Picking the right plants is often the first thing people think of when planning an easy-care landscape. Carefully choosing hardscape and finishing materials also can go a long way toward reducing maintenance and enhancing outdoor enjoyment.
We spoke with 11 landscape professionals from eight design firms to learn about the materials they use for patios, decks, paths, raised beds, walls and driveways that will cut down on cleanup and add plenty of style. Read their advice below.
White Landscape Design LLC
1. Bill White, White Landscape Design, Salt Lake City
Choose materials wisely. There are more low-maintenance hardscape options than you might think, Bill White says. “I like pavers and flagstone, and crushed stone for paths and mulch,” he says, emphasizing that proper installation is crucial for longevity and easy care. “You really need to have someone knowledgeable install flagstone,” White adds. For crushed stone, he recommends compacting it to a thickness of 6 inches.
While wood and composites are obvious choices for elevated decks and raised garden bed structures, White finds them less desirable for other uses in the yard. “They need more maintenance, and wood shouldn’t be in contact with dirt,” he says. Dirt can cause wood to rot.
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Core Outdoor Living
2. Daren Langhorne, Core Outdoor Living, Clifton, Virginia
Start with a solid footing. Daren Langhorne, who specializes in building patios, decks, walls and porches, usually suggests that patios be dry-set pavers on a crushed-gravel foundation or wet-set flagstones on a 4-inch concrete foundation. “Our recommendations depend on factors like home style, client design preferences and the budget,” he says. The choice also depends on what materials already are in place. “We recommend a matching material when the new project is visible from what already exists, for superior aesthetics,” he says.
Langhorne likes dry-set pavers for their cost and ease of repair. “It is much easier to repair a patio with pavers, because the stones can simply be lifted and reinstalled,” Langhorne says. “Whereas mortared flagstones must be chiseled out and remortared.” He adds that a properly built foundation and patio border will help to prevent dry-set stones from settling.
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BOXHILL
3. Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery, Boxhill, Tucson, Arizona
Keep it simple. Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery’s paving choices complement the sculptural, Arizona-inspired plantings she uses in her designs. For that reason, decomposed granite (DG) is a favorite hardscape; she likes a screened DG with a depth of one-quarter to one-half inch. Przygoda-Montgomery also favors low-maintenance pavers, especially those from Artistic Paver, for a desert-inspired look. She says that they’re attractive and fairly slip-resistant, and they don’t require staining or sealing.
Where to Invest and Save on a New Patio
FormLA Landscaping
4. Cassy Aoyagi, Isara Ongwiseth and Oscar Ortega, FormLA Landscaping, Los Angeles The material the designers choose depends on the site itself as well as on the overall landscape design. Isara Ongwiseth uses DG where there is little to no slope. “This saves runoff and the need to regularly replenish materials,” he says. Ongwiseth also likes crushed gravel or other gravel with angles. The pieces “lock into each other and provide an easier surface for walking or rolling, unlike rounder beach pebbles,” he says.
Think about your site. The FormLA team chooses permeable materials, including decomposed granite and gravel, whenever possible. Cassy Aoyagi says this helps prevent runoff and instead directs stormwater into the soil. “Prioritizing permeability can help our region mitigate our drought-fire-flood-slide cycles,” Aoyagi says.
Oscar Ortega, who manages landscape maintenance for the firm, says that one advantage of DG is that it’s almost maintenance-free when correctly installed with a permeable weed barrier and a compact application. In contrast, he says, gravel can move around a bit more and present some accessibility issues.
How to Move Water Through Your Landscape
FormLA Landscaping
5. Explore your options. The FormLA team also likes to use pavers. For larger areas, such as driveways, Ongwiseth might choose brick with gravel joints. This allows the water to drain and move into adjacent beds, rather than running off into the street.
Cement is another option, but “both in expanse and permeable applications, [it] requires a little more work. Generally, its surface areas need regular sweeping,” Ortega says.
Athyrium Design
6. Lee Armillei, Athyrium Design, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Work with local materials. Lee Armillei’s first paving choice is natural stone. “Natural stone wears beautifully and can be reused at the end life of the hardscape,” she says. Another plus for Armillei is that natural stone, especially a local type, goes with the region’s aesthetic. “In my area, flagstone, granite and schist complement the landscape and architecture of greater Philadelphia,” she says.
Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors
7. Robert Hursthouse and John Algozzini, Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors, Bolingbrook, Illinois
Plan for longevity. Robert Hursthouse loves using natural materials such as stone or classic clay paving brick. “We begin with the materials the home is built from, and see if there is a complementary selection we can make for the walk or patio,” he says. Hursthouse adds that natural materials can be highly durable while enhancing the design aesthetic.
That overall durability is another advantage of natural materials. John Algozzini says that they don’t break down the way manufactured paving does. “They could still be valid when your grandchildren are living in your home 50 years from now,” he says. Algozzini’s favorite stones for patios include limestone and bluestone. For walls, he gravitates to Wisconsin or Indiana limestone.
Todd Haiman Landscape Design
8. Todd Haiman, Todd Haiman Landscape Design, New York
Plan for localized issues. Todd Haiman’s diverse landscape projects include pocket backyards in New York City, rooftop terraces and larger properties in suburban and rural areas. Two of his favorite paving materials for small yards and terraces are porcelain and tumbled travertine. These pavers “clean well with power washing once a year,” he says. He advises homeowners to use a light travertine in shaded areas to lighten things up.
Haiman also likes to use compacted pea gravel that’s at least 1½ to 2 inches thick. “It’s good for animals, it has a nice crunch when you walk on it, and it’s a sustainable choice,” the designer says. He adds that while cobblestones are a popular look, they can collect leaves that will make them more difficult to clean.
Todd Haiman Landscape Design
9. Consider unexpected choices. Haiman will add wood paving to a landscape, but he’s careful about what he chooses and where it goes. “Rot-resistant wood such as black locust, which is native to our area, is a good choice,” he says. Rather than lay it directly on the ground, Haiman adds a bed of pea gravel beneath it.
Urban Oasis Landscape Design
10. Deborah Gliksman, Urban Oasis Landscape Design, Los Angeles Another option Gliksman likes is sand-set pavers. “Set them on top of base gravel and sand with DG, gravel or polymeric sand in between,” she says. The designer recommends choosing a flagstone or limestone that’s thick enough for its weight to keep the paver in place. “Using sand-set stone is also less expensive to install than wet-set stone and gives a more organic, finished result,” she says.
Make it permeable. Whenever possible, Deborah Gliksman uses permeable paving materials that allow rainwater to percolate through to the ground below. “This helps with drainage and keeps your soil moisture higher all year round,” she says. She often recommends gravel and decomposed granite.
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