My new back patio needs work

Old brick patio, needs cleaned up and to add new plantings. My house is near the lake, so I'm doing it all beachy. It looks like someone was trying to too with the turquoise post and some painted bricks. The middle section was said to have a pool there once, but I'm thinking of rose bushes or ferns. I'm thinking of painting the garage (crafting room) outside wall facing the patio, a beachy color and hanging things on the wall.
I like the moss growing around the bricks of the patio, I wish there was more of it, lol. My backyard is tiny. From the 3rd garage to the shed, I plan to put a privacy fence up to close it off and keep my dogs from escaping when they're out there and for privacy reasons. The front yard to the side is all fenced in, with a gate going to the back patio. The dogs have plenty of room to run.
To the patio
Go through the gate
Start of back yard. It's got a lot of gravel I'd like to get rid of and put in some plantings.
  7 answers
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 05, 2015
    Can you tell us something about how much light that area receives and what zone you are in? You mention roses and ferns, but they do not make great companion plants because roses want as much sun as you can give them and ferns are generally pretty much the opposite.
  • Kathleen Mccarthy Kathleen Mccarthy on Mar 05, 2015
    dont know too much on how the sun sets,im just now buying it,havent moved in yet,closing coming soon.. ya,true ferns prefer shade,thought they could go against house way maybe where the pic of too much gravel is..i will let ya know more as i know,but im in zone 6 i think
    • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 06, 2015
      @Kathleen Mccarthy Congratulations on your impending purchase. I would really wait until you can figure out how much light you have to try to make plans. You can control many other things by using containers, but that is one there is very little you can do anything about.
  • 1240839 1240839 on Mar 06, 2015
    Be patient, live there for a while to learn the patterns of the sun. Pots are a good idea, until you know for sure.
  • Coral Tritent Coral Tritent on Mar 06, 2015
    It doesn't look like that place would get much sun. From a design standpoint, what about power washing the tiles and maybe painting them maybe terra cotta or stone? They have great spray paint at Walmart. And since your going for a beach feel you could paint white where it was turquoise and maybe hang flags or a beach-like wind chime. Oh and thinking about fences why not try a pallet fence painted white? And then you could add a beach painting to the outside of it with your last name. Like: The Andersons etc.
  • Dave Marciniak Dave Marciniak on Mar 07, 2015
    I think the biggest asset you have is the way the house and the garage are laid out, it creates an intimate little courtyard feel. In terms of order of operations, here's how I'd handle it once you're in the home: 1- figure out the size and shape you want for a patio/living space2- decide where the fence is going for the pups 3- figure out how you're moving between spaces 4- set a few specimen trees and large shrubs 5- go hog wild with the rest of the plants Just how much of a redo are you up for? If you can take up and re-lay the brick that would be ideal, as the shape of the layout right now doesn't make a lot of sense (and the basketweave pattern used is actually one of the most unstable brick patterns). You have a great starting point, can't wait to see how it develops!
  • Kathleen Mccarthy Kathleen Mccarthy on Mar 07, 2015
    I agree with you Dave !
  • Kathleen Mccarthy Kathleen Mccarthy on Jun 11, 2017

    my back yard now 2 yrs later