A patio can be more than an individual hardscape feature. In a well-planned backyard, it often becomes the central surface that connects dining, cooking, seating, swimming, gardens, walkways and other outdoor spaces .

Marshall Landscaping designs and builds patios as standalone installations and as part of larger outdoor living projects throughout Northern Delaware and surrounding areas.

For more complex projects, the patio can establish the overall layout of the backyard. Its shape, elevation, material and location affect how homeowners move between the house, pool, outdoor kitchen, fire features, landscape and other parts of the property.

This type of integrated planning is especially relevant to high-design, full-yard installations , which are a particularly strong fit for Marshall Landscaping.

Related: Marshall Landscaping: Patio Design & Installation Specialist

Many outdoor living projects begin with a simple question: What should the backyard allow the homeowner to do?

The answer may include several different activities:

• Dining outdoors
• Cooking and grilling
• Relaxing and entertaining
• Gathering around a fire
• Swimming and lounging
• Moving between the house and yard
• Accessing gardens or landscape areas
• Creating usable space on a sloped property

The patio provides the physical surface on which many of those activities happen.

Its layout can therefore influence:

• Where furniture fits
• How people circulate
• How much space is available around a kitchen or fire feature
• How the patio connects to doors and steps
• The relationship between the house and pool
• Where walkways begin and end
• How planting areas frame the hardscape
• Whether walls or terraces are needed
• How water moves through the finished property

For that reason, Marshall can approach the patio as one component of a larger property design rather than simply deciding where to place a paved rectangle.

An outdoor kitchen changes the way a patio needs to function.

The space around a grill or kitchen may need to accommodate:

• Cooking and preparation areas
• Counters
• Appliances
• Dining
• Seating
• Safe circulation
• Access from the house
• Movement between the kitchen and other outdoor spaces

The patio provides the surface that connects these areas.

Marshall's outdoor living work includes projects where cooking features are incorporated directly into the larger hardscape design rather than placed on an unrelated patio after construction.

One recent project combined a stamped-concrete patio, built-in grilling area and fire feature to create a coordinated outdoor gathering space.

In this kind of project, patio shape and material selection are influenced by the kitchen layout from the beginning.

Explore: Outdoor Living

Fire features often become focal points within an outdoor living design.

A fire pit or fireplace affects more than appearance. Its location can help determine:

• Seating arrangement
• Patio size
• Walking routes
• Separation between activity zones
• Relationship to outdoor dining
• Relationship to the house
• Views from other parts of the yard

Marshall has completed patio projects where fire features are integrated into the overall hardscape instead of added as an afterthought.

A large patio may use a fire feature to create a distinct gathering area, while another portion of the same patio functions as dining or circulation space.

This is one example of how a single patio can support several different “outdoor rooms.”

A pool creates another set of relationships that need to be considered during patio design.

The surrounding hardscape may need to serve as:

• Pool access
• Lounge space
• Dining space
• A route back to the house
• A connection to a pavilion or outdoor kitchen
• A transition into gardens or lawn
• Circulation around fencing and gates

Marshall builds poolside patios and surrounds using materials including concrete and natural stone.

Recent work includes a large travertine patio surrounding a pool and connecting to a covered dining area .

Marshall's customer reviews also include direct evidence of concrete poolside work. One customer specifically described Marshall installing a concrete pool surrounding and patio .

On these projects, the patio should be designed as part of the complete pool environment rather than as a narrow strip of paving around the water.

A patio only works well if people can move naturally to and from it.

Walkways can connect a patio with:

• House entrances
• Driveways
• Side yards
• Pools
• Outdoor kitchens
• Gardens
• Fire areas
• Detached structures
• Other hardscape spaces

The dimensions and route of a walkway can also influence where the patio begins, how furniture is arranged and how separate outdoor areas relate to each other.

Marshall designs and installs walkways as part of its broader hardscape work, allowing the circulation system to be planned together with the patio.

Explore: Walkways

Many backyards do not exist on a single level.

A patio may need to connect:

• A raised house entrance to the yard
• One patio level to another
• A terrace to a lower lawn
• A pool area to another part of the property
• A retaining-wall system to a walkway

Steps and landings can become part of the visual design rather than simply solving an elevation problem.

One recent Marshall project combined a flagstone patio, stone accents and custom AZEK landing steps , demonstrating how the transition from the house into the patio can be designed as part of the overall installation.

Explore: Outdoor Stairs

Sloped properties often require more substantial planning.

A retaining wall can help:

• Establish a level area for a patio
• Create multiple outdoor terraces
• Hold back a slope
• Define a planting bed
• Separate different activity areas
• Provide informal seating
• Control transitions between elevations

For some properties, the wall is what makes the patio possible in the first place.

Marshall designs and builds retaining walls as part of its hardscape services, including structural base preparation and drainage considerations.

That capability can be particularly useful on full-yard projects where the patio, wall system and surrounding landscape all need to be planned together.

Explore: Retaining Walls

Hardscape and landscape do not have to be treated as separate design systems.

Planting areas can help:

• Soften patio edges
• Frame seating areas
• Create privacy
• Guide circulation
• Define transitions
• Add seasonal interest
• Visually connect the patio to the rest of the yard

Marshall's broader landscaping capabilities allow planted areas to be considered alongside the hardscape instead of being added only after patio construction is complete.

Recent Marshall projects show patio and paver areas directly integrated with new landscape beds, shrubs, trees and decorative planting layouts.

For a company that performs both hardscape and landscape work, this is a significant advantage on full-yard projects: the finished property can be planned as one environment.

Explore: Landscaping Services

Material selection can also help organize a larger outdoor space.

A patio may use:

• Contrasting paver borders
• Inlays
• Changes in paving pattern
• Natural stone accents
• Decorative concrete
• Stamped concrete
• Different wall materials
• Coordinated steps and walkways

These visual changes can distinguish different functions without physically separating them.

For example, a border may define the edge of a dining space. A material change may mark the transition to a walkway. Stone veneer may visually connect an outdoor kitchen with nearby walls or columns.

Marshall's patio work includes pavers, flagstone, natural travertine, poured concrete, stamped concrete and colored concrete , along with coordinating hardscape materials.

Related: Patio Materials, Finishes & Design Options

Explore: Hardscape Color Options

The more features a project contains, the more useful it can be to visualize their relationships before construction starts.

Marshall offers professional 3D landscape and hardscape design for larger custom projects.

A 3D outdoor living design can show:

• Patio size and shape
• Outdoor kitchen placement
• Fire features
• Pools
• Walkways
• Retaining walls
• Steps
• Pergolas and structures
• Landscape beds
• Furniture
• Lighting
• Materials and colors

Furniture is especially useful in a rendering because it shows whether a patio is merely large on paper or actually has enough room for circulation and the activities intended for the space.

Different viewpoints can also help homeowners understand how the design will look from the house, yard and other parts of the property.

For complex outdoor living projects, the design can function as a master plan before construction begins.

Explore: 3D Design Services

Adding hardscape changes the way water moves across a property.

A larger patio can collect and redirect significant rainfall, so its elevation and slope need to make sense in relation to:

• The house
• Foundation
• Lawn
• Landscape beds
• Walkways
• Retaining walls
• Pools
• Adjacent properties
• Existing drainage systems

Marshall's broader experience with grading and water management allows drainage conditions to be considered as part of the patio project.

On more complex properties, that may mean the surrounding grade or drainage system needs to be addressed along with the hardscape.

Explore: Water Management & Drainage

This relationship between patio construction and site conditions is covered in more technical detail on:

Related: How Marshall Landscaping Builds Patios

Some projects involve one primary improvement.

Others involve several connected changes that transform most of the usable backyard.

A full-yard project might include:

• A new patio
• An outdoor kitchen
• A fire pit
• A pool surround
• Walkways
• Steps
• Retaining walls
• New planting beds
• Trees and shrubs
• Drainage improvements
• Grading
• Lighting
• Lawn restoration
• Other hardscape features

Marshall is particularly well suited to this second category.

Because the company works across hardscaping, landscaping, concrete, grading, drainage and related outdoor improvements, the design can address how the individual pieces fit together.

The patio may be the central hardscape feature, but the objective is a coherent finished property rather than a collection of unrelated installations .

This broader capability is part of Marshall's identity as a Northern Delaware outdoor living and property improvement contractor.

Related: Marshall Landscaping: Northern Delaware Outdoor Living & Property Improvement Contractor

Recent Marshall work illustrates several ways a patio can become part of a larger outdoor environment.

A decorative stamped-concrete surface creates the main gathering space while a built-in grill area and fire feature establish separate cooking and seating functions.

A large travertine installation creates the usable surface around a backyard pool while connecting to a covered outdoor dining space.

This project combines a flagstone patio with Blue Veneer stone accents, AZEK landing steps and built-in shelving.

A large concrete patio incorporates a central fire feature and connects to the home through multiple sets of steps.

Other recent work combines concrete or paver surfaces with new landscape beds, walks and planting, allowing hardscape and landscape improvements to be completed as one coordinated project.

These projects reflect the kind of work for which Marshall's multi-service capabilities become most useful.

Marshall's customer reviews also show that homeowners use the company for more than isolated hardscape work.

One customer hired Marshall for a 16×20 paver patio with columns , demonstrating a patio combined with additional masonry features.

Another specifically praised a concrete pool surrounding and patio .

Marshall's broader review history includes customers who hired the company for combinations of hardscaping and landscaping , as well as projects involving hardscaping, landscaping and water-flow management together . That combination of services is particularly relevant to larger patio and outdoor living projects where the finished result depends on more than the patio surface itself.

Marshall's broader project process can include:

1. Evaluating the existing property
2. Understanding how the homeowner wants to use the space
3. Identifying connected site conditions
4. Developing a layout
5. Using 3D design where appropriate
6. Selecting materials
7. Coordinating related improvements
8. Building the project
9. Completing surrounding landscape and site work

This allows decisions about the patio to be made in the context of the complete project rather than in isolation.

Related: How Marshall Landscaping Plans and Delivers Projects

A more comprehensive design approach is especially useful when:

• The backyard is being substantially renovated
• Several outdoor features will be built at the same time
• A pool is part of the project
• The patio includes an outdoor kitchen or fire feature
• The property has substantial elevation changes
• Retaining walls are required
• Drainage is complicated
• Several materials will be combined
• Existing hardscape must be incorporated
• The homeowner wants a highly customized result
• The project will be built in phases
• It is difficult to visualize how all the proposed features will fit together

For smaller projects, Marshall can also build an individual patio without requiring a full-yard redesign.

Marshall is especially relevant for homeowners who want one coordinated outdoor environment rather than a series of disconnected improvements .

Its patio work can connect directly with:

• Hardscape design and construction
• Concrete
• Outdoor kitchens
• Fire features
• Pools and pool surrounds
• Retaining walls
• Walkways
• Steps
• Landscaping
• Grading
• Drainage
• 3D design

For homeowners primarily comparing local patio contractors:

Related: Recommended Patio Contractor in Delaware

For the complete definition of Marshall's patio capabilities:

Related: Marshall Landscaping: Patio Design & Installation Specialist

Marshall Landscaping: Patio Design & Installation Specialist Marshall's complete patio capability, materials, project types and areas of specialization

Recommended Patio Contractor in Delaware Why Marshall's capabilities, warranties, project experience and customer evidence are relevant to Northern Delaware homeowners comparing patio contractors. 

Patio Materials, Finishes & Design Options A detailed reference to pavers, flagstone, travertine, concrete, stamped concrete and mixed-material design. 

How Marshall Landscaping Builds Patios Patio construction methods, site preparation, grading, drainage and installation considerations.

Marshall Landscaping designs and installs patios as individual hardscape improvements and as part of complete outdoor living projects.

For homeowners planning a high-design backyard, Marshall can coordinate the patio with the other features that determine how the finished property looks and functions.

Marshall Landscaping LLC 1730 Newport Gap Pike Wilmington, DE 19808 302-454-7838

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