How to Design a Landscape Patio

Before you don your work clothes and start digging in the yard with dreams of a grand outdoor patio, it is a good idea to take out a pencil and paper and do a little design work first. The end result just might be a better-looking and more functional outdoor landscape patio, which you can thoroughly enjoy once the labor is complete.

Instructions

Find Your spot

1. Walk around the area where you plan to place your landscape patio and look closely at possible sites for the terraced outdoor pad. Be sure to take into account all the various factors that could affect the patio once it is complete. This list should include such items as slope of the land, water runoff, available shade, seasonal position of the sun, prevailing winds and proximity to a doorway. You will need to study all of these concerns before you pick the exact location.

2. Let the seasons change. This is most important if you have moved into a new house, but this concept underlines the basic fact that a nice spot for a patio in the spring could turn into a hot spot come the summer. The longer you have lived in a specific locale, the better choice you will be able to make concerning the final location of your patio.

3. Choose a shape or basic outline for the patio. Do this after the general area has been decided upon. This is the time to pull out the pencil and paper and begin making rough sketches and then a final drawing. Be sure to include the outline of the nearest building and any existing things like a tree or sidewalk that might be important to the overall layout of the patio.

4. Include any man-made structures that need to be built in addition to the actual floor of the patio. You may want to include a ramada or similar structure to provide shade during the heat of the day. Other things to consider are a built-up wall, wooden benches or stone steps that are to be cut into the terrain of the land. Use the planning stage and the detail of your drawing to find the exact location for any additional elements.

5. Choose a material for the surface. Stone is always a good material for a patio, but other natural materials such as tree bark, gravel or crushed stone may be used. A few phone calls to local businesses to decide what materials are available and affordable can help with the decision-making process.

6. Plan ahead for planting natural vegetation to enhance the beauty or comfort of your outdoor patio. This can include a flower garden for beauty or a line of fast-growing, bushy conifers as a windbreak. These plants may take time to mature and become functional, but an attractive windbreak or rock garden might be just the touch that the patio needs.

7. Make sure your patio has good drainage and a slight slope, so water does not collect in the center. This means placing sand and gravel underneath the surface and having a slight incline to the patio surface.

Tips & Warnings

• Be aware of water run-off, both from the land and any buildings that are located nearby.

• Locate your patio so that it can be used during all of the warm months. This might include four seasons in some locales.