Walk With Me

What gardener doesn't love to begin the day with a stroll through the garden? Years ago we had an open patio surrounded by planting beds that was my favored spot to begin my day - I'd course, I was almost always drawn into the lawn to survey other garden areas. Call me prissy, but I have an aversion to walking through grass before the dew has lifted. Damp grass clippings stuck to my feet just ruins a nice stroll for me.

Paths and sidewalks are such an important part of a garden plan.

Of course, the most basic of sidewalks is the one leading to your front door.  Almost every home has some type of hardscape here.   Ours is concrete with outdoor tiles.   There is some great looking stamped concrete that has this very look. 

In the back, you will find pavers laid in sand. We didn't want grass here and the sidewalk not only gives us access to the patio but also divides this deep planting area into two more managable beds.

Leading out to the firepit are large stepping stones.   These require a bit more maintanence than a fixed sidewalk but the cost is minimal, the look is inviting, and the plan can be changed as I change my mind.

And lastly (at least, for this post), is our newest and my current favorite walkway - a "boardwalk" through our shade  garden.  This is a low area that sometimes stand in water when we flood irrigate the yard.   We had talked about installing a "bridge" over a large bed of asiatic jasmine, but then, went ahead and built our bridge the entire length of this garden.   A major bonus is that instead of one huge planting bed, we now have two small ones - so much easier to design and maintain!