Small city patio at dusk with concrete squares, pergola and fire feature

Toronto, 2014–2015

Nothing to Dig

No lawn on purpose: concrete squares with artificial turf strips, a timber pergola and built-in benches on a tight Toronto lot.

Landscape Ontario Award of Excellence, Residential Construction, 2017

The problem

A tight city lot, a young family and a big dog who treated every patch of grass as a dig site. A lawn was never going to last.

The decision

So we didn’t plant one. We poured the yard in large squares of smooth-trowelled concrete, with strips of artificial turf between them for green that stays put. At this size the squares make a small space feel bigger, and nothing in them can be dug up.

At a glance

Location: Toronto
Built: 2014–2015
Brief: Tough materials, no lawn
Surface: Smooth-trowelled concrete squares with strips of artificial turf
Also: Timber pergola with lighting, built-in benches, linear fire feature
Services: Design-build, Patios and walkways, Pavilions and structures

Before and after

Snow-covered narrow back yard before the work — From the back of the yard to the house.

Concrete square patio and pergola from the back of the yard — From the back of the yard to the house.

Old yard where the pergola now stands — Under the pergola.

Dining area under the timber pergola — Under the pergola.

The build

A timber pergola shelters half the patio, built-in benches run from the deck straight into the dining area, and a fire feature and pergola lights carry it into the evening.

Overhead view of concrete squares with green strips of artificial turf — Every foot of a small lot in use.

The result

Tough enough for the dog, simple enough to look after, and it uses every foot of a small lot.

Design:: Natural Landscape Group
Finished photography:: Jeff McNeill, McNeill Photography
Furniture:: Casual Life

Landscape Ontario Award of Excellence, Residential Construction, 2017