Cobblestone Patio Project Progress Report

Here’s look at where I’m at with my cobblestone patio project. It’s still not quite finished but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s been a couple weeks since my last update on the patio and my progress has been very intermittent. Last week I woke up on Wednesday morning nearly immobilized with a terrible back pain that eventually subsided but took days out of my project time. It felt like I pinched a nerve or had the worst back cramp you could possibly imagine. I’ve been able to get some quality work done this past week which is one reason why my posting and commenting on blogs (both this one and other garden bloggers) has been erratic.

Now that I have my excuses out of the way I’ll give you a quick tour now of where the patio is and what still needs to be done!

When you come around the side of the house you will see and entry sidewalk. This part of the project will be finished next year as we add another length of it but for now a three foot length and a step down onto the main patio will greet the patio guests. I roughly (OK very roughly) laid out the paving stones in one possible arrangement before I set them in stone (pun alert!). To the right of the sidewalk will be a raised planting bed edged with stone. Into that bed I plan to place a Japanese maple and a few other plants to be determined later.

Here’s a glimpse of the patio with the paving stones not quite set yet. I still need to work sand in between the cracks to stabilize them. I’ll recover the edges of the patio with soil and hopefully plant a thyme around the edges of the patio. That will have to wait until I find the time and have the thyme!

Here you can see some areas that are set with sand in the cracks. The areas that are set are very solid.

In the center is where the planting bed will be and to the right will be the sidewalk that will extend to our garage door sidewalk. It’s only one level now but next year we’ll add a second tier.

I’ve got a few corners to finish up. I like the rounded edges since they make it seem a little less formal but they do require a little more finagling. I still have to carve the individual paving stones to fit the remaining gaps on the edges. Fortunately the stones aren’t too difficult to size up but it will take a little time.

The patio is taking a little longer than I planned, but don’t all projects? I should have it finished by the weekend if I take a few minutes each day to work on it. I can’t wait for it to be complete!