F4F: RA's garden must be fantastic. Loved the pictures she posted showing HG above the pond. Boy would the raccoons love a pond in my backyard!! LOL. Dweeb: WM Dead,dead,dead. Skin has slipped off and nothing but pale bare "wood". Bums me out so! But I do have a few other Brug "Sticks" still planted and I'm hoping they are busy doing stuff under the soil! (such as New Orleans Lady, Painted Lady, and Miss Emily MacKensey ... three brats!!) BTW: New little IS is holding her own. Still green and not shriveled! She sits on heat mat all nite. Because our weather has "cooled" (70s) during the day, I put her out onto the warm cement in the sunshine (our sunlite is watery,not burning,this time of the year). Then back into the house and on the heat mat. The SQs seem to be happy, crazy girls ... they luv everything!! Thanks for sharing them all with me. I am trying my best to become a Brug grower, but Boy, this has been a heart break season for me. Gloria

Mariend, I've got you beat in the "Lost pkg" dept.We mailed a pkg to our GD 7 hours away in N.Calif on Jan 16th and she still hasn't got it.Everyone and their brother in the postal system is looking for it.I have sent pictures and all the info to the lost & found place in L.A. and our local Po is also looking for it.It's not a small pkg,so not easily lost.Personally we think someone stole it. The box DH used to ship it was a recycled box and he didn't cross off all the info on the box like i always do,so someone probably thought they were getting a "bullet thingy,blender etc"and if that was so they got a big surprise,as it was a twin size blow up bed,by Simmons. Also when you call our local PO the line always has a busy signal,24/7.I even called the phone co last week and had them try it,and they got the same thing,yet they said no one was on the line.I told the PO this,but they swear it's working,NOT!! Kathi

What style is your hown? The stamped design depends on if you're going for something modern/contemporary, rustic, traditional, etc. I personally like the idea of the slate look your husband wants. I also would consider maybe a wood plank look, something geometric, or to be super bold and modern, try the image below with the pebbles added between the concrete.Those are styles that are very popular right now.

Are you keeping the deck? IMO the only gray would be the same as the trim and that will require a cahnge in the deck color and BTW that raling should be gone and that should be the step down to the new patio if I am understanding this right.I would say that size patio is not small but you can always add color with a rug or two. I would keep the pattern simple maybe just to look like slabs.