark mulch or decorative rock to blend it into the surrounding pavers
- Add lights, decor, and a water feature to complete the look.
Work with the shape you have or carve out an area to your liking! You’ll create something truly unique that will make you look like a professional garden designer!
Here are 4 premade design ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
Xeric Patio Garden
For dry gardens, or for those in very hot zones, a Xeriscaped landscape with Xeric plants that are drought-tolerant plants, not requiring much attention or water once established. Heat-tolerant too, they thrive in tough conditions.
- Mediterranean Palm tree or Jelly Palm Tree - great tropical thrillers and tall elements and focal points. Colder growing zones can use a cold-hardy Musa Basjoo Banana Tree instead.
- Lady’s Mantle - a lush groundcover with bright star-shaped flowers. Plant this as filler and as your low-growing element.
- Firewitch Dianthus - bright, colorful, and fragrant beauties with incredible foliage! Sometimes evergreen, you’ll enjoy bursts of blooms. They’re also perfect for water conservation!
- Creeping Thyme - a fantastic groundcover smothered in bold pink blooms. A low-growing creeping groundcover that’s scented, this is a great plant for filling and rambling around the edges where foot traffic won’t damage it.
- Yucca - tough, hardy evergreens that add incredible textural and sculptural elements. Very drought-resistant and save your water bill!
- Catmint - blooming, fine-textured perennials that attract loads of beneficial pollinators. They lend a soft, fragrant blue-green foliage! Fantastic drought-resistant plants for a Xeric garden, Catmints are tough plants!
Wet Soil Patio Garden Oasis
Installing French drains or gravel to help with soggy garden soil, sometimes only goes so far. You can either berm your area to lift your plant root system above the water table, or you can work with what you have and just add water plants suited to those conditions.
- Castle Spire Blue Holly Tree Form Topiary - tall, focal point element
- EverColor® Everlite Variegated Sedge Grass - bright fine-textured motion grass
- Soft Rush Grass - upright textural grass
- Purple Flame Iris - tall textural brooding color & beautiful blooms
- Strongbox Inkberry Holly - a prune any size evergreen
- Brilliance Autumn Fern - lush fine-textured foliage
- Goldi Creeping Jenny - a low growing bright flash of color
Keyhole Formal Patio Garden
Soothing greens and tidy plant groupings create something a bit different, yet unique! Utilizing a monochromatic color scheme or symmetrically spaced plants - a formal planting gives any landscape design or plant assortment a clean, polished appearance.
- Spartan Juniper Spiral Topiary - focal point with an easy-to-maintain spiral form
- Adam's Needle Yucca - green spikey element & tall white blossoms the pollinators adore
- Blue Mouse Ears Hosta - formal blue-green foliage & great low-growing filler
- Cauticola Sedum - tough formal-looking groundcover
- Blue Rug Juniper - easy-to-grow creeper with year-round appeal
- Black Scallop Ajuga - dark purple groundcover
- May Night Salvia - another dark-colored, long-blooming butterfly magnet
Wall or Edge Garden
Perhaps your problem area isn’t in the middle of your terrace, maybe it’s on the edge or against your foundation. So go vertical with your garden planting! Add a trellis or arch for vines.
Even if your problem area is not against a wall, you can add privacy to your space! By growing upright!
- Climbing Rose or Clematis - flowering vertical height
- Boston Ivy and Creepers - lush greenery
- Dragon Head Bamboo - amazing, upright screening
Edible Oasis
Want a double-duty garden? Use plants that also produce tasty fruit and vegetables instead of landscaping plants.
- Columnar Fruit Trees, Dwarf Trees, or Fruiting Vines - grown on a trellis, obelisk, or other support for height and focal points
- Wild Strawberry Plants - wonderful groundcover with white flowers and ruby red fruit
- Dwarf Blueberry Bushes, Dwarf Blackberry, and Dwarf Raspberry - space-saving dwarf shrubs
- Herbs - flavor, scent, and color during the growing season
Create a garden haven right in the middle of the pavement desert! Plants, sculptures, water features, and mulch or decorative rock - and imagination - are all you need for a green spot right in the middle of a desert of brick!
You can create something spectacular and unique without hiring a landscape architect! Let Nature Hills Nursery help you turn problem spots into beautiful, functional nooks! Give us a call so we can help you create your own backyard Oasis!
