Dear Friends, I'm building a 8 feet radius round flagstone patio on my sloppy backyard (As pictured, DIY). I dig off a foot and half on the left, the front and right side of the patio will still be above the ground. Originally my design is to build a base with 5 inches of crush stone base, surrounded by retaining wall block (left, front side). Mix about 2 inch of mortar and stick Flagstone (already bought 2 tons stone about 1.5-2" thickness) on top of the base and wall. I am hopping the mortal will hold the stone well so it won't shift off the slop. As I read more on the internet and I have the concern the patio will end up crack for the way I lay it (people mentioned different expansion ratio of the mortar and stone etc). Here I would like to hear some advises for how should I continue. 1. Am I OK to continue my original plan. Will cracking really a concern in Atlanta GA area, the overall weather hear is mild with a few freezing days. I'll try to compact the base as much as i can. Maybe increase the mortal layer to 3 inches would help? Should I build a rough concrete patio enforced with metal bar, say 3 inches thickness. On top, lay the flagstone with mortar. Will this keep the patio in shape better than plan 1 above. Should I be better off dry laid flag stone. It actually take less effort to do. Add Stone dust on top of pave base and do dry laid. I am worry the rain water will end up wash off the base and fillings in the crack. It will be hard to keep the stones intact over the long run. Really appreciate your comment to guide me further.

@greenfish1234 Thank you again for your input. I'm attaching a better picture of the back door area. Our door is currently a slider door - not sure if that will be switched in the future to a french door. How far past the door should the steps/landing go? The further we go, the further we cut into that dead space next to our family room wall (to the right of the door). Also, the deeper the total of depth of the steps/landing combined, the deeper the bed gets to the left of the steps/landing, unless we don't make that bed as deep as the steps/landing, but not sure if that will look right. I'm also attaching a pic of landing/steps I found on line. Not that I want curved steps or that material, but was wondering if I could turn that dead space into a raised planter on the landing. That way I can soften that area. If I did this though, not sure how far to bring out the planter - just to the last step, or to the edge of the back of the family room wall. In this pic, their dead space is probably 1/2 that of mine.

Manasi, Since you can't afford a designer I'll expand on some of the steps to help with design. Like Owen said, you need to tell us how you want to use the space (make a program). Here are some questions I would ask a client to help narrow down a program: 1. Do you have, or plan to have kids in the near future? If yes, do you need space for a specific activity like a swing set or a basketball net? This can also help guide plant selection (poisonous or thorny) 2. Do you want to entertain? If yes- for roughly how many? Do you BBQ? 3. Do you have a dog or planning on getting one? If yes- do you want a dog run? a grass area? How big of a space would it need? (again animals can influence plant selection- some plants are poisonous to certain animals) 4. Do you want a vegetable garden? (Your current pics look like there was a raised vegetable garden. 5. How much yard maintenance are you comfortable with? a. I have a green thumb! I love all plants, flowers, shrubs and trees! I don't mind pruning, fertilizing, mulching and watering! I want my yard to look like an English garden and can commit to several hours a week in yard care. b. I don't mind a few plants but I don't know a lot/ or don't have time for significant plant care. I would like to minimize the work to mowing once a week, some watering and quick spring and fall tidy. I can commit to 1-2 hours a week. c. I like being outside but I am way to busy or have no desire to look after living things. 5. Do you need storage in your yard and does it need to be accessed year round? 6. Are there special activities you want to include such as: -a fire pit, a hot tub, a pool, a bocce court, a compost? After you can narrow down the above to define a program, start thinking about your site, the opportunities and constraints (inventory and analysis). Are there any views you love? Hate? Neighbours you want to block? Where are the utilities ( you can normally call and have them located for free in most municipalities? Where are your existing water taps? gas meter? Basement windows and doors. Locate existing large trees that surround or are in your property. Which way is north (if you are in the northern hemisphere) South if you are in the southern? Do you get snow and do you need a spot to shovel it to? Are there any existing low areas that don't drain? Sometimes printing out a google earth image and making notes on it can be helpful. If you're designing the yard yourself, you will want to take measurements of where things are and make a site plan. Once you have that you can start placing your program elements onto the site making sure to keep in mind any site constraints so they don't conflict with the activity. The commentators on houzz can provide more guidance if you can answer some of the above questions.

Transferring the same scheme to the plan, adding a little more. (There could be patches of flowering perennials in the groundcover bed and a couple of tall shrubs at the sides of lot for privacy. You need to refine the plan, working out details. Or work out a new scheme that better suits your goals. Mainly what I'm shooting for with this scheme is creating privacy and a view backdrop to enjoy from the patio. The foreground would be relatively level turf.