Garden: How To Build a Garden Path
By Calvin Threlkeld
A critical part of the restoration process for the GGG garden was to dig up the sunken tiles and clear the previous path of overgrown weeds. After restoring the rest of the garden, the tiles remained stacked on the side, waiting to be placed back in the ground again. A defined garden path is important because it provides a practical way to navigate through a garden, allowing access to different areas while also enhancing the aesthetic appeal.
The first step in building a garden path is to carefully plan out your path. Consider where people naturally walk in the garden, and try to plan the path accordingly. Next, select the materials for building the path. These can include bricks, gravel, natural stone, woodchips, or precast tiles. In our case, we repurposed the concrete tiles we already had so the choice was easy, but each material has a different durability and aesthetic. Lastly, consider the landscape of your garden. Take into account your garden’s slope, soil type, and surrounding vegetation.
Once we roughly established where we wanted the path to go, it was time to dig. Digging about 4-6 inches deep, we began to establish where the tiles would sit for the next year. We removed grass, weeds, roots, and large stones before ensuring that the surface was flat. To do this, simply take the flat end of a shovel and pound the ground until it’s flat. A level can come in handy during this step. If you live in a rainy area, you might consider ensuring that there is a slight slope to the path to promote proper water drainage.
After digging and ensuring the ground was flat, we placed the tiles down to see how they laid. Unfortunately, there were some stubborn spots and we couldn’t get our original two-tile wide path to lay completely flat, so we scrapped it and rebuilt the path to be one tile wide. Although the path was narrower now, the extra tiles allowed us to make it longer and reach places that we couldn’t before, such as the planter box where our strawberries were planted.
And just like that, our garden path was finished! You can go above and beyond by putting moss, sand, or gravel in between the path materials or line the path with small plants to soften the edges’ appearance. The maintenance is simple, just regularly sweep the path and replace the materials annually or as needed, and you’re good to go! Building a garden path is a rewarding project that adds character and charm to your outdoor space. With careful planning and patience, you can create a beautiful walkway that complements your garden's unique personality.
