I have several thousand square feet of beds, and they are riddled with hundreds of linear feet of walking paths. Some are simply stepping stones, others are woodchip filled paths. I can reach every inch of my planting space without walking on it.

"How critical is it?" I weigh 230#, and that weight, applied to the surface of the soil through one 12" boot does a serious job of compacting the soil. That's very bad for soil you want things to grow in.

As long as you always step in the same spot when you walk in a bed you will be fine. Not walking in the beds is to avoid compaction of course. I have "invisible" paths. I don't use stepping stones or chips or anything like that. I just always walk in the very same places.

For simplification purposes say I have a bed that is 30 feet deep and 100 feet long. It is straight on the street side and has niches dipping into the woods on the back side. How best can I acheive proper spacing of stepping stones while not calling attention to them? I've thought about a zig zag, or repeated "W"s to create loose triangles. How close do the stones need to be so I can reach the plants? Maybe a loose snakeskin pattern would be more appealing?

And as long as I'm soliciting opinions.... The stones are actually my neighbor's concrete driveway and sidewalk gone awry and salvaged by me last summer. I plan to stain the concrete chunks in a striated pattern to get a more natural look. Does anyone have a favorite color or type of stone I might emulate? I don't want to copy local native red sandstone. I'm looking forward to your opinions.

I'd consider a variety of paths and keyholes. Spacing and closeness to plants depends on your size. I can comfortably reach 3' into a bed, and I can easily stride 3' between stones, but I'm 6'2" with a 27" sleeve.

For stain, I'd mix it up. Do different paths and different keyholes with different colors. I'd make some light for contrast, and some darker to meld with the mulch.

For an idea of what paths and keyholes can look like, check this out:

{{gwi:401618}}

Look closely at the section in the lower left-center of the picture, where it says "Keyhole Beds."

Something else to keep in mind in designing pathways through your garden is ease of use and viewing. It's much more pleasant to casually stroll through your gardens, alone or with guests, when you have well layed-out paths. They should be wide enough to allow you to carry a trug or to sit on a stool to weed, and dry enough to keep your feet out of the mud.

Mary Max,

In some gardens I have stepping stones, and in others I have the 'invisible' stepping areas and paths such as mentioned above. Nature has provided me with beautiful rocks to garden around and on top of, so rarely do I have nothing to step on, but sometimes these rocks make me stretch in ways which are unheard of. LOL! Following is a picture of what I'm writing about, and even though there are lots of rocks here, there is still an area with a small path to access particular hostas.

{{gwi:381952}}

Seedmama,

I don't know if I would go with a set pattern because it would dictate the garden's structure too much for me. Maybe you could do a half circle here, another there but smaller - definitely go with circular/curved shapes. As far as how close things can be planted to stones and such? I let things reseed and have discovered that Ma Nature's favourite place to reseed her beauties is right next to the stones. I just discovered a little army of Jacob Ladder plants next to a stepping stone I placed in the above garden. Now I wouldn't do that, but I do plant pretty close sometimes.

What colour is the concrete? I leave it alone for garden paths. I just set the piece down, outline it, remove it and dig out the outline, then place in the indentation bringing the dirt right up to it. After a while it looks like they were always there and they start showing age in no time. You could mosaic the odd one by using a mortar adhesive and then just placing seashells, small rocks, etc., on them. In your zone 7 you don't have to worry about the cold affecting them too much. Just a thought.

Paths are really important. I have pavers in some, "back trails" in another, boards in one and woodchips in the others. You know where you're walking, get some cheapo bricks or cement pavers and lay them where you step. You don't have to make a continuous line, just put them here and there so you can walk about easily. That way you won't be compacting the soil.

hmmm...I kept stepping where my calla lily bulbs are planted to weed and check on my ws hollyhocks...maybe that's why only one came up?

I received a great mother's day gift this year from the DH - a slate path through my largest flower bed (about 50' long and 30' deep) It is one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received, as it came with the back breaking installation included! (getting the slate to lay flat is quite a trick - hands and knees work for two days)The path is about 2 ft wide and meanders in a wave the length of the garden, about 6 feet into it, so I can work from the lawn and reach in or sit on my little scooter cart on the path and roll along, reaching the front of the bed from behind. This front part of the bed tends to have shorter flowers that get weedier and need more care. The back sections have dirt paths with some mulch, but by july it tends to grow so dense (lots of tall joe pye and hibiscus) that I don't need to work back there much anyway.

I am now planning "future path gifts" in other beds!Who needs clothes? appliances? (smile - especially when I have no interest in cooking/laundry during gardening season)Before, I actually use to break down and cry in frustration occasionally, stressing about weedier areas I just could NOT reach and "all those flowers I worked so hard to grow are just choking in there(boohooboohoo)!DH couldn't take it! and didn't want to be asked to go through the jungle and help me weed!

Anyway, long story to say - YES! - make paths!

Nancy

Over on the cottage garden forum there is a gardener that shows how she layed out,planned,planted her garden It has helped me tremendously.if you want an idea of the easy way go and search for gottagarden.Her beds are the most beautiful ones I've ever seen and her stone paths are awesome.I am making stepping stones using leaves as my pattern.Learned this on the junk forum and they are turning out beautiful.I have about 30 so far but need alot more before I lay them.So many ideas are on the forums.I too hate walking in my beds so use the cheap stones from walmart until I get some permanent paths laid.I refuse to say how much I weigh..lol but I don't want my soil packed down.
moonphase

I went to true value bought a bag of cement for 2.99.Then goodwill thrift store and bought several pretty plates, a bag of rocks for a fish tank and 5 old baking pans a heart, a circle etc.I mixed the cement just as it says on the bag, put the wet cement in the metal (and one plastic) mold. All molds were sprayed with cooking spray before the cement was put in them.I put the plates in an old blanket and broke them up with a hammer.I layed the broken glass pieces in my molds and my girls(with rubber gloves)made designs with the stones.We had a great time and I got a path out of it,cost about $10.00 and I got 14 stepping stones.

Just a thought

Gosh - I walk around my plants all the time - I do have some stepping stones I planned out, but some areas I don't - if I have compacted any soil, do I scratch it up? poke it with a fork? forgetta about it? beat myself up?
pull out my whole garden, and start over again?... (only kidding...) Seriously, any suggestion?

Carrie

Hmmm. I have a stepping stone kit and I can get cement. Hmmm.

Thanks to all! This is wonderful inspiration. My natural AR tendency is to line everything up like soldiers, even steven and symmetrical. Of course, I would never be happy with a garden like that, so I have to work really hard at being "random". It's a great mental exercise and help from friends like you really gets me out of my rut.

donn,"variety of paths and keyholes". What a great suggestion. I was worried I wouldn't have enough concrete chunks, and if I did, the sheer quantity would inundate me with monotony.

"mix it up" Yes. I think I'll stain some to look like Nancy's slate, others to mimic bluestone and Austin limestone.

"keyhole beds" This design looks to even fit the scale of my bed. I hadn't considered the strolling aspect because this is a street border, but of course the idea can apply anywhere. I agree with tiffy that I don't want a set pattern, but I was lacking inspiration. This diagram really gets the juices flowing and helps me see how to put the hidden utility path I wanted to the back of the property.

What is a trug?

tiffy, I agree with you against a set pattern. My brain is just stuck. This is one of my brand new lasagna beds and sometimes a blank palette open to all possibilities can be overwhelming.

The concrete is very light grey, verging on white. I have concerns that white will scream against the very dark composted leaf mulch, but the natural look deserves a try, perhaps in the "whites and pastels" portion of the border. I do have some great mosaic-worthy items I've been saving over the years. I'll be lucky to find the moving box containing them before Christmas, the idea seed is planted.

Nancy, I just happen to have 35 square feet of slate culled from a project last year. The brightly colored ones were used, the solid black and chipped ones were stashed in the crawl space. The tiles aren't very thick, so I probably should underlay them with concrete. I also think I'll break up the edge and shape for a more natural look.

Ditto about clothes and appliances. But it's my husband who breaks down and cries. When I joined the forum the winter sowing gods came and surgically removed my ability to load and unload a dishwasher.

moophase, thanks for telling me about gottagarden. I've never visited the cottage garden. I will now. The leaf shape stepping stone is a beautiful thing. I grew extra caladiums and elephant ears this year just for that. I also have my eye on some poke weed that is so big I should call it "Yvonne's". The hypertufa forum has wonderful. inpiration for concrete castings.

flowered corners, one of my child's favorite phrases is "my creation". I've added this to our summer project idea list. Sounds wonderful.

Thanks so much to all. I've been paralyed on what to do about paths. All this inspiration really has me going. Thanks mary max for starting the thread.

P.S. I think I'll use this as an opportuntity to learn how to post photos...

carrie, when I was building these lasagna beds I sometimes needed to walk through. I always walked backward and covered my tracks with a stab and twist motion of the pitch fork. My thinking was to not eliminate the wonderful air pockets created by layers of green beans and potato chunks.

I think the same thought applies in established gardens. The soil needs air to be healthy. Or maybe it's the roots that need air. When hubby and I were first married, I stabbed his entire lawn with a pitchfork to aerate it. Later that summer, the neighborhood walkers stopped to ask what kind of fertilizer we were using.

"What is a trug?"

A trug:

{{gwi:401620}}

One of the most useful gardening tools ever invented. Approximately 7 gallons of capacity. I have 3, red, blue and green, which are in constant use.

Avoid yellow. It attracts bees and wasps.

I'm with mrsgalihad....I just try to step in the same spots whenever I need to get in. I did try adding some flat stones in the beds this early spring before everything got going but now I'll be damned if I can find them now LOL! My whole yard and beds are just too small for paths.
My only rule is not stepping/working in the beds period when it's wet enough to stick to tools, shoes, ect.

Vera

I was thinking of this thread today when I suddenly went insane and dug up a whole entire border. I now had a clean palette that's four feet wide...too far to strecth across and plant without falling over into it. I went around the garden and selected broken bricks and flat rocks and dropped them into place before I started planting. I now have a new bed and place for my tootsies too. My footrocks run right down the center of the bed, not very fenshui but it's practical and does what I need it to do. In a few weeks I may not even see those footrocks anymore because they'll be overgrown, but right down the middle is where I know I'll find them.

T

I also have an invisible path thru the garden at least in one bed. The other huge bed is seerated into two sections so each is easy to get to. But I am afraid that I am not worried about soil compaction as long as I don't walk on the beds everyday it should be fine. And there are paths around the beds to ohh and ahh around hehe.

Paula

I always started out with stepping stones placed strategically thoughout the bed. After one season, the path went awry. lol. No wonder, because I broadcast annuals in between perennials and shrubs. Now I just step on spent blooms and annuals that die out, including bent down spring bulb foliage. :-P Literally every inch in my garden is filled with plants :-D I cannot step anywhere in the beds without stepping on something. lol.

I wanted to thank everyone again for their inspiration on tackling the paths in my very large border. Once I got started it only took me about two hours.

I worked in the rain. I put donn's keyhole bed picture in a gallon ziploc, filled a squirt bottle with flour and drug a water hose to the street. I placed the hose for the first major curve. I traced the hose with a squirt of flour.

Once the first curve was in, the placement and shape of the rest came rather easily. I just squirted them in place with the flour. The two or three I didn't like the first time were scratched out with the pitch fork and redone.

For speed, simplicity and lugging weight all the paths were done in wood chips. I decided the important thing was simply to get the paths in place so I could get plants in the ground. I can modify the material in the off season.

From the beginning, the paths were not intended for strolling, only for maintenance. The keyholes were primarily detached, much like the picture donn provided. However, once I had the wood chips in place, I could see very logical places to connect the keyholes without giving up much planting space. The result is a nice stroll.

The result was exactly what I needed. It is random but sensible, irregular but balanced, discreet yet substantial. And most of all, it is finished!

All of your suggestions really helped get me off dead center on a mentally overwhelming task and I just wanted to say how much your input meant.

Thanks,
seedmama

It is random but sensible, irregular but balanced, discreet yet substantial.

What a great description! I'm glad you got it done and that you're happy.

T

Can you take a pic, seedmama?

We would love to see your finished product!

P.S. Gonna have to get a trug!

Yes, as soon as it stops raining (we're on day 15 with no end in sight) I'll take a pic. I've taken pics of this same bed while I was building lasagna and it just doesn't "show". I'll need to put a ladder in the street to get a picture that "shows".

Well done, seedmama. Can't wait to see the pics.