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Blocks Of Plants:
Much work can be saved by thoughtful design. Instead of grass and borders, have blocks of plants and a few raised growing beds. blocks of plants are easier to maintain than lawn and, in a small garden, flagstones can look better than grass. Gravel is a novel alternative to blocks of plants in a low-maintenance garden. It is softer than blocks of plants and flows around curves, and a selection of plants enjoying free-draining conditions will thrive in it. But, most important, gravel laid over soil will suppress weeds and keep the need to weed to aminimum. Furthermore, it also insulates the soil against moisture loss, so you will not have to water your plants as much as those growing in an open border.PATIOS TEND to look better laid in symmetrical, formal designs while wooden decking is an ideal alternative for curved, flowing layouts. Decking has a much more relaxed, informal feel to it than paving. It is a material associated with outdoor living and leisure and, being relatively soft, it is a better material than blocks of plants if you have children. Wood blends in with plants much more than blocks of plants. The texture of blocks of plants contrasts well with that of living material; the one is hard and solid, the other light and full of movement. The two work well together in any garden. There is nothing more attractive than the straight edge of a patio softened by a profusion of trailing plants.
You COULD define and soften a patio of square blocks of plants with borders of brickwork or make circular patterns with cobblestones and bricks for a less formal approach. Intersperse areas of gravel within areas of paving slabs and then grow a selection of rock plants in the gravel. BY MIXING different-colored paving you can create random or formal patterns. Some ideas include: highlighting diagonal lines across a patio with red slabs contrasted with the overall green or buff ones; picking out alternate rows of blocks of plants in another color; and working from the perimeter of the patio forming squares within squares, finishing with a solid black of blocks of plants at the center.
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