Need some backyard improvement ideas.

[Emil]

Hi guys,

The pics at the bottom are of my backyard. Notice in this area, which is 16 ft long by 6.5 ft wide, the grass doesn't grow. It hasn't since I bought the house 3 years ago, and I've given up on it. Those 4 bricks you see surround a drain, so I have to consider that also. The wall you see will one day come down, my property goes all the way down to the street. On the other side of the wall it slopes down, but for the time being it's staying.

So what ideas can you guys think of to extend the sitting area of the patio? Some ideas I came up with are:

1) To bring a bunch of crushed gravel and compact it in. 2)Use pavers to create a traditional look. 3) Use large square stones?

I don't want to create a HUGE project, I don't have the patience to lay down brick. I thought of pavers because all you have to do is prepare the ground, lay the pavers and then brush sand into the joints, no need for mortar, grout, etc.

Emil

[Janice]

What you been doing, spray painting things out there on the grass?

Put more of the same there, if the grass won't grow, continue the patio and put an awning up or some sort of shades/shelters, put large potted plants around between furniture.

Friends put up the usual fiberglass roofs and put up various kinds of lattice/dividers for shading the large planters.. good to be on wheels!

Janice

[MisNomer]

Wow.... someone who has a worse lawn than me, and I don't water mine.

Spray paint the lawn green or lay down astrotruf?

take care Liz

[Emil]

Yes, I gave up on the grass so I used it to spray paint a peg board. :-) I want to extend the patio, the most cost effective way possible.

[Emil]

I'm glad you don't have the worst grass anymore. If I don't go with the patio extension project I was thinking of trying to put down the ready made sod. See if I can keep it alive.

[Charlie C.]

"Emil" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You could try a Japanese garden with gravel and a few rocks. It wouldn't get you extra space but it should be low mainenance (unless you have trees that will dump leaves on it).