23 October 2011

Further Defining the Back with Patio Work Surface


We used to have a nice rectangle of grass in the way back, about 14 x 20 feet. It was the last patch of lawn in our entire yard, and we rather liked it conceptually. But, the drought has taken care of that.

So, we've evolved our thinking of the space too. John has been quite diligently piecing together patio limestone to create both a nice walking surface beneath our laundry line and a visual delineation between the well-defined pea gravel veggie beds and what will become the wilder area in the back corner of the yard. It's design is very gyo, with so materials and a rectangular shin shape.



What remains of the old lawn is now a dirt square that we'll fill in with stuff. We've decided to basically give that over to the wild, letting things seed themselves and planting new plants that will benefit the wildlife. We have plenty of space for ourselves, so this area and one other are going to become more completely natural.

Lest it looks like it's all for show, here's what the new limestone workspace looks like in service, towels on the line...



4 comments:

Abbey Forney said...

I love it! Just one question, you have a dog, right? Where does he do his business if you have no turf? I've whittled our lawn space down to almost nothing, but I keep a little for my pooch.

Nancy said...

I can give you turks caps berries. I would scavange one or tow from some bushes at UT and throw them into my poor backyard. Now I have a healthy patch of lantana (donated by the birds) and turkscap. I love it since it's edible and the hummingbirds like it.

John said...

Abbey: Our dog has peculiar habits and had no use for the lawn for doing his business. He much prefers the privacy of the Turks Cap and Sea Oats.

TexasDeb said...

The drought has us eyeing our last patch of "lawn" with thoughts of more patio, raised beds and/or otherwise usable space without significant watering requirements.

We already transformed all front areas into naturalized plantings. Some specimens we put in, some others have been planted by birds and squirrels and wind and water. It takes a different way of seeing to enjoy such areas after being all about "control", but I'm learning!