My thoughts are exactly along catkim's lines. But I would just leave a very small opening (because it's only hard to pry out the first brick, and then you can always enlarge it). For a vine, you actually need just a very small opening into the ground. If you leave just two bricks out, let's say, you will be able to enlarge it if you like and the majority of your patio will be well-laid and leveled, plus the space for those two bricks will be pretty exact. Leave a bigger space than that, and it will be tricky to fill it in well. The thing about leaving a full bed the length of the stairs is everything from mess to weeding/making more mess (and dirt on patio = weed seeds sprouting on patio in the cracks), but also the risk of dropping a chair leg off the edge of the stone into the dirt. This patio is going to feel SMALL for the furniture you have in mind. I don't think you should shrink its effective size. Also keep in mind that your doorway is recessed and quite dark. A vine will make it feel and look more closed in, in case that matters to you. And these big perennial vines can get pretty overwhelming. I personally love clematis and would probably put one there, but I'm not sure I would put it in the ground. You could leave it in a pot, and always cut it back to the ground (or bottom two buds if a B-type) every year. And once it gets too vigorous (as many do after three or four years), you might like to put in a new one. This is very tricky to do in the ground adjacent to a patio without damaging the patio. Maybe some annual vines would be more fun. Again, way easier in a container. Plus, the container gives you another decor item to have some fun with. On the other hand, it takes up some space. So I would lay and tamp the whole patio but for two bricks. Undoing it later from there if you want a bigger bed is way easier than filling it in. You can minimize the crush layer in that area if you really feel you will want to open it up. By the way, is there a basement here? If so, you want your subgrade to tilt away from the house. Karin L

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. 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. 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

The contractor surely is suggesting to lay them in a mortar set over the existing concrete right? If so, it works but better be done properly or else one stone coming loose will be very difficult to repair. The surface joints too would need to be well mortared and sealed to prevent any moisture from entering, and don't forget expansion gaps. Laying a gravel base over concrete is an even worse idea IMO. Doesn't compact and creates an impermeable foundation beneath what little gravel base you may have. Furthermore it leaves your entire patio susceptible to any movement experienced by the concrete slab. Gravel bases are used in our climate in part due to their flexibility. In the end I wouldn't do it for a client and if I did I wouldn't warranty it. All that said though, you do have an opportunity to install what I consider to be one of the nicer and more underrated outdoor ground surfaces- reclaimed red brick turned on edge. One of my favorite designers James Van Sweden is big on this as it creates one of the warmest and most transitional (home to exterior) ground surfaces as well as being very amenable to patterned desings. Would need to work with your home and greater landscape though.

Michelle Roth , I'm going to retract my comment that the materials may not look good together. I'm posting pictures of a house that was for sale nearby that used pavers and river rock. (so not exactly flagstone but a similar). When I saw this listed on the MLS, I was wowed and thought this looked great. I wasn't thinking "Oh the materials are different." lol. (fwiw, there are pics that show off the yard better. I'm uploading the ones with the biggest swath of materials, so you can see). I think your contractors are probably right, that's the uneven flagstones could cause problems set in sand. If you're going dry-set, pavers can fit much closer together, so fewer weeds! Plus dry-set is permeable, so better for the environment. (rain can return to the water table). I think it's also easier to lay vs. concrete. I'm going to be re-doing my backyard patio later this year. My landscape architect said that cost-wise, the cheapest is stamped cement, then pavers, then stone. In addition to the cost of the stone, I think the labor is a lot more, trying to get everything to line up. Thanks for starting this thread. It's helping me decide. I think I'll do pavers set in sand! ;)