Sorry, I didn't mean to be rambly and disjointed. I'd have to see the front and back as a whole, to say for sure what I'd do, and where I'd do it. We paved a large area in our backyard and are glad we did. We find it helpful at times to take pictures from the roof-then we can see exactly where certain problem areas are, and we can look at the front and back that way to find ideas to bring the two together. Once you can see the problem from a different angle, that could help to point toward how to fix it.

Here are pictures from the front and back that show the house as well as the gate and area in question

"... the path doesn’t resolve the tree issue at all as it is a super wide area that has no grass growing on it." One does not grow grass where grass doesn't grow. If there's not enough light for grass, grow something else.

If people are using the side yard as access to the back yard, on any more than an infrequent basis, that you need a permanent path is an obvious reality. Your earlier suggestion of making the path out of patio tiles ... it will work. But it's high maintenance and looks cheap. Suit yourself. You have grade change to deal with and that makes a tile, or an aggregate path, troublesome. Saying that you, "don't want that much hardscape," defies logic. Hardscape is a product of need. You either need it, or you don't. So why need it but not want it.? This is boiling down to that you can install a cheaper, minimal type path, but you're going to expend a lot more effort in maintenance and daily dealing with an inferior product. There's enough grade change apparent in the last picture indicating that cheaping out is going to cost you.

Ouch tell me what you really think. I said we grew the grass there as a place holder. End of an expensive build and wanted something. It has been great overall and zero regrets.

The picture makes it look far steeper than it is in reality. Yes it could have a couple do steps but not many.

When I say I don’t wNt hardscaping it’s because I don’t want a lot of non permeable surfaces on our already damp west coast lot. I’d prefer things to be breathable and we have also be over the allowable surface to cover anyway so it’s irrelevant.

What would you suggest Yardvark? You said no to patio tiles and no to aggregate and no to a minimal path. Are you suggesting poured concrete or what?

Anyway we have a meeting with the landscape designer who planned our gardens and front pathway design. I’ll see what her thoughts are on the area and what is recommended.

AS please keep us updated on what you decide to do.

I don't understand why no larger patio stone either. I have no maintenance with mine. I don't see having to have steps either with your slop. In my area that would be considered a flat yard.

Thank you. Will definitely report back :)

Why don't you take out the grass on the side, do the stepping stones, and flower beds like this:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2035411/garden-paths-pic-heavy#n=31

Tiger eye I doubt that would grow under the tree either. Also we like the grass everywhere but the gate

Hostas are for shade. Maybe you should just get the neighbors to cut the trees down, lol.

Ha ha. The tree is awesome. No way it’s going! We need to adjust and I know that. I’ll see what the landscape designer suggests too

"I’d prefer things to be breathable and we have also be over the allowable surface to cover anyway so it’s irrelevant." There are the "grasscrete" type pavers. I don't like or recommend them, but they exist, would work and would satisfy the permeability objection. But they wouldn't make as good of a walk as regular pavers.

Could you bump the driveway out a smidge so it arcs into the edge of the side entrance instead of straight to the garage and not connected to the side entrance?

To continue with a bit of soft, perhaps large round pavers or somewhat irregular shaped flagstone would work to create the entire pathway.

You might want to try moss, hostas, snowdrops, and mints under that cedar shade. I got all these growing under my cedars. I think the tree helps keep the mint in check maybe.

We cannot change driveway at all. It is maxed out as is. The side entrance is not used by anyone other than our tenants to head down to the suite. The garage side door is not used at all.

Flagstone is what started this whole debate. We have two quotes for 3-4 feet wide flagstone pathways from the top all the way to the bottom of the side yard. I'm hesitant to go with this plan because the stone is so different than anything else we have on site.

Thank you for the plant ideas. I'll look into them for sure. We've had only so so luck with Hostas on our lot so I'm a bit hesitant. I do love them though especially when large and they come in so many green colours it is stunning.

"I'm hesitant to go with this plan because the stone is so different than anything else we have on site." Right. It's out of character insofar as everything else we can see in the picture. What is in character? A mere 3-foot wide paver walk. That wasn't hard at all.

Everything else in the yard is square lines. Nothing other than the driveway curve has any rounded edges and zero areas have irregular flagstone type feel to it.

As I’ve already said a 3 foot wide paver walk is not an option as we cannot add more non permeable surface.

We have a lot of blocks, with sand under. We just work with the slopes and angles for drainage. What do other people do in your area?

Also hostas are the best plants ever.

Paving stones on our driveway also have sand under but they are considered a non permeable surface. So that is not an option here unless we have gaps between whatever pieces we use. People around us tend to use various things. I've seen flagstone, concrete pieces, pavers etc. Our neighbour, same kind of side yard, just has a slope like we do. He doesn't have a fenced yard though.

How big of gaps do you need? I don't personally care for the idea of flagstone w/the lines of your house. What about doing pavers w/however many inches between, and in those gaps, pea gravel? Let me see if I have pictures saved. How permeable does it need to be?

I’m also not for flagstone. Hence this whole post :)

Gravel and small stones are fine.

It’s okay I will share the plan once we have it. Landscape designer comes tomorrow.

This first one shows raised garden beds, so the high sides all around. You wouldn't need anything high like that. I can't tell if it's fresh pea gravel or something else. You could put mulch down instead. Put some blocks inside like in the second picture. It doesn't have to look "cheap". It's clear there needs to be something there.

Really like the second one. Others I've seen in my looking that I also like are below:

Pelissier Residence · More Info

Xeriscape using Core-Ten retaining walls, Basalt pathways w/ stepping stones, Ne · More Info

I really think the landscape designer will have lots of ideas though. She will help us sort out the best material for our budget and longevity and also what plants might have a chance near the tree etc.

Update after meeting with the landscape designer. Basically we will be doing a 12x24 inch pavers in a kind of off set pattern for the top and bottom. Removing sod where the gate is and around it and adding mulch and rocks and a few ferns but not a lot of plants. On the inside of the gate by the house will be another bed which will have something in it down the road. I feel like this plan accounts for the overall house style and the existing landscaping. Also tackles the cedar.

Well whomp whomp plans have fallen apart. My husband is totally opposed to the plan the landscape designer came up with. He doesn’t want to have to mow between the pavers.

So we are now begrudgingly looking at just doing the 3-4 foot wide pavers path that many of you suggested. It’s a lot of hardscaping but I guess it is what is most warranted.

So my question is how would you do this? Would you curve it or make it angled to reach the driveway at top and the patio in back? See pics.

The new walk is going to look much better if it ties to the existing walk and patio at 90*. The exact route, of course, you'd work out in plan view.

There is also a possibility of adjusting the driveway and side bit to be absorbed into the new walkway.

There's probably a number of possibilities. But a person would need to visit the site and work it out in plan. We don't know enough of the details about the house to definitively know where the path should go ... if it should align with a doorway or something like that.

The guy who did our driveway and other pavers is coming today. Fingers crossed this doesn’t cost a small fortune since it is a side yard and not well used space.

Pathway to a garden gate made with stone pavers, accented by beds of annuals and perennials - no mowing required. To see more photos of this garden, click here.

Van Zelst this is not at all what we are looking for. We want to keep as much of the grass as we can. We want to address the need for a path and the area by the cedar. Not looking to make a big garden at all.

When you exit that door, do you usually go toward the front of the house or the back?

Is there a door that leads you to the other direction?

Consider doing what you actually need to do create a path toward the direction you most often go as you leave this door -- but no more ... so you can keep the grass in place, as is, in the other direction.

You might consider putting one large interesting shaped paving stone somewhere in that grass you're leaving as is -- have its top level with the ground -- and put a bird bath there where it can be seen from a window and/ or from your doorway.

We don’t use that door ever. It’s a side door of garage. Have not opened it once in 1.5 years.

The side yard path is for friends coming over when we are in back yard, bringing garbage to the front, bringing mower to the back, occasional kid running from back to front. Nothing else. We need a decent path and nothing more. It is a marginally useful space at best.

We are getting a path too to bottom just not sure what materials for sure

To keep the use of the path from wearing a rut in your grass, just add a row of single pavers one step apart (and with their tops dirt level) from front to back -- something you can easily mow over.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/install-garden-pavers-48484.html

As I said above my husband doesn’t want that. It was the original plan

I know prices are regional but does $5800 for the paver pathway plus removal of sod by tree and adding in mulch and soil seem reasonable? It’s higher than I expected but we have two quotes around that price.

It's not just that prices are regional. We haven't seen a plan. Don't know how many square feet. know no details. There's quite a bit that goes into the work, and there are extras, so anyone out here would be guessing in the dark.

Okay let’s simplify. 300 square feet of paving stone work costs where you live?

On a purely square footage basis, it's within a high but acceptable cost range. There is too much "it depends" to nitpick it apart without knowing the aforementioned details & factors. If you don't have a physical plan yet but are already getting prices, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage, as prices would be based on something unseen in another person's mind. Everyone would be pricing out something a little different.

The landscaped designer is not going to make a plan for a three foot wide pathway in the paving stones. It’s too obvious for us to pay for that. If we go this route she will not draw up the plan for us. Not worth it.

It’s not hard to tell someone to make a three foot wide path and draw it out on the grass. They measure top to bottom to quote materials. I’m off the next goodness knows how many weeks as coronavirus explodes and can be here during install.

I would't expect you to hire someone to draw such a simple plan. I'd expect you to scratch it out yourself onto a piece of graph paper. If it is so easy for the contractor to envision the project without a plan, then it's easy for you to draw it. Without a plan, it's not going to be obvious to someone bidding, how the walk ties to the existing paving, or any of its smaller details, or quality specs. --things we've talked about here. It is much easier to put all this on a sheet of copy paper that it is to re-explain all of it to every bidder, likely forgetting about some detail in the process. When there is no drawing, it automatically ups the anxiety factor for a bidder because it forces him to read your mind and second-guess on the variables. He is likely to add a little more to the bid in order to compensate for a potentially neglected item or two. Because he's been there before and seen how such things come up. It would take no more than 20 minutes for a novice to measure the area and draw this little walk onto a piece of paper. If the novice had questions about how to draw the walk, it would serve as an example of how the bidder might have questions about its details, too. Having a drawing is part of the construction process. One is free to ignore consequences ... but not free to escape the consequences of ignoring them.

Thank you for the advice. I feel like we can choose someone to work with based on their price per square foot and the quote they give. We can be there for install too. I’m not opposed to drawing something out I just genuinely feel it isn’t needed for this small job.

"I just genuinely feel it [a drawing] isn’t needed for this small job." So that ends up being where we differ. I cannot tell you how many times such small jobs end up with the homeowner saying something like, "I didn't know they were going to do it like THAT!" For $6K, I'd make sure my "THAT'S" are all resolved and committed to print before starting.

If I was paying someone else to do work for me, and I said it's simple, I want XYZ, and I got *exactly* XYZ, w/out taking other things that came up into consideration, and I was unhappy, I'm going to get a shrug and "you *said* XYZ and that's what I did" Heck, that happens here at our house w/stuff we do ourselves. I come home and b/c of unforseen things, something had to be changed. It happens. If I don't know how to do it, I don't want to assume just b/c it looks simple to me, that it's black/white cut and dried.

I understand how people believe a drawing is key. As I'm looking for quotes at this time to get an idea of prices and then will finalize with the person doing the work I"m not worried. When they install I will be here and can confirm layout etc. I’m getting basic quotes per square foot to make sure it is something we can afford and someone we want to work with. The rest will come once I know who we want to work with. I said to people here it is simple. On site I worked with the people giving the quotes in some cases for 30 mins to detail what we wanted. If someone can’t even quote me for a 3 food pathway top of yard to bottom then there are issues. If they can and it fits our budget then we will work with them to iron out the details.

I also think a lot of this needs to be decided with materials on site. We need to get the pieces and confirm the plan together. A picture from me even to scale on graph paper won’t help as I need to see it with them in real life. I cannot visualize what I want until I see it in our space. But I can tell who I might be willing to work with from talking to them for 30+ minutes and deciding if their quote is within reach.

Just wanted to update a bit on this. We ended up going with 24x24” square pieces spaced 6” apart. This is only partially done with more to come tomorrow but it’s really all we need at a completely affordable price. The landscaper laid it out, we approved layout and they began. After placing four pieces they confirmed we are happy and we were. Can’t wait for it to all be done. Tomorrow the mulch goes in and the rest of the path beyond the gate.

Looks good. Fits right in with your other walks.

And the other side. I love it.

It is perfect for your needs. I think anything else would of looked over done. Simple, looks good and serves the purpose. Personally I would be tempted to put some pots of impatiens in the mulch area. Maybe a birdbath or fountain. But of course I will stick flowers anywhere I can. Lol

@functionthenlook I am getting some large bolder/stones to go kind of by the tree and may put a few things there eventually. For now this is far superior to what was there so we are super please.

I was actually just gifted some ground cover called comfrey available (Symphytum grandiflorum) and I was contemplating putting it in but I wasn't sure how well it would do under the tree.

I like the idea of the large boulders even better. It will give the space extra interest and you don't have to water or weed them .