Patio stain

[HaddockDiem]

So we love our little end cottage - everything about it apart from the entirely paved back garden. The front garden is a cottage garden full of roses fox gloves etc…

When we bought it the garden was entirely paved and this has been done in a very professional way ( no way could we remove it ourselves). First to go was the plastic grass then we built the raised beds and filled it with pots , water features etc but I still hate the patio.

DH absolutely refuses to consider ripping it out and it would cost a fortune so…….

anyone used a patio stain? ChatGPT suggests Tikkuri and did a mock up (second pic). Thoughts…..

Just adding second image which didn’t attach

What would be your choice if you had a magic wand? What would the garden look and feel like?

could you put a liner and pea gravel over? Could you buy a large outdoor rug?

@Tortephant my magic wand would create a cottage garden with a small natural stone patio with herbs in the cracks!! Few people suggested a rug but I’m not keen . I might try the stain on the part no-one sees …. Thanks for your reply

Your garden is very pretty and your existing photo is a lot better than the patio we inherited when we bought our cottage in 2024 @HaddockDiem, although I'm with you on preferring the cottage garden look!

Ours is also entirely paved - dating from the 1960s/70s, it's those awful cheap looking large pink/yellow/grey slabs which are very firmly cemented down - with a small border of plants along the rear boundary and a narrow brick edged bed through the centre where there is a change in level.

Having sold a house with 0.5 acre of garden we created from scratch, this is a real culture shock!

We considered kango-ing them up, but it would be such a huge job and we've more important stuff to concentrate on inside.

Instead, we've added loads of huge pots/planters brimming with shrubs, trees and perennials, most of which we brought with us from our previous home. Our garden furniture (dining set, large corner sofa and egg chair) covers quite a bit too. I'm not ashamed to say we've actually allowed the paving to become dirty so the horrid colours of the slabs are less evident!

But we're planning a big outdoor rug on the slightly raised level nearest the French doors - originally this was going to be green, but I don't want it looking like fake grass, so am now looking at something more colourful. At the weekend DH suggested that we do exactly what @Tortephant has mentioned - laying a membrane with pea shingle over - in the lower area. We'll also add a winding brick path through the shingle.

Generally speaking, I'm just adding more and more plants in pots to draw the eye away from the ground!

Could a compromise be lifting a few random slabs and planting in the spaces?
Maybe a solar water feature would break up the expanse.
I know how you feel, our long cottage garden has a paved courtyard at the house end. When we moved in it was a barren 19th x19ft square. I introduced many planters with such as violas, herbs, Mexican fleabane and other self sowers that now randomly fill gaps in the pavers.
If we move I suspect it will be jet washed away.

Just do it, far nicer!! Book a man and tell DH after!

@LibertyLily yeh it was just a grey expanse 8 years ago - why do people do this?! Neighbours said it was an old cottage garden before 😢

@Beebumble2 lifting a few slabs would be good but they are laid to survive a nuclear attack !!
my sister suggested scraping out the grout and planting camomile and thyme ….
@Tortephant I’m sure if I nagged for long enough I would get my way 😂

all in all I should be grateful I’ve got a cosy home and be satisfied with my garden ( but I hate those slabs!🙄)

I dont think a stain will work because you want to go lighter than the existing colour. You could get a new patio laid on top? Or gravel with some large stones in it?

@Geneticsbunny Tbf daughter said exactly that

I'd just live with it. get lots of pots (very big ones) and use them to make it colourful. pots also give you more flexibility to re-arrange things etc.

you could add an outdoor rug under the table if you want to change the look, but I honestly think it is fine as it is. and I love cottage gardens.

I agree that it's fine, even though like you I prefer a more higgledy piggledy look. But think of how many plants in pots you could buy with the amount it would cost to have it replaced...that's what would swing it for me. Lots of plants in pots will make much more difference than the paving.

Some tall planters placed perpendicular to your border would help break up the space. Plant up with a small tree (crab apple, cherry, alamanchia, rowan), some see-though plants like verbena bonariensis, and something spilling over the edges.