Ideas and solutions to our patio woes

foxandsot

This is our sad patio! We really don’t have the time to pick the weeds all the time. I have spent money on various weeding devices (hot air gun, bristle brush etc) over the years. Last year my husband spent hours raking out each brick and putting mortar in. The weeds came back! It’s sunk in places too. Relaying each brick is just too big a job for us and we don’t have a huge amount of money to pay for someone else to do it. The last professional gardener who came to look at our garden, said it would need upwards of £20k to make it nice (also slated lots of things about previous work done in garden 🙄). Anyway...we’re looking for low maintenance and low cost options...other than tarmac do they exist? We wondered if stamped concrete might work? Any ideas would be greatly received...I’m at the point of selling up and buying a flat 😂’

Fire

The paving looks fine to me - licheny. Beautiful trees. I would, personally, spend money on decor that you really like. Add a fab table and chairs, some flowering shrubs, move the junk, some lighting, if that's your thing (lanterns etc), prune back a bit. A lovely woodland glade.

Lizzie27

Personally I would go for a path and patio weed killer in this situation, (Resolva is good) which is just watered in and is supposed to last for 6 months. You might get the odd weed coming up but that's easier. try to make sure the weed killer does not run off onto the lawn or flower beds. If you're an organic gardener though, then it's not easy.

Dovefromabove

Fire said:

The paving looks fine to me - licheny. Beautiful trees. I would, personally, spend money on decor that you really like. Add a fab table and chairs, some flowering shrubs, move the junk, some lighting, if that's your thing (lanterns etc), prune back a bit. A lovely woodland glade.

I agree ... it's got a beautiful ageless feel, like a well-patinated antique dining table ... I'd just remove any weeds that get over ambitions, keep the moss and lichen under control with a stiff broom every now and then and spend your money on some comfy furniture so you can lounge out there and enjoy the dappled shade.  

I'd plant some foxgloves and ferns around about it too 

KT53

A pressure washer will get a lot of the crud off but you may have to brush sand in between the blocks after doing it.  Resanding takes some time but it really is just a case of brushing kiln dried sand back and forth across the patio until the gaps are filled.  I watched a pro doing it next door and he basically poured the sand in a long 'snake' then swept it back and forth in all directions until it disappeared.  It's surprising how much does go down between the blocks.

Over time you may want to lift the areas which have sunk worst and relevel but as long as you have a good area to sit, does it really matter all that much?

It certainly seems to have the makings of a really nice area with a bit of elbow grease and not too much money spent.

Lizzie27

I've just remembered that Helen Yemm recommended a product called "Dansand" which I think has a weed inhibitor in it which you just brush over the blocks like ordinary sand.

hogweed

I would use a sprayer and some PAthclear. Doing it twice a year will get rid of all the weeds. Pathclear stays in the ground for about 3-6 months so a spray in May when the weeds get going and another spray in August/Sept time will do the trick. Buy one of these 5litre pressure sprayers (around a £10) and you are on your way. Will only take about half an hour to spray. No need to aim it precisely into the cracks - as long as you spray in the general direction you will be fine. It will dry  in less than an hour. 

foxandsot

Thank you all for your kind comments. I’m thinking we need to fall back in love with our garden and start seeing what’s right with it rather than focusing on the wrong. It’s a biggish garden with various sections, so can feel overwhelming and hence we don’t go out there and neglect it! 
I did try weed killer a few years back but I wasn’t hugely successful. I’ll try again. 
After this job it’s what to do with a defunct 23ft long, cracked koi carp pond 🙄
thanks again. 

Dovefromabove

foxandsot said:

After this job it’s what to do with a defunct 23ft long, cracked koi carp pond 🙄
thanks again. 

Bog garden? 

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nutcutlet

foxandsot said:

Thank you all for your kind comments. I’m thinking we need to fall back in love with our garden and start seeing what’s right with it rather than focusing on the wrong. 

Yes.