Creating Paths In Your Garden

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Garden paths create coziness and convenience when moving around the garden and decorate it

Walking paths are an integral part of any garden. Without them, it will lose its meaning as a place to rest. Agree, not everyone who wants to get into the garden is ready to jump over the cabbage, carrot or flower beds. Paths are also necessary for convenient maintenance of flower beds and fruit and berry plants.

Paths and paths are designed to be practical and comfortable; they fulfill emotional and aesthetic functions in the garden landscape. Attractive trails lead comfortably from point A to point B, keeping your feet clean and dry. Even before the creation of the path, a type of it is chosen that will provide the owners with a pleasant and comfortable walk to their destination.

There are various ways to decorate paths. For example, a small architectural form or a beautiful vase at the far end can serve as a dominant point on a narrow or wide path. Walking along the path, the owner or guest of the garden will definitely slow down to admire the flowers or ornamental plants that surround the path.

Walking on stone slabs requires more attention and care, sometimes even supports are created on it. Paths are sometimes used to create certain visual effects in the landscape. A straight, narrow path that runs to the end of a short garden may seem longer than it really is. Also, paths that run diagonally across the garden, through a narrow, cramped area, makes it visually wider. Curved paths between the beds and hidden around corners help you feel the space. They visually enhance the composition of the landscape. Like hedges and special wooden structures, paths increase the appeal of the design and also help to clean up the landscape.

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Path surface types

Spectacular paths create a certain sensation when walking along them.

Gravel makes a pleasant crunchy sound when walking on it. They cover the paths in the wet part of the site in both formal and informal gardens. This keeps your feet dry.

Slabs of various types and shapes create a beautiful shine, especially when wet.

The brick path helps create a certain mood while walking. Delicate, irregularly growing flowers at the edges and light brickwork give the path an informal look.

Wooden paths winding around the swampy areas facilitate access to the border square. Wood chips made of bark and wood or pine needles on a path in a wooded garden create complete harmony with the surroundings.

Paving paths

The choice of the type of paving is also very important. It is recommended to change the material of the paving when moving from one sector of the landscape to another. This variety of material helps to give a new tone to the area and lift the mood. The change in coverage is accompanied by the sensation of other sounds underfoot. Most often, the change in the texture of coatings is made at the intersection of paths.

Most of the beautiful paths are made from a mixture of materials, from a combination of concrete pavement, old bricks, laid out in a pattern or in a geometric shape. Combinations of pieces of stone (processed or crushed) and concrete slabs are used. A path made of crushed stone or gravel and concrete slabs through a tunnel of green plants is a sight to behold.

Cost of work and quality

A path lined with stone, concrete slabs and bricks requires a substantial investment. While a variety of materials are readily available from many garden centers, take a good look at which material is best for your garden. Don't go for light and cheap ones. The visual color and texture of the paving material should match your home and garden.

The work associated with paving spectacular pathways in garden design adds value. But filling them with gravel or small stones, plants in cracks among stones, or creating a ground cover soil carpet of creeping thyme, armeria, fragrant alissum or sedum decorate them with extraordinary beauty.

Path functionality

So, you have decided on the materials for the paving, taking into account the practical functionality of the path. Be aware that some materials, such as wood and certain types of stones, become slippery, unreliable when wet, creating a potential risk of falls and bruises. These paths are not suitable for front paths.

Gravel paths remain in good condition for a long time if their edges are limited by any bumpers in order to prevent gravel from slipping, washing it off the slope. This creates problems for the owners and spoils the neighboring plantations. The gravel path, limited at the sides, helps to enhance its decorative effect. Bumpers restrict gravel from rolling towards plants on both sides of the path. If there is a need to keep the path clean from snow in winter, then you need to choose a solid surface of the paths so that they can be cleaned with a shovel, sweeping with a broom without violating the integrity of the paving material.

Paths are highly prized when they are well maintained and clean after rain. Even on wet lawn grass it is unpleasant to walk. Therefore, the path on the lawn is paved with stones or bricks so as not to spoil the grass and not get your feet wet when driving.

Free-lying bricks, flat and smooth surface provide reliable and safe walking and working with sharp tools. Paths with a slight incline are usually dry or dry quickly after rain, water does not form puddles. If the soil remains wet for a long time, then drainage pipes are laid under the paths to drain the water.

It is necessary to take into account in advance whether the path will be used when performing any work. If you intend to use a path for a wheelbarrow and a garden cart, then it should be wide enough and comfortable: 70 cm is the minimum width of the path, and a path of one meter is even better. The minimum width of the path, which will allow two people walking side by side, to walk freely, is 1.5 m.

Garden paths are planned not only for the purpose of improving the design, but also for the rational use of the area of the site. A person is always determined to shorten his path between two points, and for this he often seeks to cut corners. In an informal garden, the paths are usually winding to suit your taste and needs.

The most rational are paths with a design that is convenient for use. They must provide free access to the surrounding plantings. After all, when walking along them, the earth is compacted there. The maintenance of the paths does not require imagination. They should not be littered or planted with many plants so that they successfully fulfill their main purpose - approaching flower beds, a house, a bench, or providing an overview of the environment. The paths should be laid according to your wishes and needs.

Low-growing plants with a dull color scheme and fragrant flowers are planted near paths and paths. Tall plants and plants with a bright color scheme benefit from planting at some distance from the paths.

To decorate paths and paths, dwarf fruit trees, standard berry bushes, coniferous and flowering shrubs can be used. Floral and decorative garlands, pyramids and columns serve as a wonderful decoration of the paths.

Garden path material

The strength of the material determines the nature of the paths. Shredded wood bark is most suitable for wooded gardens. Slab stones are the most structural, but give the landscape an urban style. Roof tiles and shells are used effectively mainly in the south.

In the conditions of the Leningrad Region, the following coatings are most widely used for paving paths:

• Collection of stones
• Turf
• Bark (chips or pieces)
• Gravel
• Brick or brick debris
• Wooden blocks
• Ceramic tile or tile
• Marble
• Crushed stones
• Pebble or cobblestone
• Concrete blocks
• Pine waste
• Field stones
• Artificial stones
• Stone slabs
• Fired clay
• Granite blocks

Contouring paths

The contours of paths and paths are like the frame of paintings - they draw attention to the center and form a single whole with it. Fencing also serves a practical purpose, protecting the soil, gravel or other material within the boundaries, as well as from contamination of the surrounding plants. They are an integral part of a properly designed path, giving it a complete look in the garden. The border of the path is also used in garden design. It allows you to connect surfaces with different paving and contours of different materials. For example, brick and wood.

Border selection

If you want to make a border of a path from plants, choose plants of a natural compact form or those that respond well to a haircut. Boxwood, cypress grass, and others are excellent plants for formal hedge contouring. To soften the view, choose low, ground cover plants, such as aubrieta, cuff, low hosts, irises, low lilies, dwarf roses.

Structural bricks, wood, plastic, clay tiles, gratings, tiles, patterned braids, metal plates are used as a contour.

The color of the sand on the paths plays an important role in ensuring the overall harmony of floral design. A darker color of sand is better. The path on the path should be beautiful and reliable. The border setting technique begins by removing soil along the path. Before laying the paving material, place a border along the path 1-3 cm above the surface of the lawn adjacent to the path.

Wooden border. Dig a trench along the path of the path deep enough. The border is set so that it rises 2–3 cm above the ground. Stakes 30–40 cm high are driven into the ground every 90–100 cm to fix the boards in place. To increase the strength, the stakes with the boards are fastened with screws.

Curved wood border. It is made from a large number of sawn pieces of board 18-20 cm long and 2 cm thick. The total length of the segments should be equal to the length of the curved border line. Dig a trench in the same way as described above. Stakes are hammered to a depth of about 30 cm along the bend of the path. For the strength of the installation, the stakes are fastened with screws to the wooden border. With a slight bend, the tree can not be cut. Soak the board in water for several days. The board becomes flexible and can then be laid damp and secured to the stakes.

Stone border. To create a vertical stone fence, dig a 5 cm deep trench with a horizontal bottom. Pour 5 cm of sand on the bottom of the trench. Install a tightly vertical fence made of stone of any shape. The top of the stones is leveled by tapping on top and deepening them into the sand. Then the paving material is laid on the path.

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Landscape steps

Changing the surface of the garden gives it its originality. Another way to highlight the peculiarity of garden design is the way the steps are laid, their type and number. The aesthetics of the garden design as a whole depends on the degree of slope. It is clear that steps in a garden are different from steps inside a house. With a slight incline, comfortable steps are arranged with a height of about 30 cm with platforms every 10-12 steps. Comfortable steps are designed for stress-free walking. People tend to accelerate their stride when they are slightly ascending. The steps change, become slower as you descend. If possible, the steps are made wider. For two people walking side by side, the smallest step width should be 1.5 m.

An important factor in choosing a design and material for garden steps is the owner's budget, as well as his idea of the appearance of the structure after the completion of work. The steps around the house should be consistent with its architecture and garden style. Farther from home, especially if the garden becomes more informal, you can opt for less expensive material. Regardless of the style of the stairs, it is always necessary to think about ensuring the safety of the people who will use them and that they fulfill their assigned role.

The basic rule is that the steps should be as wide as the paths on which they are located. Steps that are uneven on the rise, different in height and depth, are very dangerous. When the path is steeply ascending, handrails are installed. Safe and comfortable steps with a slight, slight slope, so that rainwater does not accumulate on them, and there is a drain. It is possible to make the horizontal surfaces of the steps from a non-slip material. The steps should be firm, dry and dry quickly after rain.