Winter-proof Your Patio by David Domoney
7 December 2020
Winter-proof Paving
Prime your patio and prepare it for the winter weather. With the right care, your patio can be fit for use through the chilly season, whilst also keeping it in good condition ready for spring when our patios are once again used regularly. Here’s how to keep your your paths slip free, your patio pristine and your driveway free from debris this winter.
Pristine Patio
Have you ever considered the abuse your patio goes through throughout the year? Firstly by nature, bird & animal fouling, tree foliage, moss, algae and airborne detritus ans secondly from the activities we enjoy, barbecue food and drink spillages, children's ice creams, the list is endless. So giving your patio and paved areas a good deep clean will give the rest of your garden a real lift, brightening up your space. It can be a very easy task too, if you’ve got the right paving maintenance products.
Looks like a new patio
Any patio exposed to the elements all year will become soiled. Areas of stubborn ingrained dirt on your stone or porcelain paving can be a nightmare to remove, even when you purchase a so called "Patio Cleaner". Some patio cleaning products can even irreparably damage your paving! It took Pavestone nearly 20 years of research and development to find a total solution range of cleaning, sealing and restoring products scientifically designed to not only work perfectly but that preserves and protects the stone and your patio. Pavestone Patio Cleaner is a heavy-duty cleaner that will surely bring your patio back to looking like new. It couldn’t be easier to have a spick-and-span patio, simply dilute the product with warm water, apply to the area using a stiff brush to spread the mixture and finally rinse off with clean water.
Seal to keep cleaner
Once you have cleaned your patio, it makes a lot of sense to seal or re-seal the paving once it’s had sufficient time to dry. Sealing keeps the paving looking cleaner for longer, so reduces the number of cleans and helps prevent any staining from becoming permanent. Using Pavestone Colour Enhancing Stone Sealer will not only provide an emphasised colour and a deep lustre, but will also a will repel water, oil and grease, protecting against staining.
Not keen on enhancing the colour? Then Pavestone Natural Finish Stone Sealer offers the same strong protection using a near invisible coating to leave a natural stone finish.
Pots on paving
What’s a winter patio without beautiful potted plants to transform it into a winter wonderland? By embellishing your patio with containers full of plants for winter interest, you’re sure to bring the festive spirit to your garden.
Ornamental grasses will give a beautiful backdrop of texture, for example the icy-blue leaves of Festuca glauca ‘Elijah blue’ which likes a spot with full sun. Alternatively, provide structure in the container with a dwarf conifer like Abies koreana (Korean fir) ‘Kohout’s Ice Breaker’, which has a white and silvery appearance.
Complement these textures with the bright blooms of cyclamen, winter flowering pansies, violas, and primulas for a bright pop of cheery colour.
It’s not just container plants that will bring your patio to life, but surrounding your patio with shrubs will bring height, texture, and interest to the space. For example, Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’ is a small, bushy evergreen that will add to your winter garden with its red buds, which open as white blooms in early spring.
Another evergreen shrub that is a great fit is Viburnum tinus with its dark green leaves and creamy white flowers in winter and spring. This has the added beauty of black-blue berries that fruit in autumn. This shrub will grow in any spot with well-drained soil where it is protected from cold winds.
Practical paths
Although it’s winter, we still need access to our gardens, whether that’s to make the most of the fragrant winter plants, sitting outside on a dark evening looking up at the stars or getting to the bottom of the garden to take the wheelie bin out. Therefore, our pathways need to be fit for purpose this winter so they can still be used safely.
Anti-slip with style
Monviso is one of Pavestone’s porcelain paving options. You can choose from either the sandy hues of Duomo Mint, or the classy Smooth Grey, which will work wonders in a contemporary style garden. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but the anti-slip finish means the surface is roughened to give a good grip in damp weather, without compromising on style. As Monviso paving is impermeable to water, it will stay looking cleaner for longer and be harder to stain permanently.
The practical paving benefits of an anti-slip finish offered through the use of Pavestone porcelain paving your pathway or patio paving ensures that all the paved sections of your garden will be accessible come rain or shine.
Drive thru’
It’s not just about the patios and pathways in our front and back gardens, because another high traffic area is the driveway. Your drive is one of the first things that you see and visitors will see upon arrival, so you’ll want to ensure it’s in good nick. As well as appearances, when you’re lugging your shopping from the car to your house, it’s important that the surface is kept mud and debris-free so it’s not a safety hazard.
Driveway Cleaner
Pavestone Driveway Cleaner is effective on a variety of driveway paving materials, including concrete block paving, and natural stone paving, removing black spot, lichen, moss, tyre marks, oil spots and most stains. All that’s needed is for the solution to be applied directly to the surface using a watering can then left to get to work for 2-4 hours before thoroughly rinsing with clean water. You will be amazed at the restoration of the original colour!
With these tips on choosing, cleaning, and sealing your paving, you’ll be set for winter with a gleaming patio that looks great and is safe from slips. Embellishing your patio with plants with plenty of winter interest will bring some magic to your space over the festive period.
This month I've selected a video we filmed back in the summer of a Pavestone Dolomite Sunset porcelain patio. This product is a lovely paving, which requires very little maintenance.
There are many more videos featured here for you to explore.
David Domoney, TV gardener, horticultural expert and Pavestone brand ambassador blogs monthly on the Pavestone website on all things landscaping related.
We look forward to seeing you back again next month.
