Old brick paving in the garden
This blog is about what changed when I stopped power washing our old brick paving in the back garden and just let it weather naturally.
In 1988 we inherited the lawn
And as it was under water for months at a time in the winter, we paved it over with dull grey cheap paving slabs.
Then in 2011 a builder paved over the top with beautiful old stock bricks; pinky/yellow/beige mixed bricks like the ones used for a wall in our kitchen.
And this is how lovely it looked.
I was warned that the bricks were porous and not ideal for an outdoor surface but I’m not sure I fully took that in.
With winter frost they looked rather interesting and still lovely to look at
until with rain and low light they went black, slippery and slimy.
So I bought a power washer and every time I made the effort, they looked like new for a few months.
Bright sunshine would bleach them which was great
and newly washed they looked like this
but no sun meant black and slimy again.
In early 2020 I left it for a while and now that has turned into 18 months with no power washing. I’ve decided not to do it any more.
Main reason for no more power washing
Aggressive washing destroyed all the lovely natural moss, seedlings and lichen growing in the cracks and on the bricks.
Definitely grey rather than pink and yellow
Daisies – I really like them and welcome them. Certainly don’t want to blast them to pieces
I also realised I was blasting every living creature from the whole paving area. And if the blasting didn’t get them, the drowning in gallons of extra water would.
And frankly I was embarrassed making that awful noise just so I could have clean shiny paving. It’s a real pain for houses nearby. Everyone’s nice quiet day in the garden is ruined because one person wants a tidy garden. I’m thinking that’s not acceptable any more.
The paving now looks like this and I can live with that.
All about compromise
It’ll never look bright pink and yellow again but the benefits are seedlings everywhere and lovely lines of greenery between the bricks. There are self seeders everywhere and I’ve written about the joy of those here. If it’s slippery in the winter I’ll just have to tread carefully. It’s all about compromise, like everything else in a garden.
Living greenery will find a home if you allow it to
Thankyou for reading, and if you’d like my monthly blogs to pop into your inbox please leave your details in the box at the top of the page. And do have a look on Instagram where I post photos of the garden most days.
Best wishes and happy gardening to us all. Julie
Thank you Julie, we have recently “paved” an area with bricks, they look fabulous…..at the moment. This is a very helpful guide to the stages they will most likely go through and why we should keep away from the power washer 😉
Oh Margaret doesn’t it look lovely at the start. so tempting to try to keep it that way. Well see how you go and you may want to get rid of some slime in the winter but for wildlife purposes it has been a joy to not wash it I must say. Maybe you can show me how you go and thankyou so much for sending your comment. Best wishes Juie
I love old brick and stone. Any growth that isn’t wanted is pulled up but quickly comes right back. But I do love the old brick paths.
Nice idea to leave the bricks – as long as they don’t get slippy.
Yes, such a balance isn’t it but I do wear very sensible rubber soled shoes when I pop to the shed in icy or wet weather in the winter. Looks lovely in spring and summer anyway. We shall see. Thanks for the comment, best wishes, Julie
there are products you can put down using a watering can that helps keep the ‘slippiness’ down. Also an occasional brush in the areas you walk thru with a stiff broom works. Using a pressure washer makes the bricks more porous and therefore subject to frost damage eventually.
Ah thanks for this. I did look at some miracle cleaners but the danger signs on the bottle rather put me off using it. Can you recommend any particular one? You’re right, I’m sure the washing has made them worse. Maybe I will have to scrub them avoiding the lines of moss! Thanks for your comment and best wishes, Julie
I love your garden, thanks for sharing.
Also, the other day you posted on Insta about your bee-friendly plant haul which inspired me so I went and ordered my own haul. thanks for the tip!
Helen (aged 39 and a half (just))
Oh thanks so much Helen for saying so. Keeps me going! And big hurrah for ordering, presumably from rosybee. I’m sure they’ll do well for you. Keep in touch, best wishes, Julie