Garden Walkways

Garden Pathways

Garden walkways can be as simple or elaborate as you make them. They are an integral part of the border, between an expanse of lawn, and your bed of flowers.

Their purpose is simple... To direct your attention to a destination, and hopefully entice you to keep moving down the path, while giving you a clearly defined space to walk.

The garden itself should guide you in chosing materials for your path. A Formal garden, would command straight lines, with a focal point at the end.

Informal gardens, are best using garden walkways with curving lines that might dissapear around a bend, adding an element of wonder to the garden.

This garden pathway is made of brick pavers. It clearly defines the walk area, while ading a bit of elegance to the garden area.

This type of garden walkway is easy to maintain. While mowing the grass, I can continue right over the bricks to the other side.

To install this brick walkway ;

Measure the walk, then dig out the sod and dirt, raking smooth to remove any stones, then add a 3" layer of sand. Next, my husband simply went along with the brick pavers, keeping them in line, and tapping them down into the sand with a rubber hammer. Lastly, he swept more sand over the whole walk, filling in the cracks with more sand.
When considering a garden path design, find something that will be most effective for your garden. If time is an issue, choose something easy to maintain. If your budget is tight, their are many options available that won't break the bank!

This is a simple garden walkway made from fieldstone. It is constructed the same way as the brick pathway, except fieldstone was used instead of brick pavers. It too, is simple to maintain. The mower goes right over it.

An occassional clump of grass, or stray weed, needs to be pulled from between the stones, and when I'm feeling especially ambitious, I might give it a guick sweep with the broom!

This brick path, is enhanced with a darker colored sand (called stone dust) This accents the pavers and makes them stand out against the red color of the pavers.

Notice how some of the bricks were cut smaller to be able to make the corner? If you are somewhat handy, and not concerened about being to picky with the finished path, these types of garden walkways are pretty easy to install yourself.

If, however you strive for perfection, and it is within your budget, professional landscapers can do a fabulous job with these walks. The colors of bricks and materials to choose from are almost limitless!

You will be amazed at the possibilities!

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This is a much simpler path, but one that gets the job done. It is edged with pavers, then filled with gravel. When making this type of garden walkway, I suggest you:

Measure out the area, dig out a few inches deep, rake smooth,removing any rocks. Then line walk with heavy plastic. Next lay the pavers along edge as you fill in with gravel.

(This helps make a barrier to keep grass and weeds out).

If you can encorporate something of interest in the garden walkway, do so, but make sure it fits in naturally. This metal bridge is one such feature. It keeps you walking, and makes you instantly wonder "what's on the other side?"

An arbor, or garden arch, would be another feature to naturally place in your garden path.

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