Martha, I just put down sawdust for all my paths this spring and there is one drawback I have noticed that is kind of annoying and unfortunately I didn't realize it would be a problem until I had finished all my paths. :( The problem is that when the sawdust is dry and you are dragging a hose around to water, you naturally will dribble some water down the hose and then the sawdust will start sticking to the hose. You lay the spray head down in the path to rearrange the hose or to pull a weed and then when you pick it up again it's got icky sawdust stuck all over it which gets on your hands. :( I think I'm going to go back over everything again with a layer of leaves which I've used in the past and now realize are preferable to sawdust.

I use drip irrigation so that wouldn't be an issue for me. Don't your leaves get blown around a lot?

I have mulched leaves in my garden beds and paths,they don't blow around. Work great!

>> Don't your leaves get blown around a lot?

No, I usually get my leaves from the city leaf pile and they are generally a bit damp and a bit decomposed. After I placed them on the paths and walk on them a bit they mat down into a tight layer.

I just decided to give the sawdust a try this year because I had a free source that was closer than the city leaf pile and I thought it would feel nice on bare feet. :) But the ickyness on a wet hose displeases me. Maybe I just need to get a drip irrigation system! ;)