You might try putting gravel and small stones between the slabs. If tightly packed with a bit of edging they should stay in place during traffic. The size of the gravel/stones would depend on the distance between the slabs.

Claire

What about growing grass between them? Bring the soil to the right level and sow seed in the fall.

Marie, I have limited experience beyond my path. First, I can't speak to the incline as mine is flat. The path is flat and ends in two steps down to a flat "patio" area. The steps were made from two large pieces of granite on the property, as our area was formerly a quarry and I bought the house with an eght-foot-tall pile of discarded boulders beside the driveway.

As for erosion, I will say that I am EXTREMELY happy with the miniature thymes planted between the boulders in the path. The patio has grass planted, and it's a weed nightmare. Seeds from every weed on earth are able to sprout and establish in the grass, making them almost impossible to pull. The miniature thymes are easy to maintain. They hug the ground so closely that any weed seedling is obvious and easily pulled when very young. Indeed, in the mornings I enjoy the zen of walking that path and seeing a small two-bladed seedling of new grass, knowing I'll pull it, roots and all, in two seconds. I am VERY happy with the thymes. I know one is Eflin. I have no problems with foot traffic because the soil level is just below the slabs. The thyme seems very happy there and my large gorilla cart probably doesn't exert all its weight on the thyme roots since the slabs are slightly elevated. Have you tried thyme? I would think it would anchor soil very well. The miniature thymes are too small to be bothered by foot or cart traffic, and make weeding extremely easy. A key question: HOW MUCH DISTANCE BETWEEN YOUR SLABS? Mine probably averages 1 to 1.5 inches.

As for freeze-thaw, it seems to have no affect on my path. It could be what my mason laid as a foundation, not sure. But, I completely trust him. Not only was he affordable (and I got several quotes), he LOVES masonry and studied ancient celtic stonework in England "just because". His knowledge was priceless.

Wish I could be more help. I'll try to answer as specifically as I can to any other questions.

Interesting,Sue. I'll add that to my list of ideas. Diggiing six inches down seems like a daunting job!

It was a pain in the you know what. You could likely get away with less if you don't have the water problem that plagues my path.

I had the original installer retturn to look at the problem. Her solution is to just re-lay the stones so they are level. I need to clarify whether her plan is that they'll be closer. I have one patch on thyme that is thriving. I need to look again at it to see what may be different about that one spot that has done so well.

i'm going to get a couple more estimates. I wish I felt more confident about the installer's ability to fix the problem.

Deanna, is the reason you ask about the distance between the stones because there needs to be enough room? to plant? There's anywhere from two inches to 4 inches at different edges of the stones.There's a border on each side of the path. Come to think of it, maybe I need to plant creepers like that thyme at the outside edges and hope it grows into the cracks towards the center. I 'm pretty sure I tried that several years ago but it was not successful.

I'm happy to collect ideas and suggestions but I'm not going to attempt any planting at this point of the season.

I only ask to see if the extra space between the pavers makes it easier for erosion to occur. I have no idea! I would think with a good thyme that 2-4 inches would be just fine. I'm going to post pictures on a separate post below to show you my thymes and stones. I bought the tiny elfin thymes which came in the fat six packs (or 4 packs maybe). Each portion was easily divided into fourths, and sometimes fifths, and I could squeeze a portion into the cracks and it grew well and quickly in one summer . Fortunately, the existing soil was about a half inch or more below the level of the rocks, so I could squish one of the thyme divisions down and press some soil on top of the roots. You could probably do the same with the cracks in the center. Weeds do take root in the thyme, but as I said earlier they are so much easier to manage because they are very obvious when young seedlings and easy to pull out. MUCH MUCH easier than grass. I hate the grass between my rocks.

The next photos will compare my miniature thymes with larger varieties that are still considered smaller thymes. Standard thymes would be way too big for my rocks.

Photos in next post:

1) my foot for dimension reference. The thyme grows just a bit outside of the cracks, so the spacings are almost as large as the thyme plantings. You can see some tiny seedlings which I'll pull, as well as violas, which I allow to grow and flower in the thyme and have never overwhelmed it. They are TINY violas and very cute. They're miniature because of growing conditions, not because of variety.

2) My foot with an area where the thyme ends and grass begins. Grass--the never ending maintenance burden between cutting and weeding.

3) This is a larger small thyme, probably Magic Carpet. It spread much more. The big wide path of elfin thyme you see in the photo is a place where the gap was wide, between the walkway and driveway, and the elfin thyme has grown between 1.5-4 inches onto the stones. It is the only place it has spread the far out of the crack and onto the stone I prefer the elfins over the small thyme for these stones.

4) An area where a small thyme like Magic Carpet grows between two steps and it grows several inches onto the lower step. Works well here.

5) Last photo. I absolutely adore my Scotch and Irish Moss in this photo. These stones are FAR apart, close to a foot. The Scoth Moss 'Aurea' loves this location and just glows. Just a thought.

You make a good point about a large space being "erodible"

I hadn't figured that out, and I'm sure you are correct.

I have pictures of the path but haven't had the time to figure out (again) how to get them from camera to website.

Baby brain by proxy... brand new grand daughter on the premises and her 2 year old brother. The house is noisy and disorganized. The two year old's attention span is better than mine right now.

Oh, a new grand daughter--how wonderful! Priceless moments you have with both of your grandchildren now. Now those are photos I would love to see!

As I think about this, I don't really think 2-4 inches should be a big erosion issue if the soil is anchored. Thymes are great at anchoring soil. With that much spacing you could plant something like Magic Carpet Thyme, which is a small thyme but not a miniature one, and I would think it would perform fantastically and hold the soil down. If your soil is eroded right now, that means next spring you have a nice deep area between the stones so you can shove the plants roots right down there and put more soil on top, encouraging establishment.

The last photo I showed you has stones that are a foot apart, and they ARE on a slope. Going to post a photo below of the sloping side. I have not had erosion issues. They are anchored either with Irish or Scotch moss, dianthus, thyme, or weeds. (Weeds weren't part of the master plan.) Is your path placed such that it is part of a major water run-off pathway during heavy rains?

Below is the pathway. Dianthus is barely visible in farthest step at top. Second photo is close up of dianthus with a rose campion seedling, which I welcome!

EDIT: The top photo is not sideways on my phone. Do not know why it continues to post that way.

I know this idea is late to the party, but I should have also mentioned how AMAZING Sempervivens are between pavers. I love them in this spot, and they are so dependable it's ridiculous. Top area is thyme, but not a miniature or elfin type, probably Magic Carpet. Lower area is Sempervivens. Just an idea.

Not too late. That's a protected crevice for them sooved it seems they'd not get dislodged by feet. They do look good. By now there are a few growing patches of thyme that got established. I had about half the slabs moved around and fresh soil put in. It looks good for now but I'm sure gravity will have its way over the next couple of years. I'll persist in trying to make it work.