The courtyard, or patio, is a Moorish invention.
The popularity of patios is growing year by year. Being equipped with an awning, the patio protects both from the scorching sun and from the rain. It is relevant for residents of townhouses. Butand the owners of a country cottage with a garden will not be harmed by a cozy yard, hidden from prying eyes.
How to create a patio
The patio yard begins with paving. This gives a number of advantages: the table at which you drink tea will stand straight, and the chair will not sink under you into the ground. In the West, yards are often paved with wood, in our country – with slabs of concrete, porcelain stoneware, natural or artificial stone. It’s a matter of taste. You can choose slabs of different thicknesses, textures and colors. It can be used when paving pebbles, laying out different patterns from it.
But before you start paving, you need to consider a patio landscaping plan. You need to take into account how many people live in the cottage, how much furniture will be in the yard, how you see flower beds and lawns. Do not forget about the harmony of the color of the plates with the plants.
The patio area should have a slight slope to the side of the house so that puddles do not form on its surface. It is not recommended to make ponds on the patio – pools, fountains – without the participation of asheville plumbing contractor.
For a small yard, sometimes one large sprawling old tree is enough. It will become a style-forming element of the entire space. In its shade, which protects against scorching rays, you can place deckchairs. Therefore, large trees should not be sacrificed for paving.
Flower beds and lawns can run along the perimeter of your yard or be scattered throughout the site. You can pave part of the site in a checkerboard pattern. For example, alternating vegetation and tiles. You can leave a small flower bed for plants in the very center or allow perennial flowers to bloom and herbs to turn green. There are many options, and in order to imagine the result well, you should not be too lazy to draw several diagrams.
As with the best yards
It is not always possible to plan both a cottage and a garden. If you buy a ready-made cottage, then most often you will get the patio already paved. What to do in this case?
If the paving is made of slabs, then part of them must be removed. On the place of plates, plant, for example, fragrant low-growing thyme or clover. A good alternative is container gardening – plants in pots and tubs. The classics of container gardening for the patio are citrus plants in tubs: lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, orange trees. They emit a pleasant aroma.
Citrus can be joined by other plants from the Mediterranean – lavender, rosemary, laurel trees, conifers. The place for their wintering will be your greenhouse, if there is none, you will need to put the plants in a bright room, in which the temperature does not fall below 10-12 degrees in winter. In addition, any indoor plants brought here for the summer can become a decoration of the patio, just remember that most of them will need a canopy to protect them from the sun, rain and hail.
An even easier way to decorate your patio is to use temporary landscaping plants. As a rule, these are Dutch plants that are sold already in bloom.
In the spring, it is recommended to plant annual plants in pots. Curly vines will decorate the walls around the patio, ampel petunias, begonias, nasturtiums and lobelias can be hung in pots throughout the yard.
A very good bench, the middle of which is made in the form of a box for flowers. And along the perimeter there are benches for rest. Numerous plants are planted in the box. Those that are higher, closer to the edge are planted in the center – medium-sized grasses and flowers. The main thing is not to overdo it with aromatic plants, otherwise you will not have a long wait on such a bench.
The patio is a very cozy part of the manor, it is not for nothing that it is so loved all over the world. Whether there is one large tree growing there, or a luxurious flower bed in the center, there is no doubt that the patio will become the most loved corner of your cottage.
