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The 'Path of Life', 'The Beaten Path', 'The Yellow Brick Road'... all have a destination. A pathway through your landscape can lead you on all sorts of adventures. It can be mainly utilitarian, provide a pleasurable way to view your garden, or a way to divide up and border flower beds. All can be artfully created.
Materials can vary from flagstone to pine needles, depending upon style and budget. Grass clippings and leaves make a great walkway while creating compost for future use, especially between garden rows. Cement forms are available for do-it-yourself mock flagstone or a cobblestone look. Old brick makes a very lovely path with a variety of patterns to follow. You may want to use local stone or buy linear chop stone to border a path and then fill it in with mulch. Metal or plastic edging give it a more formal look. A lot of people like pea gravel but I have found that it gets messy and is hard to walk on.
Plan your course. Paths with a slight curve are always friendlier even if it is a pretty straight shot from point to point. Avoid 'squiggly' lines, let the shape flow. Decide if it is for one person (2-3 feet wide) or two people (at least 4 feet wide). A bend in the walk can be a way of creating an anticipation of a unique specimen plant or garden art that is placed just around the corner. Having a destination is a good design principle, such as a bench or water feature. Archways over a path can also add charm. A few well placed flagstones or the thicker fieldstone can give you easy access to work in your garden and takes up space that you might otherwise feel obligated to plant. It is a great way to intersect your bed to create groupings.
Create some extra visual interest in your landscape with pathways and provide a pleasurable way to view your garden. Happy trails!
Dorothy Hersey, Smith County Master Gardener
Texas AgriLife Extension Service