Ideas for an Egyptian Limestone Patio

July 01, 2015

Contemporary, yet ageless. An Egyptian limestone patio is a handsome addition to your garden. We highlight the starring roles it's had in RHS show gardens and the patio ideas you can take from them.

Jamie Langlands of Oxford Garden Design chose Egyptian limestone for this show garden at RHS Malvern 2022, showing its ability to enhance a contemporary design.

Make the most of contemporary styling

At RHS Malvern in 2022, Oxford Garden Design chose the gentle tones of Egyptian Beige limestone to create a smooth, svelte appearance to this small garden layout. The fine joint lines, made possible by the density of the paving and the sawn edges, complement the modern style of the furniture.

The City Twitchers Garden put a bespoke touch to standard-sized paving. Photo by Jonathan Ward.

In Sarah's wildlife garden, standard-sized paving slabs were put together and then sawn to create round islands in the lawn of chamomile. Mortar lines are matched or, where that's not possible, strictly parallel across the garden. The work was done on site so that Sarah could have more flexibility in size and placement and shows how attention to a seemingly small detail can have a big impact on an overall design.

Bespoke plank paving in Egyptian limestone breaks up the direction of travel on this path in the Gold-winning MacMillan Legacy garden, RHS Hampton Court 2015, and encourages visitors to slow down. Design by Ann-Marie Powell. Picture credit: Jonathan Ward.

Add light to dark gardens

The Macmillan Legacy Garden, designed by Ann-Marie Powell, at Hampton Court Flower Show in 2015, was intended as a design for a shady spot, so the pale-coloured paving was carefully chosen for its contribution to dimly lit areas. “Egyptian limestone brings light into the garden," says Ann-Marie. The colour also goes really well with birch bark as it's got a slight apricot shade.” Using light-coloured paving like this is a way to add up-lighting to plants, as well as lead the eye around the design.

The City Twitchers Garden used Egyptian Beige limestone to add contemporary detail to a wildlife garden. Designed by Sarah Keyser of CouCou Design and built by Living Landscapes

The colour also attracted Sarah Keyser for her City Twitchers Garden in the Summer Gardens category at RHS Hampton Court 2015 with its round limestone patio and companion stepping stones. “I wanted the stone as light and evenly coloured as possible,” she says. With these needs in mind, she had considered porcelain paving, but decided she preferred the finish on limestone and the fact that it's a natural stone. The result is a wildlife garden with a contemporary feel, where the paving picks up the white-washed cedar fencing and makes a contrast with the woven willow.

Vary slab sizes

Ann-Marie went for bespoke paving slabs for the MacMillan Legacy Garden, sandblasted and brushed. Generally a plank shape, with narrow tread depth, they were laid with birch litter in between. This gave the feeling that the Egyptian limestone paving and the trees had been companions for several seasons. Using organic materials like litter helps to soften a geometric outline and acts as a balance to hard landscaping. Variations in the slab sizes encourages the visitor to slow down in strategic sections of the garden: for example, when reaching the pool and crossing the rill. Without going down the bespoke route, it's possible to vary slab sizes by combining the three sizes we offer, as well as cutting stone to size.

This show garden at RHS Tatton Park 2022, by Emma Tipping shows how versatile Egyptian Beige limestone can be, paired with very contemporary shapes and colour.

A limestone patio for versatile styling

In Come Lime With Me, Emma Tipping's design at RHS Tatton Park 2022, the paving effortlessly complements the rectilinear shape and block colouring of the seating, softening the garden's base layer while maintaining a crisp, modern character. Together all the gardens on this page show how Egyptian limestone blends into so many different designs, adding elegance to each. This is even more the case with the addition of our Acid-washed and Antique Egyptian Beige limestone options. No wonder it's so much loved. Beige is not the only colour for limestone. Why not check out Kota Blue limestone patio designs? And for even more inspiration, see take-home patio ideas from RHS Shows. Post updated: February 2025

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