When we bought our home, the patio was a mess; an Areca palm tree jungle mix with anything that will grow on them and with them. So we cut them all out and just left the mango tree to have a bigger area for the girls to play and where we can extend our house in a future. We replaced all the grass since what we had left from the previous owners were horrible patches of weed.
We were so happy with our green patio, our nirvana place; but then one day it began to grow circles of dry grass. We found out that what we had was an infestation of grubs and the worst part was that it seemed that no matter the treatments, it was all in vain. Those circles kept growing until once again I was left with what seemed to be a deserted patio.
Tired of searching for options (and of exploiting our pockets), we thought on building a wood deck and I proceeded to sketch what I had in my mind. The idea behind this was to eliminate at least a third of the grass problem and convert our patio into a gathering area for family and friends. But it seems like wood is an expensive commodity here in Miami, and after lots of quotes, we ended up making this area in concrete.
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| Although the some materials and sizes changed, at the end the original concept evolved for the better. |
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| Creating an edge around this area served as another opportunity to plant more succulents and agave (both available from Costa Farms here in Miami) and to emphasize the minimalist look of the design. After planting these I carefully placed gravel in some areas and small white pebbles in other. |
This has been a project of constant evolution and we’re not finished yet. There are lots of things we want to keep adding to this small paradise of us like a pergola, a new patio seating set and more stones just to name a few. It’s a costly and time consuming plan but I know that at the end it will be all worth it.
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| Rustic plant pots add a textural drama to this area. They have the perfect size so I could plant more than one succulent. |
Today I wanted to share what we’ve achieved so far and I must confess its a very exiting venture every time a new plant, gravel or succulent is added. I guess that some dreams are achievable and with time and patience they come true.
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| Chillaxing around this area is now our new hobby! |
Let me know what you think of this area so far and if you have some ideas that had worked for you in your own patio, I would definitively love to read them. And remember you can always see more photos of this project and my decor style on my Instagram account @idknowhowshedoesit.
Costa Farms has kindly sponsored the majority of the plants used for this project. The opinions stated here are my own. For more updates on their products, you can always follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram.
4 Comments
Stephanie -Casa Watkins
February 26, 2016 at 3:44 pmBeautiful!! Love the design and the succulents planted on the path. So lovely! Pinning!
Shavonda Gardner
March 5, 2016 at 2:54 amOmg this is fantastic Gloribell. I completely understand where you're coming from. Our backyard is a HOT MESS.I'm pretty sure MOST of the "grass" is weeds so we may need to have that assessed. I love your patio design. I've been wanting to do a paver and gravel patio for ours and now I'm convinced it's the way to go.:)
Gloribell Lebron
March 5, 2016 at 2:55 amI'm so happy to have helped you decide. Let me know if you find yourself needing more information and thank you so much for the visit.
Daniel Conner
October 11, 2016 at 1:24 pmCongrats to your newly transformed patio!
I thought that it's really wise of you to use concrete since it will be easier for you to make some more improvements on it.
You can use concrete coatings, overlays or stains in case you feel like doing so.
Well, good luck to your small paradise. Keep it up!