COLOR CODE AT BOTTOM
I want to redo what is inside the blue square where the sidewalk is..and eventually everything else..I was thinking about a small "patio" flat slab. Building up around the edges with raised brick flower boxes. Redoing the flagpole and making that an individual raised brick flower bed.
The corner by the garage is not good in weather other than sun so Id like to make that safer in the big picture while still being able to have flowers and plants. Does this seem doable and still have curb appeal as this is the front of the house?
Blue is the flat "patio" area I want to create
Red is flagpole (cemented in but could potentially remove)
Yellow is a pre existing flower bed. BRICK EDGE will be in this brick to try to keep what is existing.
Purple is a step
Green is a hill. Steep in between houses.
by Princess_Weirdo2
2 Comments
Putting a flat slab patio on that slope means you are essentially building a retaining wall to hold it level. You have to manage the grade change and the water coming off that hill so it does not pool against your foundation or wash out your front walkway. Ditch the idea of building an isolated raised brick planter just for the flagpole. Scattered individual boxes chop up the yard and create a restless clutter. You need to tie these elements together into one sweeping structural bed that flows naturally from the house out toward the hill to anchor the property.
Pay close attention to that corrugated downspout pipe sitting right by your front step. If you build up edges or lay a patio there without properly piping that roof water underground and downhill, you are going to get trapped moisture, sunken concrete, and ice slicks. Fix the water flow first. For that harsh sunny corner near the garage, stop worrying about delicate flowers and focus on tough structural shrubs and native ornamental grasses. You want plants that can take the baked exposure and hold the soil on that slope when planted in thick connected masses.
Before you take a shovel to that hill or buy a single brick, you should test your layout in the GardenDream web app. You just upload a picture of the slope and you can overlay actual hardscapes and plant groupings to see how the retaining walls and flat areas will actually fit into your existing grade. It acts as a blueprint so you do not waste time and money building a slab that looks like an awkward concrete patch stuck to the side of a hill.
Unless you are planning to put a table and chairs out front, I wouldn’t make the patio much wider. I would remove part of the lawn along the slope and along the sidewalk and plant shrubs and perennials.