Square Blocks Borders at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

You COULD define and soften a patio of square blocks borders blocks with borders of brickwork or make circular patterns with cobblestones and bricks for a less formal approach. Intersperse areas of gravel within areas of paving slabs and then grow a selection of rock plants in the gravel. BY MIXING different-colored paving you can create random or formal patterns. Some ideas include: highlighting diagonal lines across a patio with red slabs contrasted with the overall green or buff ones; picking out alternate rows of blocks in another color; and working from the perimeter of the patio forming square blocks borderss within square blocks borderss, finishing with a solid black of blocks at the center.

Much work can be saved by thoughtful design. Instead of grass and borders, have blocks and a few raised growing beds. Blocks are easier to maintain than lawn and, in a small garden, flagstones can look better than grass. Gravel is a novel alternative to blocks in a low-maintenance garden. It is softer than blocks and flows around curves, and a selection of plants enjoying free-draining conditions will thrive in it. But, most important, gravel laid over soil will suppress weeds and keep the need to weed to aminimum. Furthermore, it also insulates the soil against moisture loss, so you will not have to water your plants as much as those growing in an open border.

You DO not have to stick to either square blocks borders, rectangular or hexagonal paving stones—you can mix them for a more creative finish. You can mix hexagonal blocks with square blocks borders or rectangular slabs of different color. With hexagonal blocks, leave some empty units from the overall area to be covered, so allowing you to make any shape you want. To create an attractive feature within the patio, omit a number of blocks from an area of paving and fill the gap with decorative aggregates. Many types and colors of small-scale stones are available, often pre-bagged.