When Ed heads out to the garden in the morning, I'm never exactly sure what I will find him doing when I get out there. With all the rain we have been getting, the ground is very wet, too wet to work in the beds. He decided today was the day to "weed" this stone patio. I checked and this stone patio was laid just about fifteen years ago. Once the red creeping thyme was established, it looked fantastic for at least ten. Small weeds were pulled as soon as they appeared.
Eventually the thyme completely covered the stones. Somewhere along the line the sheep sorrel and meadow grasses crept in from the edges both between and under the stones. This kind of weeding is really hard work. The stones are being lifted and the weeds removed. When all that is finished, the stones will be reset and red creeping thyme will be planted again.
This is the stone patio on the west end of the house. It has the stones - with - thyme - planted - between - them look that we are trying to recapture. The hard work that Ed is doing is a not so subtle reminder for me keep this patio weeded while the weeds are still small.
Red creeping thyme flowing like water from between the stones is a sight to behold. It's certainly worth doing a little weeding!
6 comments:
I love the look of flagstone and thyme!
Gorgeous!! I bet is smells heavenly when you walk on it as well!! Very cool.
Lovely sight and I am sure it feels good walking through the flagstones...
~ bangchik
Hi! I've been looking to do something like this and am wondering if you could answer a few questions?
- did you use a sand base under the entire patio or just under the stones (or not at all?)
- I notice the snow in the pictures, so I assume you are in a cold climate (I'm in ohio). Any problems with the stones heaving?
Thanks!
The core of the patio is filled with rubble stone since that is what we have the most of. As the final level approaches, I use a large glob of wet sand under each top stone. Wet sand will squish around as the top stone is rocked and twisted into its final position filling many voids. Dry sand will not behave this way. The final step is to gently flood the area. Water will help fill any voids. More sand can be added from the surface if necessary.
We are located on a deep gravel deposit. Water does not stay at the surface so nothing frost heaves here. I do dig down several inches and line the hole with small stone before building. If you provide a route for standing water to flow away from your patio, you may avoid any problems with frost. We are in zone 4 so cold is here much of the time.
Post a Comment