Landscape Design & Implementation: Patios

   This is a great example of a patio that is integrated into the landscaped yard.  Instead of being raised above the landscape, it is at the same grade.  The profile is an extension of the garden beds' profiles.  Plants spilling over the edges are meant to blur the line between hardscapes and softscapes.  The material is my often-mentioned favorite slate from western Montana.  There are many quarries that produce similar material, but the material from the particular quarry we use has the most intense colors and the most interesting textures.  When it is wet (most of the year) the colors come alive in rich rusty reds, oranges, ochre, and soft greys.

   This is another example of a patio integrated into the landscape.  However, it is taken one step further and transitions to the deck via a single large slab serving as the first step.  It also transitions to a simple path made of the same material along the side of the house, as well as a series of steps leading down the slope to the garage below.  The patio 'becomes' a water feature at one edge, with the boulders that make up the first waterfall functioning as sitting stones for the patio.

   This was an interesting project because the space was completely unused, and existed only as a weedy, bare dirt, out-of-the-way corner of the house.  The circular design compliments the Mediterranean style of the home's architecture and the tones of soft ochre, tan, peach and greys integrates nicely with the buff colored stucco.  The circular design was also chosen to accommodate a traditional baroque 2-tiered free-standing fountain (seen just behind a pillar in the third photo) at its center.  In warm weather, the windows to the dining and living rooms can be opened and one can hear the gentle sounds of moving water resonating in the small space.  The material is quartzite from India.  The fill material around the path and patio is small red lava rock from California.

   Yet another patio designed to be integrated with a garden and water feature.  This one was built over an existing concrete slab which was just little less than attractive.  The natural stone does its job of creating a more natural, casual atmosphere for the space.  As has been mentioned in other sample photos, this is the partially metamorphosed slate from western Montana showing off its color when wet.