by Erin Hynes
Paths in a garden create an obvious way to get from point A to point B. They’re functional: they keep mud off your shoes, prevent plants from being trampled and spare the ground from becoming compacted. They’re also a design element that breaks up the garden visually, so the garden looks fuller, and it’s easier to appreciate plant groupings. And paths draw the eye into the garden, adding depth and tempting visitors to explore.
Stepping Stones
Stepping stones making quick garden paths. Set them on the ground, spaced at a comfortable stepping distance. Surround them with mulch to keep down weeds and so the edges don’t stick up enough to trip over.
Garden stepping stones. Garden centers and catalogs offer scads of stepping stones in different materials, shapes, designs and sizes. You can get them with LED lights, seashells, sea glass or colored tiles embedded in the surface; with patterns or words etched in the surface; and with bas-relief or sunken celestial bodies, animals and licensed characters in the surface. You can even buy non-slip rubber stepping stones.
Stepping stones can be an expensive option, with prices starting around $15 per stone. Save money by making your own. Mix a batch of concrete mix, ladle it into a lubricated mold (buy one or use something from around the house, like a cardboard gift box lined with waxed paper), let it dry and remove the mold. You can add color to the mix and embed things into the surface to dress up your creation.
Pavers. You can buy manufactured square or rectangular pavers at home centers and garden centers for a few dollars each. They come in shades of white, red, gray and brown, and are plain or stamped with a pattern. They’re not exciting, but they’re affordable and get the job done. You can cover more ground with the same number of square pavers by setting them on the ground at a diagonal — so they look like diamond-shapes — rather than with the sides parallel to the edges of the path.
Flagstone steppers. Flagstones are flat, thin natural stone. There are several grades, based on the material and the uniformity of the shape and thickness. Some stone yards sell individual steppers, while others sell by the pallet.
Loose Materials
Loose materials have the advantage of being continuous, so you don’t have to watch where you put your foot. They make it easier to pause and ponder plants. The downside is that weeds can pop up through them and they can stray off the path into the garden. Patio-weight landscape fabric helps prevent the first problem, and edging helps with the second.
Gravel. Because gravel has a habit of scattering, it’s a better choice for a wide walkway than a narrow train through a garden. Before spreading gravel over the path, excavate the area to a depth of about four inches and cover the bottom and sides with landscape fabric. To contain the gravel, edge the path with rocks or other raised edging, setting the bottom an inch or two below grade so they stay put.
Crushed stone. Like gravel, crushed stone is for wide paths. It looks lovely between raised beds, especially in a small yard devoted entirely to raised beds and the paths that separate them. Crushed granite and limestone are most common. They pack tightly to form a permeable path that’s more comfortable to walk on than gravel. Excavate the path to a depth of about two inches, cover the excavated area with landscape fabric, fill with crushed stone and line the path edges with timbers or brick set slightly below grade.
Bark mulch. A woodland garden looks most natural with bark mulch paths. If you wish, you can outline the path with stones to make it clear where the path ends and the beds begin. Bark mulch is one of the cheapest materials for paths. It does break down over time, so plan to replenish every few years.
Pine needles. If you or someone you know has pine trees, you can gather pine needles and use them as you would bark mulch. Leave some under the pines to enrich the soil. Don’t collect them in public forests.
Straw. Use straw in gardens that you replant each year, such as vegetable gardens. At the end of the season, rake it up and add it to the compost pile.
Garden writer Erin Hynes has garden paths made from concrete chunks left after her neighbors replaced their driveway and from ceramic tiles left after a kitchen renovation.
