Hi Digin-

I'm no LD. However, I remember reading a really good post about the relative strengths/drawbacks of stamped concrete when I was skimming the archive the other day. Some complained that it chipped, was slippery, caught dirt and others said not. But apparently the most important thing is a really good contractor (like with everything else). You might want to look that one up.

LD books and articles (and postings here) always recommend a four foot wide walk - broad enough for two people to walk it side by side. They also suggest using a more gradual curve than a hard right angle.

Whatever you do, you will have to address that downspout.

Good Luck, Patricia

I would probably choose flagstone first, pavers second, and stamped concrete last. You can do flagstone or pavers yourself. I've got hundreds of feet of walkways including composite, flagstone, pavers, and stepping stones and they were all AOTD (Amateur Owner to Design Build :-)

I would leave the bed but wrap it the same width around the corner to the driveway. Like Patricia suggested, I would round both inside and outside corners and widen to 4'. If you don't have a drain line to hook that downspout to, you could repeat your shrubs all the way to the driveway and snake the spout behind them. Make the step as wide as the outside of your door lights and if cost and existing shrubs allow, make your walk that wide. If you don't plan on keeping the shrubs where they are you could get a bit more creative with curvatures and the like.

Just a few thoughts........;-)

Hi Digin, Without actually being in the space, this is what I would do. First, we need to change the hallway effect. It is uncomfortable to most people, makes them walk faster instead of leisurely enjoying the space. I would definitely bring the walkway up to the garage as well as the width of the porch. I probably would turn it towards the drive almost as is but would also have another section going a little down the drive. A walk for you and one for visitors. I would put a small, 4 seasons of interest tree to soften and connect human scale to the hard lines of the tall house. And I would under plant the tree with just one groundcover and carry that groundcover through out the entire area. I can't tell what it looks like under your large window but I do know if it needs hiding, putting 4 round or square shrubs that have to be trimmed is going to look like you are hiding something and does nothing to soften the hard lines of the structure. It is the same feeling that the shrubs along the garage gives. The purpose of foundation planting is to soften the hard lines of a building in an attempt to have it blend in with nature. Why some people plant things that are the same shape as the lines they are trying to soften has always baffled me. That type of designing, of course does have it place but it is dictated by the style of the house and for the most part doesnt work in most situations.

I am not sure what exposure you have, nor what the rest of the space is like so again I am winging it. Will you be paving over the porch? If I could do what ever I wanted, I might try to make the step have a much wider tread and try to make it look like an half moon. I might also, not directly in the middle of the garage wall have an arched cutout small enough that it doesnÂt wreck the flow of 2 people walking side by side and possibly espalier or grow something on an interesting trellis with maybe an uplight shining on the wall. All these types of things should be consider in advance for placing PVC pipes under the walk for wires or drip irrigation. There are so many little things that can be done to make great changes. Simple things like, we painted some of our exposed foundation gray because it blended in with the siding better then concrete color. Another simple thing that lots of folks donÂt think about it putting shutters on their windows in the back of the house. It really dresses things up and doesnÂt break the bank. IMO, with your style home it is important to not use a bunch of different types plants, keep it simple and elegant. You want to create a comfortable, not busy approach to your house and that is how your guests will feel when you open the door. The backyard is the living area where you put al the fun, things that are you, like how you decorate the inside of the house. We inherited a builders concrete 2' wide walkway, also have brick and gray siding and pretty much removed all the round and square shrubs that lined poth sides of the walk. It was tough on our clothes when the shrubs were wet.
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One of my passions is gardening/design, so I plant for me and for what I see, consequently, starting a small bed at the street and adding alittle when ever I could on each side with the plan that the two sides would eventually meet.
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Good luck, more importantly have fun. My rule is that plants should bring me pleasure and if it is getting on my nerves it then becomes a weed and it is removed.
Sorry this post is so long, as I said landscaping is one of my passions and if I can steal a moment to myself, I love to talk design.
Ally

Thank you all for your great suggestions! We've been busy today breaking up the walkway...and nearly breaking our backs at the same time. That was a lot of work!

Ally your pictures are inspiring - you did a great job! The boxwoods under the front window *are* trying to hide something - the aweful foundation that is showing. Same thing with the barberrys against the garage, but they are too overgrown for the spot so they will go somewhere else. Maybe we will paint the foundation the same color as the siding...

We've decided to go with Paveloc Antiqued Holland pavers in either a running bond or herringbone pattern, not sure on a color yet...

We are going to remove the barberry bushes next to the garage so we can widen the walk a bit more...you can see the edge on the left side that DH has created, but we can't any further to the left because of the Japanese Maple roots.

We are going to build a big rounded step at the porch too. That leads me to my next question...what can be done about the porch itself? Would you suggest an acid stain to match the paver walkway, or split pavers put right over the concrete porch? Any suggestions would be appreciated...of course one project always seems to lead to another...

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