Landscaping With Hard Materials

A Design Scheme For Your Patio
If you want to refresh the look of your outdoor space you could re-do your patio on a yearly basis. The main thing about patio, whether starting from scratch or freshening up an old design, is to ensure that the surface is set to perfection, whether it is a new slab of concrete, patio tiles or decking: this is the main element to consider for a result that you can enjoy with your friends and family.

Choosing The Materials
There are many materials suitable to lay a patio with. It really depends on what you like and what you need, so long as the material you pick is hard. Whether you pick bricks or tiles, concrete or stones or even wood, the choice is your: any of these would work well a durable and beautiful base for your new design.

Where To Start
Before you lay down any materials you need to level the ground and build the patio structure, adding height to the outer borders if necessary. This will be the main support of your patio. The outer perimeter of the frame should be smooth, free of nails that may stick the sides and don't forget to check that frame is level with the door to the house Once the structure is in place you can add interesting features like curved boards to add movement and a bit of imagination to your design. These bender boards are usually made of plastic and can be laid down quite easily providing you remember to support it with stakes at close intervals to maintain the shape.

Laying The Main Material
Before you start laying your choice of material you should to do it as per the manufacturer's instruction and give yourself plenty of time to achieve a professional finish. Whatever material you've picked the only creative limitation is your imagination: have some fun with the design but double check the material is laid securely.

Adding A Homely Touch
You can finish off the look of your new patio by adding a touch of greenery. You can do so by planting a green border around the patio, which will frame your new creation beautifully by adding a splash of color. The result will be all the more inviting and relaxing. If you do not want to go to that extent you can still use plants and flower to add some warmth to your new entertaining area with potted plants. A few carefully selected plant pots will add the vibrant colors and natural beauty of plants to your design yet are easy to look after. This is also a very flexible solution as you can move the pots around the patio to suit your needs.

The overall result should be a brand new outdoor entertaining space that you can share and enjoy with your friends and family.