Redoing hardscape and soliciting ideas

[Matt in OC]

Hi everyone,

I figured posting in this forum would be best. We're about to redo our back hardscaping with pavers and I'm a little stuck on one area of the project: the pathway in the grass. We've got two little boys so we have some goals in mind with this project:

1. Get rid of the angular planters and pathway edges, to be accomplished by curving the edges of the pavers and creating "meandering" pathways.
2. Maximize the usable grass and hardscape space for playing.

We'd like to keep the orange tree, but this may be negotiable. We are likely going to remove the (taller) mandarin tree and create a perimeter planter along the block wall for palms, etc.

Our original thought was to just replace the walkway with a curved paver path, but now I'm thinking, if we get rid of the mandarin tree, we might as well get rid of the existing walkway altogether and put our pathway towards the outside of the grass. This would basically create the perimeter planters, give us more grass space (where the walkway used to be), and make the yard feel larger with a longer walkway that meanders around to the other side.

I hope this makes sense. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Overhead view

 

[Pando]

I'm kinda in the same boat, trying to figure out the best way to create some planting areas while still leaving some open space.

For some ideas, I've been checking this thread posted by comic097. The layered, dense look along the perimeter with a lawn in the middle just looks fantastic.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

Like the idea of the path going along the back of the yard. A little unsure about removing the Cement path up next to the house ( from your Patio area to the gate) though only because id want  to leave some sort of barrier close to the foundation of the house. Where you are thinking about putting the back path, i might consider creating a half circle around where the Fishtail is and where the two sides of the fence come together ie: bring that section of the path out into the yard vs. pushing it in closer to the fence ( as it looks on the picture you created). Id also think about maybe doing some sort of small circle around the orange tree( if that is the Citrus tree by the swing set) and put in smaller stuff like Bromeliads or something similar.

Completely agree with working out all the sharp angles in favor of more fluid contours that flow better. The back wall in picture 3?.. behind the Swing set looks like a great spot for some sort of bed as well.  Hope this helps

[Matt in OC]

Thanks, guys, for the encouragement. And, yes, Pando. That thread is freakin' awesome!

[DoomsDave]

Matt everything you say makes perfect sense.

As you may have noted at my place, sometimes a bit of crowding creates the illusion of space. (So many lovely paradoxes?!)

If you do as Pando suggested (which I agree with), you'll make your yard look enormously larger with a barrier of palms, etc., around the edge, and you'll still be able to keep your lawn. The boys will appreciate! And so will you. And still have room for a rose bush or two . . . .

 

[Pando]

Matt, I think your original idea would work better. I'm not sure you'd have enough room to put a walkway around the perimeter and still have room for planters. It would be right against the block wall without much room to plant stuff. I think you'd be much better off to just create a planter area around the perimeter, leaving grass in the middle, and have the walkway meandering around the corner. To illustrate the point, here's a quick mockup (courtesy of palms from comic097).

Just take a look below and compare back and forth - same base image. The bottom image looks zoomed out to a much greater depth.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2016 by Pando

[Matt in OC]

Thanks, Dave and Pando. Wow, Pando, a photo is worth a thousand words, and much better than I can do. Thanks!

[Pando]

Add a nice Chambeyronia to the expanded planter closer to the house and voila, I think you got it made. 

 

[DoomsDave]

Yowza, Pando, you're the wizard with photo-shop or whatever that is!

[Pando]

As with this space......

 

How about a nice pool?   

 

[Matt in OC]

 That's awesome! I like How Anthony's standing on the waterfall.

[Palm Tree Jim]

Just let us know when the pool party is! 

[nachocarl]

On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2016‎ ‎10‎:‎31‎:‎45‎, Matt in OC said:

 That's awesome! I like How Anthony's standing on the waterfall.

 

[nachocarl]

I need to learn how to do that, then I can have a  double coco in my yard.

 

[DoomsDave]

Matt,

Keep that picture and show it to Anthony in 15 years . . . .

[Pando]

7 hours ago, nachocarl said:

I need to learn how to do that, then I can have a  double coco in my yard.

Here ya go

[nachocarl]

18 hours ago, Pando said:

Here ya go

Is that it behind the queen?  Let me go check!

 

[Pando]

1 hour ago, nachocarl said:

Is that it behind the queen?  Let me go check!

Look again, very carefully, lol

[nachocarl]

12 minutes ago, Pando said:

Look again, very carefully, lol

That's the tiki bar window! 

Well done sir, I salute you!

 

[Pando]

Make sure your neighbors know what they're looking at 

[Zeeth]

Great job with those mock-up photos!

[_Keith]

I think you may have a new career.  Can't wait to see it become reality, too.

 

[Matt in OC]

Welp, hardscape is done. Now the fun begins! 

[Silas_Sancona]

Looks good.. Like the color of the stone. Goes well against the color of the house.

[Pando]

Looks GREAT! What's next?

+      +     

 

and...  

 

                   

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, Pando said:

Looks GREAT! What's next?

+      +     

 

and...  

 

                   

Minus the roundup and ...brown mulch, And your good.  2 layers of Top quality woven cloth ( 15-20 yr nursery grade stuff) Plus gravel ( id suggest something earth-tone, no White marble chip, Lava rock, Black.. anything = no weeds and won't deteriorate/ fade, float, and or wash away.

[Hammer]

3 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Minus the roundup and ...brown mulch, And your good.  2 layers of Top quality woven cloth ( 15-20 yr nursery grade stuff) Plus gravel ( id suggest something earth-tone, no White marble chip, Lava rock, Black.. anything = no weeds and won't deteriorate/ fade, float, and or wash away.

Man I would avoid landscape fabric like the plague.  Many threads on here highlighting the downsides to it.  

Lasagna style mulching is the way to go. It means a little more works every couple years but the payoff is worth it.  

[Silas_Sancona]

11 minutes ago, Hammer said:

Man I would avoid landscape fabric like the plague.  Many threads on here highlighting the downsides to it.  

Lasagna style mulching is the way to go. It means a little more works every couple years but the payoff is worth it.  

You know, i've heard some of the negatives but i have never had issues when using the good stuff..  On the other hand, if you do choose to lay down fabric, don't use the cheapest option available.. I learned that real fast. Agree with you that Lasagna style is another great option.

[Hammer]

3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You know, i've heard some of the negatives but i have never had issues when using the good stuff..  On the other hand, if you do choose to lay down fabric, don't use the cheapest option available.. I learned that real fast. Agree with you that Lasagna style is another great option.

The fabric makes it darn near impossible to add mulch and organics into the soil.  Makes it harder to improve soil quality.  A key to good palminess. 

A few years ago Jastin posted a thread in which he described the roots of a palm that grew into the fabric and became a real problem when he went to remove it and it damaged a lot of fine feeder roots.  Set the palm back as I recall.

[Matt in OC]

Looks like this thread could use an update!

[Palm Tree Jim]

On 7/8/2017, 8:47:30, Matt in OC said:

Looks like this thread could use an update!

You should!