Garden Paving is a great place to start if you’re planning some backyard and outdoor area improvements. Revamping the walkways and patios is a great place to start.
Outdoor pavers surrounded by pebbles might make a statement front entry, or perhaps you’re thinking about new pool pavers that transition seamlessly into an outdoor BBQ area.
In every landscaping project, paving is often the most expensive item. Being one of the most permanent parts of any project, garden paving materials have to be selected very carefully. There is a large range of garden paving products and innovative paving ideas, with most of the materials being versatile enough to be used for various spaces such as patios, walkways, pool decks, driveways, etc. while some are specifically meant for particular spaces.
Choosing the Best Pavers for Your Outdoor Area
Pavers are a hard-wearing material that are great for high-traffic outdoor areas and are generally easy to sweep and clean. Plus, with the right pavers, it’s easy to minimise the weeds making these areas very low maintenance.
Types of Pavers
Pavers come in a variety of materials and sizes. Some of the most common materials include:
Natural Stone Pavers – include a variety of natural stone materials. Sandstone, travertine and limestone are the most popular
Clay Pavers – come in a variety of sizes and colours, from light colours to deep reds
Brick Pavers – like clay pavers, brick pavers come in a variety of colours and remain a popular choice. Recycled paving bricks are very popular as they bring character to the overall garden design and are a real statement feature. It is lovely to be able to reuse these and incorporate a part of history.
Concrete Pavers – are a cost-effective way to get the look of natural stone without the price tag. Concrete pavers are made in moulds and colouring agents give a wide colour range
Garden paving can be done creatively in many ways to achieve your paving design ideas, these are a few popular paver pattern styles:
Standard Paving Styles
There are some basic paving styles but you may want to improvise, be a little creative and mix and max a combination of these to make a real feature of your garden paving. Knowing the standard paving styles will help you discuss your design requirements with your landscape designer.
These are the basic styles. They can be laid straight or diagonally:
Stack Bond – is simply pavers laid next to each other. The lines between the pavers will be straight in both directions.
Stretcher Bond – starts with a single length of pavers. The next row of pavers is laid halfway between the previous row of pavers. The pattern is repeated.
Herringbone Pattern – is a little more complicated and uses pavers that are twice as long as they are wide. A rectangular paver is laid in one direction, the next paver is perpendicular to the first paver and placed at the edge of the previous paver. This is one of the more traditional style paver patterns and can be a real feature in your outdoor areas.
Basket Weave – starts with two pavers side by side. The next pavers also side by side but facing in the other direction.
Circular Paving – is just what it sounds like, pavers laid in a circular design creating a centralised feature. Usually, the surrounding larger areas are a standard pattern.
Garden Paving Design Options
It’s an easy option to pick one type of paver and lay that in a traditional paver pattern across the whole area. It takes a little more creativity to think of ways to make more of a statement mixing different materials to make it visually appealing. These garden paving options will help stimulate your design ideas:
Combine Pebbles with Pavers
Instead of just laying pavers, think about ways you can mix pavers with pebbles to create a more appealing space. Pebbles can line the edges of your path or you can put them between paving stepping stones.
Freeform Pavers
It’s tempting to go with tradition and lay pavers of the same size in a simple pattern, but why not lay them in a freeform design? You can create a fascinating pattern that will enhance the appearance of your yard, looking more natural when they aren’t all laid uniformly. Garden paving stones work well when used in a less structured way and make perfect steppers in a curved pathaway.
Paving Brick Patterns
You may have one paving pattern in mind and it might be perfect for the bulk of your paving. You don’t need to keep just one pattern, though. Change the pattern to add interest in specific areas can still create a harmonious look whilst adding appealing style.
A Meandering Path
Adding a meandering path is more natural and can make your path fit cohesively into your landscape. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but will a straight line look best in your garden?
If you need help with your Garden Paving designs, contact Luke to create paved areas for your garden that will complement your home and landscape. Follow our landscaping projects on Facebook.
Please provide us with information about your landscaping requirements so we can contact you to arrange a suitable consultation time.
Landscaping Enquiry
We invite everyone to support us through Facebook and Instagram, and to keep following our story!
Fresh Perspective Landscapes have extended our online presence via Facebook and Instagram promoting “a life outdoors”, a love of the Blue Mountains NSW, and spending quality time with family and friends in beautiful outdoor areas.
