When it comes to landscape design, patios are the most requested hardscape element from my clients, and for good reason—they serve as a central hub of activity and a visual anchor for the rest of the garden. They’re also one of the best places to unleash your creativity with materials. Why do I say that?
A patio, at its most basic, is just a flat space on the ground where you’re going to do some low-impact stuff, like sitting around making s’mores. Because it’s at grade, we have fewer structural concerns than we would with other built elements, and just about any material can be safely used. Your patio could be as simple as some pea gravel that you spread around, or as involved as an intricate mosaic pattern over concrete.
Here’s an easy 3-step strategy to get you started.
Decision Making
1. Identify your main material
Typically, you’ll have one dominant material that makes up most the surface area. Popular choices include gravel, large stone (flagstone, limestone, slate), simple concrete, or smaller pavers (this term can encompass bricks, cobblestones, and modular concrete blocks).
The easiest way to narrow down these choices is to ask yourself, do I want a lot of joints, or do I want a continuous surface? Gravel or concrete will give you the most homogenous look, while stones and pavers will create a lot of lines.
2. Riff on the joints
If you’ve chosen a material that creates joints, you’ve got endless possibilities. The way you lay the material will automatically create a pattern of lines—random, classic running bond (think of typical offset bricks), diamond, or herringbone—whatever you sketch up. But you can take it further by choosing something besides mortar or stone dust for the joints. How about pebbles or a small paver? Or one of my favorite options, plants? Note that the material you choose will determine how wide your joints need to be, so plan ahead and measure twice.
3. Consider the edges
Like a beautiful picture frame, a distinct patio edge can define and elevate the overall construction. This could be the same as your main material, used in a different shape or orientation, or a complementary material like a classic brick and stone combination. If you’re going to change materials, look at your house and other garden elements to see if there is a motif you can pick up and repeat. This will immediately tie your patio into the wider landscape.
Check out some inspirational examples below, and start sketching!
Design Inspiration
Casual pea gravel with defined edges
Main Material: Pea gravel
Joints: None
Edges: Flagstone and plants
This patio was purposely built as a relaxed firepit area, but structure was still important, so we used a border of flagstone and dwarf Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’, Zones 6–10) to keep the gravel in place.
Brick and stone checkerboard with green accents
Main Material: Square flagstone with brick accents
Joints: Gravel
Edges: None
This beautiful patio plays with a classic checkerboard grid (a great place to start your design). Square stones play off bricks in pinwheel patterns, providing strong graphic interest with plenty of space for water to percolate through the wide gravel joints.
Diamond flagstone with a rectangular flagstone border
Main Material: Square flagstone in a diamond orientation
Joints: Tight set (no fill)
Edges: Rectangular flagstone
A diamond pattern and a simple rectangular stone border create a classic patio. Setting the stones tightly makes the thinnest joint line possible, eliminating the need for any fill.
Diamond flagstone with aggregate joints
Main Material: Flagstone in a diamond orientation
Joints: Concrete aggregate
Edges: Rectangular flagstone
Large aggregate joints (concrete with small stones pressed into the surface) break up the diamond pattern of this patio into a more complex checkerboard. The pattern is strong, but the effect is softened by the light color palette.
Freeform brick and stone patio
Main Material: Brick in a pinwheel pattern with stone intervals
Joints: Crushed stone
Edges: Uncomposed (confetti-like) brick pattern
I walked through this garden in Brooklyn—it is so free and inviting. A classic brick pinwheel pattern creates its own edge by decomposing in a way that feels explosive in a festive way (I get a feeling of confetti), while irregular flagstones create junctions between curves and plantings.
Find more patio ideas and inspiration:
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Maureen Robinson is president of the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia chapter of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD).
Photos, except where noted: Maureen Robinson
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