A few years ago, my dad got tired of the mis-matched rocks and broken bricks that my mom used to line the flower beds around our house. So he and I went to a local home improvement store and bought about a dozen scalloped brick edgers for her to use instead. We brought them home, and then went off again on another errand.

When we returned, my mom had already put the brick edgers in place the way she wanted them. Because there weren't enough of the edgers to stretch to all the flowerbeds, she'd interspersed the edgers with those same old broken bricks and rocks. So it rather spoiled the effect. My dad just threw up his hands and gave up. There's no doubt about it, when it comes to designing landscaping my mother does not have any taste. But if you ask her about it she'll say that she likes the way everything looks.

There's not much point to that story, except to say that either you have good taste or you don't, and if you don't have good taste hopefully you're self-aware enough to know it, and hire someone else to do your designing!

What makes good taste? Well, it's not necessarily a liking for wood over metal, or metal over plastic. All that is a matter of personal taste and is not necessarily bad or good. But if you're going to have a series of bookcases in your home, for example, they should be all the same design - all wood, all metal, all plastic - so that they match and don't detract from the eye. That's the key to good taste.

If you do have an eye for design, then you'll probably find that your landscaping can be set off quite elegantly with the addition of brick patio stones, paving stones and landscape edgers. As with any other landscaping accessory, these bricks come in a vast variety of colors and designs, so that you're sure to find something you like. Only please, buy enough so that you can use them on every project, and if you run out - go back to the store and get more! Don't ruin the effect by adding broken brick and rocks...it just doesn't work.

Use brick to line your flower beds, build up retaining walls, or make pathways.

Add a patio
If you'd like to add a brick patio to your backyard, it's quite easy to do, but you do have to give it some thought. Take some time to ensure that the ground where you want to place the patio is level - otherwise some of the bricks might settle and others will rise and give the patio an unfinished look. Also if live in an area with frequent frost or snow, where the ground has a tendency to heave up, you'll have to take that into consideration. Consult with your local home improvement store professional to learn the best ways of building your patio. As for the design of the bricks, you can get plain brick and place them in rows, or alternate them vertically and horizontally, or do a sort of basket weave. The design is pretty much up to you. However, check your local building or neighborhood codes to make sure they don't have any say over whether or not you can add a simple patio.

As with any landscaping feature, design what you want on paper first, before you go out and purchase the material. Then, go out and buy your material, pick up a couple of pairs of sturdy gloves to protect your hands, and get to work!