A patio offers all sorts of possibilities: a place for sitting out or entertaining, a place for retreat or a party, a place to enjoy plants. Almost any garden, however small, can accommodate a patio and this book tells you how you can have one. Considering the range of possible styles and all the practical options, Andi Clevely helps you lay first your plans and then your patio, whether it be paved with stone, decked with timber or adorned with pebbles. Ideas for lighting, furniture, heating and eating help you turn the structure into an inviting outdoor room. He then describes suitable plants for different situations and to create different moods - cool and refreshing white and silver plants for sunny sites, foliage plants for shade, tropical plants for an exotic feel - showing the variety of ways in which plants in beds, crevices or containers can complete a patio by providing it with structure, colour, texture and seasonal change.

Photographs by: Steven Wooster