I certainly would continue the idea of framing the patio with low flowering shrubs that don't block the view but soften the transition from patio to lawn to driveway. What is your zone Diane? Two small flowering shrubs I like are "Magic carpet" spirea, which has a yellow gold foliage, even when not in bloom, and if you cut back the blooms, it will bloom again. Also "Wine and roses" weigela which had reddish foliage when not in bloom. I also grew "Gold mound" arborvitae around my patio for year round color, but there are also low growing junpers if you prefer a blue green color . . . and landscape roses are nice and easy too.

Do you cook out a lot? I might do a set of planters with herbs. I have a couple around my patio . . . We have a metal fire pit but I have to admit we don't use it much, and they rust if left out. We use it in the cooler months . . .

Depends on what you use the patio for . . . seems like it would be a kids play area if you had kids, maybe a nice outdoor toy box/athletic equipment box . . . I'd honestly be tempted to put a above ground pool in that spot, lol!! We can't do anything outside in the open around our house during mosquito times . . .

If you're into butterfly gardening, you could put one in the blank spot . . . I might be tempted to do that. Clethera and fothergilla are two native butterfly magnet low shrubs to consider. They both come in large and small cultivars, look for the smaller ones . . .

pinkmountain, we are in zone 7a (New Jersey). What would you think of knockout roses? We do grill a lot, and I just purchased a pot of basil to get started with some herbs. The bottom part of the patio has a fire table (covered right now), and I need to get some chairs to use around it. Right now it's in the 90s so not urgent lol. We have a lot of deer so that is a consideration.

So even though you have a nice screened porch, I would put an umbrella or two out there to invite more use. This comes in 20 colors

9' Cantilever Umbrella Deluxe Crank Lift, Bronze, Pacifica, Tuscan · More Info

Rocking chairs are more fun than ordinary chairs, so I would feature those (they don’t need to be pricey) and think about a ”wow” outdoor carpet.

Nourison Aloha Green Indoor Outdoor Rug in 7'10"L x10'6"W · More Info

Or maybe a round one…

Caspian 3331L Blue/Green 7'10" Round Rug · More Info

Ball O' Fire With 30" Steel Bowl, Includes Cover · More Info

Is this safe enough or of any interest?

It's hard to see, but there is a navy blue umbrella next to the chairs, and a covered fire table on the bottom half of the patio. I would love to use a rug, I'm just not sure if it would end up be a real pain. The trees are always dropping something and the birds as well lol. It might be worth it though, because I think that would really make an impact.

I was thinking I might like to use an outdoor cart to put flower pots on in the new empty space that just has dirt currently.

something like this:

flower cart

You should be able to hose down an outdoor carpet.

I tend to think of outdoor carpets like annual flowers, knowing I am probably going to need a new carpet the next year. I count up the number of days i am likely to enjoy it, and then try to get one I love that isn’t very expensive. Often the daily cost of the carpet is something I can easily justify in my head as the price of how much pleasure I will get out of it for a season.

I like the flower cart! You can boost the interest with different colored pots too.

You could buy some peacocks and give them a home. ;)

Charming home

Outdoor enjoyment includes decisions on how you’ll use the space. Consider:

Shade and sun spaces

Access to Utilities

Intimate and Group dining

Grilling

water feature

Music

acess to home interior

Landscaping - we engaged a nursery to plan relaxed planting beds around our geometric patio. Time is your ally while plants mature Here us a video of ours - been here 25 years.

Good luck and enjoy your space.

https://youtu.be/lOAwXzKfTxY

You just need to continue the landscaping in the new space between the patio and driveway. I'd use slightly higher, maybe evergreen, shrubs closer to the asphalt so there is more of a separation between parked cars and the patio, and then you can plant some roses or other plants for color next to the patio. I'd place your table and chairs on the first patio closest to the house, and put lounge chairs on the patio further away, maybe grouped around a firepit.

fnmroberts your backyard is absolutely beautiful! I love the water features and the stepping stones! Everything just flows together so beautifully.

calidesign, I like the idea of the evergreens marking a separation from the driveway to the patio. I was planning on doing just that, but the space ended up being about 3 feet wider than I had anticipated.

Hey Diane I lived in the Lehigh Valley for 12 years and married a Jersey Boy, although we live in MI now. But the states are similar. In my experience, those metal fire pits when left out uncovered in the rain will collect water and rust. We have one, but store it inside the garage when not in use. I have three pots in the center of our fire circle for display when we're not using that area for fires. They make stainless/smokeless ones, and also ones from brick or cement pavers can be assembled . . .We love ours when we do use it. You might consider some type of small storage shed as part of the design. I have one at my current home, loathe it because it is plastic. Go for a nice wood shed if you do get anything. Even an "equipment box" out of wood. Fmn's is nice, a woven look one.

It's hard to come up with a deer resistant shrub. Junipers maybe, and yes, spirea. They will eat roses in a pinch. I like them though. We have deer too at our place, I spray regularly with "Liquid Fence" to keep them away as much as I can. Again, depends on what you like, but that space between the patio and driveway would be a great spot for a raised bed "kitchen garden" too if you like to grow your own. At least room for some tomatoes and peppers, which are great home gown. Or some zucchini and eggplant to throw on the grill . . . at our place a vegetable garden has to be fenced to keep out groundhogs and deer . . .

Don't know how noisy your neighborhood it, but we have a little fountain with beach stones in our yard, we enjoy it, reminds us of our days at the beach. Much easier to maintain than a full blown pond. In the sun it will get algae though, and the birds will use it, so you might want to design a little garden around a birdbath if you like to watch birds . . . Or some garden sculpture if that floats your boat . . . the trickling water sound in our neighborhood drowns out some of the road noise . . .

The main thing to ask yourself is what do you want to look out on, what scene says "relaxation" to you? We have a porch swing that folds down into a bed, we love to loll around on it on lazy summer days . . . at my last house, even though I had a tiny yard, I built a tiny "viewing garden" to look at from our swing. We lived in the city and would sit out there at night after it cooled off. In your case, you'll probably need a strong dose of bug repellent to sit out there at night . . .

Adding that I love that flower cart! I need one for our deck!! Right now I have lettuce and basil growing in pots on top of an ancient picnic table. Meanwhile hubs moves around his potted tomatoes all day long to get the most sun. I joked he needed a big red wagon to put them in. I could totally see growing some mint and lemon verbena and a few other herbs for cocktails and wheeling it around . . . well, a gal can dream . . .

I looked closely at the cart, and it says to bring it inside when it rains! So definitely not suitable for a patio. I will keep looking. I had one for years until it disintegrated, and I would change the outdoor decor for the seasons (pumkins, xmas boughs).

We have had the yard professionally sprayed for mosquitoes and ticks the last few years. If not I cannot venture beyond my sunroom at any time of the day.

I discovered Liquid Fence a few years ago when deer decided to treat my Hydrangeas like a deer salad buffet. It works well as long as you keep up with it. I would love to plant some more around the patio-just have to decide if I want to keep up with the Liquid Fence. Deer seem to avoid the boxwoods, rhododendrons, and the dwarf mugho pines I planted last year are fine.

You could plant roses, spirea, beautyberry, Korean spice viburnum..also for shorter shrubs, Deutzia comes in dwarf version (3ft) All of these are fine with deer..we are in the same zone and we get deer here all the time. I have all these plants plus a lot more and the deer leaves them alone. As for spray, I use Deer Stopper from Messina every spring to protect the tulips., I lose some if I don't spray in time, but it works. It smells nice as well..that liquid fence keeps away the homeowner as well with that smell:)

Lean into the container garden idea, and don't be too regimented about it. The planters you have in each corner are fine, but I'd create groupings of planters with lots of colorful shrubs and flowers. Use different sized pots and different colors of pots, too. Here are some fun pics for inspiration:

Flower Containers · More Info

Traditional Landscape · More Info

Queen Anne Upper Deck · More Info

Container Designs and Ideas · More Info

Costway Heavy Duty Metal Flower Cart Pot Rack Plant Display Stand Holder Decor · More Info

Brown Metal Farmhouse Plantstands, 37 x 38 x 25 · More Info

Brown Metal Farmhouse Plantstands, 33x41x13 · More Info

I think you can leave this outside. Deer might not figure it out

"LOVE" Stand · More Info

Deer never ate my forsythia, or my laurels

if it's of any help, you can see my ideabook Yard project. I'm in DE, so same zone..that is what I have in my garden..now they are larger since the photos were taken, but it gives you an idea

Doug, that is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it!

Anything that is steel, even powder coated, will eventually rust if left outside. Fine if you don't mind refinishing frequently. That's what we have to do with our fire pit that is steel. We spray it every couple of years with a special fire resistant metal spray paint. We had to do the same with the frames for our steel patio furniture. They also make cast aluminum lawn stuff so you might find something like that. I still use wrought iron and steel stuff, just not tons. Some finishes last longer than others.

There are some lists of deer resistant plants for NJ and neighboring PA out there. Here's one from my alma mater Rutgers, https://njaes.rutgers.edu/deer-resistant-plants/

Edited to add that Doug's idea of creating a visual screen against the driveway is a pretty good one, particularly if you don't need the view. I love the little stone path leading to it, brilliant.

I found this wagon I kind of like. The reviews are pretty good.

Flower garden wagon

I'd skip the extra "stuff" like the wagon and spend your budget on plants to put in the ground that will continue growing, and seating for the patio.

So here is where we are now with our patio.

I did order a wagon that was inexpensive-just not sure where to put it yet. As I said I will decorate it for the seasons (did that with my old one).

I got some nice chairs from Houzz for around the fire table, and we planted some evergreens right by the driveway, some roses and a hydrangea. They are struggling right now (except the evergreens), but I am watering like a maniac so hopefully they will survive. We put down a small stone walkway from the patio to the asphalt. We had those stones already because we had done a smaller walkway from before the tree fell. This is probably all we are going to do before fall.

Thanks to everyone for their advice. It was very helpful!

The new plantings and walkway look very nice! I'd move your table to the patio area, and arrange the seating into better groupings.