How to Build a Patio Around Established Trees

Skica 3D

5 days ago

6 min read

Mature trees can be one of the best features of a garden.

They provide privacy, shade, character and a sense of maturity that can take decades to recreate. So when redesigning a garden, removing an established tree simply to make patio construction easier should rarely be the first option.

The challenge is this:

How do you create a new patio around established trees without unnecessarily disturbing the ground and root system beneath them?

At Garden Ezee, this is exactly the type of landscaping problem where a different approach to construction can make a real difference.

Worker assembles a metal deck frame in a lush seaside garden overlooking a beach and ocean under cloudy skies.

Why Are Trees a Challenge When Building a Patio?

What we see above ground is only part of a tree.

Below the surface is an extensive root system that needs suitable soil conditions, water and oxygen to remain healthy.

Traditional patio construction usually requires excavation to create space for a compacted sub-base and the paving construction above it.

Around an established tree, simply digging out the area as you would elsewhere in the garden may not be appropriate.

Cutting or damaging significant roots can affect the health and stability of the tree, while compacting the ground and changing drainage conditions can also have an impact.

That's why established trees need to be considered at the beginning of the garden design, not once construction has already started.

Start by Designing Around the Tree

One of the simplest principles is also one of the most important:

Work with the tree rather than against it.

A mature tree doesn't necessarily need to sit outside the patio.

It can become part of it.

We've created garden designs where porcelain terraces wrap around established trees, allowing the trees to become architectural features within the finished outdoor space.

A carefully positioned opening around the trunk can create a striking contrast between contemporary porcelain and mature planting.

It can look intentional rather than like a compromise.

Metal patio frame around a large evergreen tree in a narrow backyard, with a worker at the right.

Do You Need to Excavate the Whole Patio Area?

Not always.

This is where the way we build some patios at Garden Ezee has changed considerably.

Using the iGarden iFrame system, we can create the supporting structure for porcelain above the existing ground.

The precision-engineered galvanised steel framework creates the finished patio level while the ground remains beneath it.

Rather than automatically excavating the whole footprint of the patio and replacing it with compacted stone and mortar construction, a framed solution can substantially reduce the amount of ground disturbance required.

When dealing with established landscaping, that can be a major advantage.

Building Above Existing Ground

Think of the iFrame as creating a structural platform.

The framework supports the finished surface while adjustable supports allow us to accommodate changes in the ground level underneath.

Porcelain tiles can then be dry laid onto the frame.

This means we can potentially construct over areas of existing ground rather than digging them out simply because they're underneath the proposed patio.

The system is particularly useful where we are dealing with:

Established trees
Sloping gardens
Difficult ground conditions
Existing drainage
Manholes and services
Restricted access
Raised patios and terraces
Gardens where minimising excavation is important

It gives us another option before reaching for the digger.

Creating Space Around the Tree

A patio shouldn't simply be built tightly against the trunk of an established tree.

Trees grow and move over time.

The design needs to provide appropriate space around the tree and consider its future growth.

With a modular framed patio, we can design the structure around the tree rather than expecting the tree to fit around a conventional paving layout.

The porcelain can then be carefully planned and cut to create a deliberate opening.

Depending on the garden design, the area around the tree might be finished with planting, gravel or another suitable permeable material.

Done properly, the tree becomes a feature within the patio.

Wet tiled seaside patio with trees, glass railing, and cloudy ocean view

What About Tree Roots?

Tree roots need to be treated with care.

If significant roots are encountered, they shouldn't simply be cut because they're in the way of the patio.

This is another reason reducing excavation can be valuable.

Rather than digging across the entire patio footprint, an above-ground structure allows us to consider support positions and the existing site conditions when developing the installation.

Every tree and every site is different, however.

Where important trees are involved, particularly protected trees or construction within a defined root protection area, specialist advice may be required from an arboricultural professional and the relevant local authority requirements need to be considered.

The aim should always be to find a construction solution that respects the tree.

Allowing Water Through the Patio

Water is another important consideration.

Traditional paving often creates a largely solid surface where rainwater is directed across the patio towards drainage points.

With our dry-laid porcelain system, small open joints are maintained between the tiles.

Rainwater can pass through these joints into the area beneath the patio rather than all of it having to travel across the finished surface.

The drainage beneath still needs to be properly considered, but this creates a very different construction from a fully bonded and pointed patio.

Around established trees, how water reaches the surrounding ground should form part of the overall design.

Trees Can Become Part of the Garden Architecture

Some of the most interesting gardens don't try to hide their existing features.

They celebrate them.

Imagine a large-format porcelain patio with a mature multi-stem tree emerging through an intentionally designed opening.

Add subtle garden lighting beneath the canopy and the same tree that could have been considered an obstacle becomes one of the strongest features of the garden.

During the day it provides natural shade.

At night, carefully positioned uplighting can illuminate the trunk and canopy.

And instead of waiting 15 or 20 years for new planting to mature, the garden retains the character it already had.

Sunny patio with mustard armchair behind glass, brick wall, leafy trees, blue-framed windows, and speckled terrazzo tiles

Working with Sloping Ground and Trees

Things become even more challenging when established trees are combined with a sloping garden.

Traditional landscaping might require excavation, retaining walls and significant changes to the existing levels.

An engineered frame gives us another way of looking at the problem.

Rather than forcing the whole garden into a new ground level, we can potentially create the required patio level above parts of the existing landscape.

Steps can then connect the new terrace with other areas of the garden.

This approach can allow mature planting and difficult levels to become part of the design rather than problems that have to be removed.

What About Leaves and Maintenance?

Building around a tree obviously means leaves, seeds and other natural debris will occasionally end up on the patio.

Fortunately, porcelain is relatively straightforward to clean.

Regular sweeping and occasional washing will normally keep the surface looking its best.

The dry-laid construction also provides another useful feature: individual porcelain tiles can be lifted with suitable equipment if access beneath the patio is ever required.

For Garden Ezee, future access is something we like to think about during construction rather than after the garden has been completed.

Large evergreen tree planted in a tiled patio beside a brick house, with wet pale tiles and a wooden fence.

Do Tree Preservation Orders Matter?

Yes.

If a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or the property is within a conservation area, there may be restrictions on work that could affect the tree.

This can include work to roots as well as the visible parts of the tree.

Before carrying out significant landscaping around an important or protected tree, the relevant requirements should therefore be checked.

Where necessary, an arboricultural specialist can assess the tree and help determine an appropriate construction approach.

Sometimes the Best Landscaping Involves Doing Less

Landscaping has traditionally involved a lot of excavation.

Dig out the ground. Remove the soil. Bring stone back in. Compact it. Then build the new garden on top.

There are plenty of situations where that remains the correct construction method.

But when you've got a beautiful, mature tree that's been growing for decades, unnecessarily disturbing the surrounding ground doesn't always make sense.

Modern construction methods give us alternatives.

At Garden Ezee, our landscaping experience combined with the iGarden iFrame system allows us to consider building around and above existing features rather than automatically removing them.

Backyard patio under construction with steel floor joists, potted trees, brick wall, glass doors, and a blue-trimmed window.

Keep the Tree. Change the Garden.

A mature tree doesn't have to prevent you from creating a modern porcelain patio.

In fact, it could become the centrepiece.

The important thing is to understand the tree, the existing ground conditions and the proposed garden levels before deciding how the patio should be constructed.

If you're planning a new patio or garden transformation and have established trees that you'd like to retain, send Garden Ezee some photographs of the garden along with approximate measurements.

We can take an initial look at the project and explore how the new garden could be designed around what's already there.