After a renovation of the front yard a year earlier, it was time to turn the attention to the backyard - which had some unique design… opportunities! There was a large, unsightly concrete pad that used to be the base of a carport that would hold standing water for days after a rain, more water issues coming from the downspouts that was causing erosion and standing water near the deck, and a large, blank landscape that received all day dappled shade from the large over story trees surrounding the house.

To address these challenges, we came up with three solutions: upgrade the parking pad into a relaxing fire pit area with metal edging and 2” of slate to prevent mosquitos breeding in the standing water that would accumulate after rains, direct the water coming from the downspouts to a water flagstone path designed to capture and store rainwater (while passively watering the surround plants), and re-create a native Georgia forest understory plant community that would thrive in the dappled shade of the over story trees.

We are pleased to report the solutions were a resounding success!