Un/paving the way for a courtyard patio

The main thing I’m plotting about this winter is a whole project I haven’t even touched on here yet — the converting of a big ugly rectangle of asphalt behind the house into a beautiful courtyard patio–dining area situation. It will be a very messy, asphalt-dusty project so I feel like the best time to do it will be late winter/early spring while half of the existing plants are dormant. (No way around it for the evergreens.) But will I have the ability to actually make this happen in March-ish? Dunno. Figuring out what it might cost and who might do it and all that fun stuff depends on what exactly I want to do. So it’s high time to start making some decisions!

The first, most pressing of the many questions is what will the new “floor” of this space be, which I’ll get into today. I also want to give you a sense of the space as it is and as it (🤞) shall be. And also talk a little bit about various considerations, from drainage issues to substrate possibilities to surface materials — i.e., how best to deal with the existing asphalt, and how and what will replace or cover it.

As with most things in life, I have too many ideas. So to focus my thinking and help me narrow from what I think is generally beautiful to what I specifically want for this spot, I’ve started a Pinterest board called courtyard patio ideas. The photos I’ve stuck in there for the moment represent a wide range of paving or flooring options. For me, having used gravel extensively in my past gardens, gravel is the obvious choice. And if I had rushed into this in Aug ’24, when my friend AP was here putting the first and biggest backyard plants in the ground for me, that’s what I would have done. Thankfully I did not rush into it right then, because I’ve realized it’s not what I want here, or at least not primarily.

Here’s a peek at the situation and the rundown on my thinking: