Looks like you have a nice spot for an entry courtyard. You can reuse the stone to pave a nice entry garden, or reuse it with some simialar added stone to make a wider path.

You should think about adding trees and shrubs early on, because they take longest to reach a good size.

Nice house!

The entry courtyard sounds like a great idea.

In a north-facing courtyard ... azaleas? columbines, etc. Get a good gardening book for your area.

Setting some open and airy trees - but well away from the house, would frame it better - Japanese Maple, a small magnolia, dogwood (whatever grows in your area)

You could absolutely do an entry courtyard, but if you want to simply reuse the bluestone in a walk and make it wider, you can get about 16-18" wider by laying a soldier course of brick on either side of your bluestone. A soldier course is bricks placed side by side like 'soldiers' bordering the existing bluestone. It would work well with the formality of the house and would visually tie the bluestone walk to the brick on the house.

First, do you want people coming to the front door? I have friends with similar layouts, and the normal thing is to drive up to the garage, park the car in the area there, and then look around for clues to where to go. For a casual visit, the back door is usually easily seen and accessed, so that is where everybody goes. Right now, the only time I can see somebody coming to the front door is during a fairly large party where cars are parked along the driveway.

If you want people using the front door, then the walk has to go along the front of the house to the parking area, and then be invitingly landscaped. It looks like it will require a lot more stone, and there is no reason not to reuse what you have. There are stone patterns that involve squares and rectanges that might work. This is probably not a DIY job simply because of the weight of the stone. The largest stone I've laid was about 2' x 2' x 1", and it was a nasty creature. It will probably break after a couple of years because of air spaces underneath.

BTW, unless your soil is very different from mine, the front landscaping will probably requiring coming to terms with yews. North side of a house in zone 5 with soil too alkaline for azaleas and rhododendrons doesn't leave much else. A paved area that doesn't require plants is a possibility, though it has to be properly installed so water doesn't collect and freeze. The sun will not clear it off during the winter, and it can be a huge issue.

The walkway NEEDS to be redone because frost heave is making it hazardous. No sense in redoing it too narrow.

Generally people who know us come to the side door. People who don't come to the front. I'm putting in a parking space to the left of the walkway where you see all that dead yellow grass.

Right now I want to focus on the walkway, later I'll do trees and shrubs.

Isn't a courtyard garden usually enclosed on 4 sides with walls? If that's not right, please correct me. I don't want to put a wall up in front of the house, I want it to be open and inviting.

If I reuse it by putting stone on the side, WHAT PATTERN would anyone recommend? That's where I'm struggling, to see how I could get a pleasing pattern by flanking the stone. Brick is an option, but I'm concerned there is too much brick already.

Any photos or websites you can point me to would be welcome. Thanks for the suggestions.

If you want a 5' walk, you could use this pattern by adding a 12'x12". Keep in mind that the joint between the stones is going to be tighter than what you have now because it will be determined by the cut of the stone (I believe it will be 5/8").This will shorten what is about a9' length of your walk to 5', so you'll need to add to your stock of 24"x36" stones as well as the 12"x12". You might consider a granite cobble edge to the walk as the bluestone by itself seems to be missing something in front of this house.

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That really is a yummy house, and a bizarre walkway to have put in front of it.

I interpret "entry courtyard" as kind of a ground-level porch, or landing, in front of the door. At minimum I think it should be the width of the door's chunk of house, though I would make it wider, and fairly substantial in depth too.

As for materials... if there is nothing else you can use this material for on the property, then perhaps you might be able to trade it in at the stone yard or sell it second hand. Adding another material to it is certainly an option. But if you cannot come up with an attractive option for using them, I would sooner stack them in the back forty than compromise the design to use them.

And since you are lifting and redoing it anyway you are certainly not limited to putting it back in the same place, and just edging it with a contrasting material will always look amended, not designed.

I do like Laag's idea for the walkway, although I can't find where you actually said that your slabs are rectangular. If they aren't, you could still do something similar by offsetting the blocks you have side to side and filling the gaps with smaller bluestone squares on alternate sides.

I also think one of the problems with the walkway may be its shape, not just its width or style. If you flare it toward the house, you could also flare it as it gets to the driveway, and maybe you could curve it, split it, angle it, put an island bed in it... or some combination of those.

Finally, it seems to my untutored eye that this house can carry a grander entrance with a fountain or something - although to do something like that I think you do have to approximately design the whole front from the outset to ensure you are balancing and complementing such a big feature. (do a search for punamytsike here on GW and see if some of her old photos still show up - hers is a far grander entrance feature than I would ever have thought of using, and it looks great - maybe not everyone's style although I love it, but it makes you realize how timorous most of us are with respect to scale)

One reason I think I would like to see a curve in the pathway is that the curve of the windows needs to be reflected somewhere in the landscape - it is all very angular now.

I vote for a slate walkway with a landing pad at the foot of the step. Slate can pick up on the red of the brick.

Since you have such a country local, I'd do random slabs rather than square cut stones.

There are a lot of slate walkways around here that appear to be set in concrete with a brick edging--it looks great on a 'tudor'-ish house.

linked here is a picture of what i was talking about:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:13423}}

An entry courtyard does not have to be (and most often isn't) surrounded on all four sides by walls. Since your entry is already indented, a courtyard is a natural. Essentially it is a large landing at the foot of your steps, with the walkway leading off of it. I would be very generous in its proportions - the house presents a massive appearance and too small an entry courtyard would look out of place, even silly. The bluestone - a great contrasting accent to the brick, btw - would make a stunning material for this purpose if laid correctly, but it is not cheap. And definitely go with a wider walkway. This one really serves to illustrate the improportion given the imposing size of the house.

Personally, I would not be concerned about repeating the arc'd feature of the windows in the layout of either the courtyard or the walkway. You could use enlarged planting beds and larger plant material to achieve softer, more curvelinear lines to loosen up the angles and accent the windows.

Thanks for all your ideas.

Laag - great pattern! For some reason I didn't get in my head to turn them on the side like that. The stone is rectangular, but of irregular width, some 24", some 28, some 32, etc. But if turned on the side and padded with other shapes, it could make a nice pattern. It's a great idea and THANKS

KarinL - lots of food for thought. I like the idea of flaring it towards the house, and possible the driveway as well. And you're right, I think if I just put a line on either side of it, it will look amended, not designed. That's why I liked Laag's design.

I love stone, so if I do something new, I would certainly find another use for the old stone somewhere else.

I have thought of doing a circular contemporary fountain in front of one of the windows. But then I think it would be unbalanced unless I did something on the other side as well. Maybe just a BIG BIG rock on the other side, surrounded by plantings. But then I fear that it would make the front just too busy with too much going on. If they were small, would that make it less busy? Thoughts??

I will do some research into the courtyard idea, to better understand it and see how it might work. The following photo better shows how there is a covered landing in front of the door. (And the area to the left is in deeeeeep shade.) I had just used the hose, so that's only water on the bluestone, not stains.

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I wouldn't put a fountain or anything that would compete with the house and front entry for "focal point" position.

It would make the walk longer and increase the cost, but could you put the guest parking area off to the right of the house nearer what appears to be the garage end, with a walk leading back to the front door?

I'd rather see the parked cars off to the side/rear and out of sight, than out front in a very prominent spot.

Beautiful house.....definately a wider walk and MUCH wider beds.... 6,8 feet, even wider at the corners. Big enough to add some small trees to soften the scale of the house! Have fun!

It seems to me that the parking area has been placed because that is where the walkway goes. The next question will be about how to screen that area from the house, and the next question after that will be about how to balance that screening on the other side. All very reactionary.

Other possibilities are to put the parking on the garage side, put it on the other side, not in front of the house, or putting in a circular drive in front of the house. Usually I don't like circular drives because they are just too much, but the house looks monumental enough to handle it. It's hard to tell from the photographs whether or not there is enough room, though.

Even if the walk is the only thing that gets done now, the rest of the front has to be designed so the walk will fit in properly.

Like the good landscapers you are, you're asking all the right questions about parking, etc. I had omitted all the details to avoid have a 3 page post. So now I'm just spreading those 3 pages over several posts :-) More than happy to, I just didn't want to turn people off with too much info.

The driveway you see is the top of a circular drive. First photo shows that there is ample parking off to the right by the garage. Family get togethers regularly have 5 cars park there on blacktop.

Strangers sometimes park on the blacktop on the right, then walk to the front. Sometimes they park right in front in the middle of the drive, but they feel uncomfortable doing it like they are "blocking" it. The parking area to the left of the walk is for those people, who are just stopping in and need to know where to park. It will be just be a big widening of the driveway, obvious to park there. I don't need to screen it off, because it's just temporary parking. It's hard to tell from the photos, but standing at the door and looking at the driveway, the lawn falls away quite sharply on the right and feels awkward. By putting a parking space there, the lawn becomes almost parallel to the house and loses that awkward curve. A parking spot is killing 2 birds with one stone.

I also need to come up with an edging for the driveway by the house, but I thought I would save that for another post so this one doesn't get too confused. It looks pretty bad right now with grass just fading into gravel. But one thing at a time . . . .

Does that make sense? Thanks

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The bottom photos I pulled off of terraserver, to show our long driveway with a circular loop.

OK now I REALLY think your sidewalk is too narrow. And the doorway already looked oddly small to me relative to the rest of the house, but relative to the whole property it is even more out of scale. I say this not to criticize the house (which I still love), but to understand why it is that landscaping the front entry should be so difficult. It is as though you are working in two different scales simultaneously; do you match the door, as the previous owner apparently tried to do, or do you match the house/property? Having now fully understood "country setting" I think I would tend toward the latter, and might even do the whole front alcove in flagstone and furnish with some satisfyingly massive containers...

The upside is, that circle in the driveway can more than carry a fountain :-)

Scale is very deceiving on this house - that "small door" is 4 feet wide and over 8 feet tall.

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Just to get some perspective on your house vs. walk size, this is George Mason's home (Gunston Hall) and the walk up to it. Gunston Hall is smaller than your house. Those are 200 year old Willow Oaks - they're huge! big landscaping.

I'm reading the book "Gaining Ground by Maureen Gilmer, featuring the Gardens of Michael Glassman". Great quote by Michael, "The front walkway should be at least 5 feet wide and never in a straight line, or it looks like a gigantic tongue coming out of a front door mouth."

Personally, I think Gunston Hall's walk looks more like a tongue than the original poster's photo, but I think the advice about width and not being straight are right on. But he also says, "Don't force the hardscape to be unnaturally complex. Keep the circulations and spatial layout simple, simple, so the user is not frustrated by an enforced meander that may not be logical. Then lend the casual character by the type of material, such as flagstone. Planting should overlap and soften the corners and edges with its own rangy character and form."

Hope this helps - certainly seems relevant to your situation!

By the way, this book is a great read. I've been spending a lot of time in doctors' waiting rooms lately with a sick child that defies diagnosis, so I have a lot of time to read.

Some ideas for how to lay your bricks into a wider pattern are offered at the link below - albeit for straight walkways, notwithstanding Watergal's quotation.

Watergal, all the best for your child's health, and I do know the drill - every time my son breaks something I get caught up on my reading!

Here is a link that might be useful: Walkway patterns

KarinL - Thanks so much for that link, it's exactly what I needed. You and Laag got me unstuck from the "line on either side" of the walkway, which I knew I didn't like, but didn't know how to get around it.

Watergal - a big tongue? That's hilarious! I will probably never be able to look at it the same way again. I will make sure not to do it in red ;-) Also appreciated the reminder not to be unnaturally complex. Sometimes I go overboard with design on paper, lots of repeating patterns, nifty little doodads, quite pleased with how clever it all is. Then I stand back and realize it's too busy and will never fly. Then strip it all back to just a few basic elements.

Here's wishing your son abundant health.

The wishes for good health worked - we just finally got a diagnosis tonight. She (it's a daughter actually) has an abnormally functioning gallbladder at age 13. She will have to have it removed surgically if things don't get better within a week, but that's good news since she's been in pain since Feb. 5.

As for the big tongue comment, it made me laugh too.

Gottagarden might have meant my reference to my son, who will be escaping his crutches this weekend... and glad to hear you have a diagnosis, and that it is of a manageable condition - nice to have more serious things ruled out, although any surgery is of course worrisome.

But I think Gunston Hall escapes the tongue appearance because of the plaza or whatever it is that is its "landing." It also suits the rigid symmetry of the house - mine is also that symmetrical (although it is about the size of the front porch of the Hall) and I have never been able to visualize a better option for the walkway. For such a situation I think options like an island feature or a split in the walkway work, but nothing that isn't symmetrical. Gottagarden, on the other hand, you have a little more flexibility.

Sorry about the "son" comment. My son has been home from school for 4 days with a viral infection and temperature of up to 104, so I've got Sick Son on my mind. Glad to hear you at least have a diagnosis, it's always tempting to fear the worst in the absence of information. Best of luck with her recovery.

Well no wonder we all have time to spend on the forums these days...

Happy recovery to all!

Hi, what a gorgeous house! I can see why you want to make an entrance path that is 'worthy'. I personally am not a huge fan of straight walkways to the front door- I like the 'big tongue' analogy! If you are having problems picturing an alternative, it may be worth your while to hire a landscape designer- or even interview 2 or 3 to get estimates. You then may be able to brain storm off their suggestions, or decide it is worth it to hire a professional. I am going to include a picture of my front walkway (if it works) to give you an idea of thinking outside the box (hopefully you agree). I wanted an entranceway that said 'welcome', and was big enough to sit in on sunny mornings. Mine is basically in shade from early afternoon on. I now have added a bench- but the raised beds are high enough to sit on the edge. My husband and I are not professionals, but we designed and laid the bricks ourselves- he did the preparation of the bed- so important to do that right! And I laid the concrete pavers. OK- I couldn't find a 'browse' button to insert a picture from my files. I looked at the FAQs and I am supposed to be able to insert a picture- I could email it to you if you'd like. My path is several feet wide and goes in a diagonal zig-zag from the driveway to the front door- I purposefully designed the landscaping so one CANNOT walk from the street straight to the door. The boxwoods have now grown to about 4 feet high (where I am leaving them pruned). And by building the raised bed filled with flowering shrubs, I have essentially created a courtyard- it is quite private, and on hot sunny days- we enjoy the shady cool spot.

Rae

Rae, to post a picture here you need an account with a photohosting site like Photobucket (it's free). Once you have your pictures uploaded to that site, each picture will have three different identification lines under it. Copy the TAG line off the picture you want to use, and paste it into the body of your message here on GW. When you preview your message, your photo will show up; then submit as usual.

"The front walkway should be at least 5 feet wide and never in a straight line... "

This sounds like a rule that's dying to be broken. Does a curving tongue look better than a straight one? Curves without obvious reasons for them are right up there with meatball yews in my book. I'm not sure how much I like Gordon Hayward, but if he has done *anything* to help home gardeners design more satisfying gardens, debunking the squiggly pathway is it.

Actually, it sounds like a great background to a heavy metal band. A large, gray stone colonial house, with red light streaming out of the windows, and a large, dark red, squiggly tongue coming out of the front door.

So why don't visitors just take the right turn around the circle and get a straight shot at the paved parking area? Simplify the traffic patterns by getting rid of the rest of the circle.

Karin,

Thanks for the directions. I am going to try and post a picture of my path to see if I followed them right.

Path is about 12 feet wide at the widest points.

Rae

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I knew your house roof line reminded me of something!

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This was one of the houses at Versaille that Marie Antoinette used to play "peasant" in, when she was bored with being fabulously wealthy. Obviously, it is inherently formal (it's Versaille!), but also contains a casual "yard".

Your house brick color is so dark and rich, I see dark evergreens in your front yard, perhaps boxwood leading up to the gate. Do you still have access to that brick?

Gottagarden, I was thinking about your door size again when I saw the pictures posted by Hoyess in her current thread about foundation planting. That house has a stylistic resemblance to yours, and is probably the same size and has the same sized door, but it is framed so differently that it appears much larger. It is also raised, and it struck me that the elevation is something you might be able to mimic a bit if you took that small landing inside the entryway and extended it outward to make a raised "porch" rather than just a ground level patio or courtyard.

By the way, Raehelen, that is a very nice sidewalk indeed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hoyess's thread

My yard is about the size of that entrance you are worrying about and my house the size of only one of the huts in your multi hut design. If I did my yard to house at the same scale as yours I would need a magnifying glass to see the plants. Did you run out of money when it came to the landscaping or is it another one of those DH only mows the grass situations? Probably drives a Lexus.

Thanks for checking in Karin. Hoyess front door is better proportioned. But you make a good point about perhaps having a front patio instead of just a landing. As you can see from following photo, the landing is closed off on the side. I did a half-hearted try to see if I could get matching brick, and was told it came from Canada and is not stocked locally. If I was going to do something like that I would most likely have to get more brick. Might still be possible to get some if I looked harder, or inquired in Canada which is not that far.

Still just mulling over ideas . . .

RaeHelen's front walkway is GREAT! Imaginative approach and so nice and wide and welcoming.

Adamante, not quite sure what your point is...? I know it's a long post to read all the way through, but previous owner ran out of money, hence no landscaping. He went bankrupt and we bought this house for cheap from the bank. Traded in a tiny, old tract home in San Jose,CA and got money back when we bought this. Of course I now live in the middle of nowhere, not near any good jobs but I'm sure happy with the trade. DH does not drive a lexus (your point??) but a beat up 98 Dodge truck with dents in it. I'm actually a little embarassed by the place, I bought it for the beautiful property - land, woods, and pond.

Here's the landing from the other angle, showing how it's bricked off.
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So use the money you saved from the Lexus and the good home buying deal on the landscaping is my point.

That's what she's trying to do - and letting us in on the fun!

Sorry if I sounded rude, jealousy probably. I just thought everything looked a bit small and you are right I didn't read the whole thing so I was unaware of the full story.
Rae's path may be the kind of thing I am looking for, like a little room all on its own. Could you do that with your mansion grounds and split it up into areas?
If it makes you feel better our car is older than that truck.

I'm working on the landscape, but it can't all be done at once. . . . Like a lot of gardeners, the front yard is the last to be done. So far I'm focusing on trees and shrubs.

And Rae's path is really a treat. Non-traditional but very welcoming and comfortable. Nice scale.

''Does a curving tongue look better than a straight one?''...mmm, depends on where you put it....

Yeesh - definitely time to put the tongue metaphor to rest.

I noticed a house yesterday that is perfectly symmetrical and has a huge sidewalk out to the street, but it looks quite good because, at the front stoop, the walkway split and went off to each side of the house, perhaps to go round the back (it's a city lot). This had the same effect as the hypothetical entry courtyard mentioned earlier. With or without the entry courtyard, you could create destination areas on either side of the front yard as a reason for branching the path.