Hypertufa
The Patio
Several years ago, we decided we wanted a patio/deck space under our 60-year-old dogwood tree. During my master gardener training I learned that dogwoods have shallow root systems and ones should be very careful about "building on top of the roots." Well, the last thing we wanted to do was damage this gorgeous old tree. My buddy, Linda (Habitat Hattie) was the Internet research guru and she found info about hypertufa on the Internet. And thus it began...
(click pics to enlarge)
....before
Most folks start with a small project when playing with hypertufa, like a planter or stepping stone, but oh no.... not us. We decided after much discussion and research, that we'd just dig huge "stone holes" in the yard and file 'em with hypertufa. It was economical (cheap! cheap!), eco-friendly (natural ingredients), water permeable (so our dogwood's roots would actually benefit from the hypertufa stone patio.) and we could get the aesthetic look of a flagstone patio (I've always been challenged by faux anything!).
after.......
Well, we made every mistake you can imagine. We learned through the school of hard knocks, or should I say school of mud! But we did it ... for just under $200. We created 85 huge (faux flagstone) rocks, mixing mud in a wheelbarrow, and painting 'em with my no-tread tennis shoes. Folks were amazed by the look of this fake rock. My grown niece thought we had literally dug them up.
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