Why is this stone called "armour" stone. It looks like natural granite blocks. One feature puzzles me and that is the top row of 5 blocks. Why is this there? Are they retaining earth that we can't see? If not, I think they would be better used elsewhere. (Though I doubt anyone would be thrilled about moving them!) Beautiful stones and the steps look great!

I think you need to return to this exact spot and take pictures of the whole scene. Or even a 360*.

Hi Yardvaark, thanks again for your response.

Armour stone is natural stone straight from the quarry, I think it's pretty common here to call it armour stone, but maybe that is not the case everywhere.
The top 5 blocks you are probably right, they are there to keep the height somewhat consistent on both sides but I think they could be moved. We have work to do next spring, so we can let the soil settle more and decide before we start any additional work. Likely a costly mistake for us in the end but we do like them visually.

I have some photos for you as requested, hopefully they can be zoomed in enough. This is a pano from about the middle of the house:

This is from up on the deck:

Top row of retaining wall:

As suspected those pano's turned out really small, here is a link to a google album with larger versions: Google Album

Already-made panoramas don't work here because they are pre-shrunk to fit the small format. It requires individual, slightly overlapping pictures. The link you offered has wrong view (looking outward.) Best to put pictures here so they do not need to be chased down. (Others may not mind, but grumble every time I must chase after pictures. It's better if they are readily available here.)

("Armour" is a marketing name, not a scientific one. Those in areas where it is not available or used, would not know it. We would know granite.)

In the last picture, it looks like the uppermost row of blocks is retaining some earth.

What is the height of the wall above the fire pit? I suppose I would be trying to grow herbs, alpine species, or mosses in the cracks between the stones to soften the look. What will you use as seating? This reminds me of Stonehenge -- you could go with a Celtic, medieval, or Viking look just for fun... Maybe add some torches for lighting.

Tufts of ornamental grasses alongside the steps and at the outer corner could look great, except in winter, of course.

Looks more like a miniature version of Opus 40.

OK I'll try this again:

View of around the deck

kiminpl, the height of the wall above fire pit 4-5ft, I will measure later to be exact. For seating, we have 5 muskoka chairs that we will place if there is room. If we find it too tight then we'll have to look for alternatives. We plan to do something like the following so when the pit is not in use we'll have a table/foot rest:

For the path we are thinking of flagstone separated by stone/grass/mulch like:

Or maybe cobblestone like:

When you say "path", do you mean the lower patio area? Consider that installing a paving that has loose bits between the pavers is generally somewhat messy to live with. Depending on the details, it might be from kind-of-difficult-to-sweep-clean, all the way to impossible-to-sweep-clean. Depending on people's shoes, the bits can stick to soles and get tracked in the house. This can get old quickly if you have nice floors.

Are we examining laying out beds vs. paved and lawn areas as a starting point?

Yes, lower area, the path from the walkout door to stairs. We'll try to reconsider the loose bits, but we do really like the look.

I think that would be a good starting point, as I said we don't really know where to start since our requirements are very vague.

" ...but we do really like the look."

I've found that once people settle onto an idea, it is sometimes difficult or impossible to get them to return to brainstorming and consider other ideas. But consider that your statement doesn't in the least acknowledge that there may be other pavings that you will also like and are without the disadvantages. Also, I didn't mention that the pavings-you-like also can be difficult for moving and placing furniture and things, either tearing up the stones or not seating properly (tables and chairs that rock and tilt.)

Keep in mind that a bed/paving layout would be done in PLAN view. Here, we're working with photographs/perspective and can only suggest a general scheme. It must be worked out and refined in PLAN view. That said, here's an approach that seems reasonable ... a general direction to work toward. I know your first complaint will be that paving encroaches on the leach field area. I think you need to get over this. It's not going to hurt the leach field and if you don't do it, you're going to sacrifice the patio's potential. And, we're only talking about a small amount. Back when, the concern was that you don't want to tear up the patio, if the leach field needs repair, but this is not likely to happen. If it does, you can rebuild the small amount of patio.

We'll consider other pavers. It's something we'll do some research for over the next couple of weeks and see if there is anything we can come up with that we like.

I'm also going to take some measurements and start working on a PLAN view template, I think this will really help us in the process. Unfortunately it'll probably take me a good amount of time to come up with it.

We like what you've come up with as a starting point. To be honest, my first thought was "woah that's a lot of pavers/patio" but I think it's just the perspective and stretching of the image so something else I'd like to do is mark it out in our backyard with some paint or chalk.

You already had a plan from which the hardscape was built. If there were changes that occurred during the building, just make the adjustments and use that plan. Or copy a base plan from it by tracing.

I'm not trying to tell you how much square feet of paving you need. That's up to you to determine. I'm only trying to help you pull together loose ends as I know them and sometimes I speculate when I don't know. I'm not sure how you intend to use the patio area. But there are 3 portions of it that pretty much must exist: at the base of the steps; the fire pit area; and the path to the lower level door. What you add to that is up to you based on how you will use it. Here, I drew a blue line in this version that shows a shrinking of the patio. Many variations could be contrived before it is etched in stone. (Also, I think the panoramic distortion is partly responsible for it seeming huge front and center.)

For the patio, we were thinking just a path connecting the basement to fire pit/sitting area and the deck. We have the potential for a very nice view from the basement window, we would like to take full advantage of that. We did discuss briefly that a small 2 person bistro set could be placed right in front of the window but I think we were both indifferent about that idea. We want to keep as much of the yard as possible, our dog loves running around and when we have kids we'll be outside with them a lot.

I modified the SketchUp a bit to show a more downview, is this sufficient? I made the gap larger where the stair/deck/stones meat and added the gaps between the steps and adjusted them to point more out to the yard... also added the shed. I can add measurements if necessary.

Here is another possibility that links the steps with the back door and maintains space for the fire pit. I would give a little extra space at the back door. It will look and seem a little more "luxurious" and be useful in that many times people collect, or one needs a temporary place to set something, near a door. If this does not get you in the ball park, you might sketch out what ideas you have so that we can interpret your thoughts better.

That's perfect! I like that it leaves some garden space along the base of the retaining wall against the deck. We can definitely work with that, my only concern is how accurate the steps are in my sketch, they may face the yard more then pictured.

Yeah ... I was thinking the steps might not be as seen in the photo, but however they are, you can measure off and locate properly on an accurate plan and proceed with the design scheme that solves your problem and suits your sensibilities. I think you get the idea here of working with the geometry that exists and trying to build on it in a compatible, thematic way. The fire pit and steps are circular and the path I've added continues this circle. With whatever reality is, you can adapt the scheme to make it fit properly.

Yes understood. Thanks.

Now that we have the rough garden beds laid out, and this will come off as a stupid question but how do we begin a plant list? It's overwhelming to us and we do not know where to start.

You do not start with a plant list. You start by creating a planting PLAN. You don't even need to know any plants to begin with. In fact knowing plants might distract you. You only need to know shapes and sizes of the finished product. Where multiple plants are used in a group, such as a groundcover or a hedge, you only need to define the perimeter. At the beginning of this process you are primarily thinking of forms and how the forms are affecting the space you are using them in. I don't have time now, but will try to give you some ideas.

What are you thoughts about accessing the left (as per picture) side of the house? Will there be some kind of path from somewhere to somewhere?

Maybe this will help start the process? I've (very) roughly placed already existing trees. There are 3 mature Norway Red Maples along the SE border in the back and then a dozen or more mature Black Locust alongside the house and front yard.

This is what we are envisioning for along side the house path, again something simple that runs down the property line to the shed (rectangle around shed is an existing concrete pad), very high chance this remains as grass:

Here is a zoomed in version (and I tried to adjust the red maple canopies to be bigger):

And one more of all the ideas we talked about put into it:

I would call these vague, general suggestions. It is scheming and I don't have any specific plants in mind, but just the forms they might take. At the sloped and shady areas would some kind of low groundcover. I'm using a small tree in the larger groundcover peninsula in order to add another reason why it's there (besides the slope.) I'm making an effort to camouflage/hide the terminal ends of the walls where they are exposed as the way the stones step down looks a bit raw to me. Portions of the stone can be hidden, but don't smother it. I would use a good bit of flowering material since the space will get summertime use. Try to use most plants in groups/masses or more than once so there is some repetition. There shouldn't be too many things that are just used one time.

I'm at a loss for words, that looks amazing. I'd be thrilled if the final result came anywhere near that.

I like what you did with the stone ends, in addition to what you already stated, it adds a bit of safety to keep people away from the edges. The tree also will work very well there, it'll frame the view from the basement and could take some focus off the neighbours yard/shed. We may just have to be careful of what tree we chose so the roots stay away from the main septic tank pipe but I think that's possible.

Looks like the only eye sore that will be hard to hide is that brick cutout between the 2 windows.

The small tree is a tree FORM. Make it out of a large shrub so it's roots will not be too extensive.

What is the brick cut-out? It looks like an unfinished construction. I figured it was temporary and would be "healed."

Next step for you is to create a base plan where all the features (house/wall/deck/tree trunks/shed/fence, etc) are located accurately. Then draw bed lines. Begin placing plants. Use appropriately sized circles for larger plants and outlines for plant groupings. If you make multiple copies of the base plan and scratch out your ideas until they are refined. You've got to convert ideas in picture, refining as you go, to a PLAN in order to know that things fit, are properly located and so you can calculate quantities. Once the plan is finished, you can create a plant list based on it. And then go shopping. If you're doing irrigation, it should be installed after large trees (if any) are put in place, and before all the other plants. If no irrigation, Fall is the better time to plant IMO as roots get more time to develop before hot weather arrives.

Thanks again for the guidance Yardvaark, we'll definitely do as you instructed. I will post back with updates as we go through the process :).

That pergola deck and fire pit patio really turned out nice. I'm sure you will have years of enjoyment out there! Great research, thought and execution!! What did you end up paving the patio with?

Thanks pinkmountain! Patio is done with Villagio from Techo-Bloc. The step down by the door is done with permeable pavers so water gets to a drain connected to our weeping tiles.

We really loved the look of flagstone but we felt it had too many disadvantages and eventually settled on this look.

Here's a slightly better angle of the walkway:

Ah, so that' gravel by the fire pit? And the bed behind has drainage? Is it all tied together? Did you have an engineer consulting? :)

Very nice, I remember all the issues you were having. So nice to see when it works out as it should.

Hey that original deck looks spooky like salvage from vintage Bates Motel era!

I am glad to see that your project has all important FLOW, continuity and compatibility of features. I like the pavers you used better than flagstone. (It looks less country and western.) Really, it's coming out looking like it has tremendous potential over the long run, with the planting being so new. You'll be amazed, Craig, at how fast things grow. It will look radically different in 3 years when the plants really begin to temper the hardscape. It looks like a nice place for entertaining and I'm sure you're quite proud of it. Thanks for taking the time to give the update with pictures.

Very nice result! Can we get a closer view?