New-Old Brick Patio


In our garden I love that we have several places 
for one to sit and to relax.




We have the blessing of having front and back porches as well as a couple side patios. Underneath trees or at the edges of the flower beds I have placed benches and chairs to invite one to linger in the garden.



Our garden is sort of a secret garden in that we are on a hill and much of it is hidden from view.


One of the side patios was a delightsome discovery when we first moved it. A very large, old Magnolia was planted outside the dining room – sadly, we had to cut down this tree because its roots were compromising our home’s foundation. 

brick patio and house before 
Underneath the low branches was an old brick patio. 
The center of the patio was laid in a path then at another time added to. Bricks from various sources had come together to create a maze. Some of the bricks are very old – made from the red clay of Georgia and some potentially came from a neighboring house that had burned several years back.

brick patio before

We had to pull up a section of the patio to replace water lines – this old house had very old lines – galvanized pipes that had so deteriorated that from the beginning – we could do only one thing at a time with water.

pipe and cleared section to the left
Clearing this space gave me them impetus to do what I had long wanted to do – to rearrange the brick.

birdbath before-last June when the Japanese Beetles attacked

This turned out to be a very big job – the number and size of the bricks as well as the shape of the former patio was a challenge. A number of the bricks crumbled too as I lifted them. 


The ground is not completely level due to the presence of old roots. To me, this gives it a rustic charm.



I  chose a basket-weave pattern with a border –
It was like putting together a large puzzle – I had to find just the right piece to fit in some areas.


After all the brick was laid, I grouted with red sand found along many of the dirt roads in our county.


We are very pleased with the result – I hope to one day have a pergola set in to give shade to the afternoon sun.