walking down the garden path

Paths in the garden get you from a to b but it is important when thinking about putting in a path that you consider what it might be used for.

Gravel paths can look good but if you have a deciduous tree over it they can be hard to keep looking nice. They are also noisey to walk on which tends to make people walk faster over. It is also much harder to push a wheelbarrow on and if soil preperation is not good weeds may be an issue.

Sawdust is a material that i think is great for paths, especially around veggie patches. It tends to pack down well suppressing weeds and making it easy to push that wheelbarrow and if you decide to change the layout of your veggie patch you can just dig it into the soil. It is also good for a meandering path that people can walk slowly along as it is not too hard under foot and is quiet.

Pavers are just about a category to themselves as there are so many different types available. I might do another post on them specifically but for now, pavers are a good hard wearing path, especially good for entrances and high traffic areas. They take abit more preparation than gravel or sawdust but i suggest you do the right preparation, especially if you have a large area to do. The last thing you want to do is have to relay it every year because it has moved or sunk. Pavers do give a nice clean look though.

Concrete is the last type i will mention for now but personally i would use pavers over concrete any day. When i say concrete i mean a continuous slab of concrete too not concrete pavers. Like pavers concrete is hard wearing and good if you have vehicles driving over them but if you decide in the future to alter the path at all it is hard to do and costly.

There are other factors to take into concideration when making a path these include: Underground services (which may need to be dug up or inspected)
Plants along the edge or adove (which may stain or litter the path as well as lift pavers or concrete)
amount of traffic
type of traffic (relating to width of path)