Stairway to a Heavenly View
One of the major advantages of living on (or near) a hill is, of course, the view. This yard has a meandering path that encourages visitors and residents alike to make the climb up to a magnificent canyon vista. The path’s sinuous curves are pleasing to the eye, easy on the knees, and make the climb feel like a journey, not a chore.
Break It Up
There’s no rule that says a garden path has to be solidly paved. Consider a flagstone approach instead. It looks lighter on the land than a slab of concrete, won’t crack, and, importantly, keeps the ground permeable and allows rainwater to be absorbed evenly.
Be Upfront
A front yard can feel too exposed for relaxing in, but not this one, with its lush plantings and living fences. Here, the wide pathway slabs serve two purposes: To work as a palate cleanser to balance all that greenery, and to remind you of why you’re here—namely, to find your way to the front door.
Light the Way
A simple gravel path is a canvas for a touch of whimsy. These homeowners have livened up wide spaces in the walkway by draping string lights over artfully placed tumbleweeds. The layout was originally envisioned as a holiday decoration, but this kind of cheerful guidepost is welcome in all seasons.
Let Nature Take Its Course
You can design a garden around paths, or you can let the landscaping be your guide. The adventurous second option is at work here, where a path resembling a dry stream bed meanders unobtrusively through tuffets of blooming bushes and flowers.
Leading Lines
It’s hard to banish the thought of tumbling from your mind when standing at the top of a hill. This path works with that feeling in a gentle way, stepping downslope like a series of waterfalls. We love how the clean, bright stone with the central channel draws the eye through lush landscaping, making you wonder what lies at the bottom. (Spoiler: It’s a swimming pool.)
Living on the Edge
Hills can be tricky to landscape, but they are inherently dramatic. The stone borders to this path are mostly there to shore up the slope, but we like how they create the suggestion of a drop-off, and how the curve of the path provides a hint of mystery. Incidentally, we’re also a fan of letting fragrant blooms—such as this California wild lilac—dangle into the walkway. Brushing the branches as you pass through sends the flowers’ scent wafting into the air.
Create a Jungle Clearing
Ferns lend an otherwise mild-mannered garden a whiff of the exotic. Don’t be afraid to mix and match greenery textures. The non-uniformity emphasizes the “anything goes” vibe that practically begs your garden-party guests to follow the narrow pathway
Secret Garden
Tunnels transport people from one realm to another, and even the subtlest hint of one, as in this child-sized, bent-willow portal, is enough to bring some magic to a garden pathway. Arches and awnings over paths don’t have to take generations to cultivate. Use quick-growing, easily bent materials like bamboo, or start with a trellis and let ivy or grapevines grow to cover it.
Thyme-Fringed Pavers
Creeping thyme (Thymus praecox arcticus) grows from 2- to 3-inch gaps between sandstone pavers in this garden in Old Snowmass, Colorado; in summer, it’s covered with small pink flowers. The path, whose pavers are set on a 4-inch layer of compacted sand, leads to a kitchen garden. A standing stone and boulder benches—made of Comanche Moss sandstone and flanking the path—echo the shape of the distant Elk Mountains.
Design: Richard Shaw, Design Workshop, Aspen, CO (designworkshop.com)
Rugged Path
Billowy grasses and dry-climate perennials give this pebbly path in Paso Robles, CA, a rugged look.
Design: Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture, Los Osos, CA
Ribbon Effect
Bands of thyme running between 2-foot-square sand-washed concrete pavers stripe a winding path in Alamo, California. The bold look adds structure to the blowsy backyard meadow of tawny Carex testacea grasses, accented with pink ‘Maori Chief’ phormium and yellow kangaroo paw.
Design: Stefan Thuilot, Thuilot Associates, Berkeley (thuilot.com)
Lawn Lattice
In Aspen, pavers of Colorado buff sandstone form a trail across this Kentucky bluegrass lawn to a grove of aspens. Set low enough for a mower to pass over them easily, the pavers were placed atop a base of compacted sand. Then the sod was planted around and between them.
Design: Kurt Culbertson, Design Workshop, Aspen (designworkshop.com)
Create an Illusion
Decomposed-granite steps edged with concrete nudge this path upslope in a backyard in Portola Valley, California. Because the steps taper from 8 feet wide at the bottom to 3 feet wide at the top, they appear to cover more ground than they do. (A Cor-Ten steel wall enhances the effect; from a 4 1/2-foot base, it shrinks to 2 feet high at the top.) Dasylirion and dwarf lavender line the path.
Design: Stefan Thuilot, Thuilot Associates, Berkeley (thuilot.com)
Water Crossing
Bluestone pavers traverse this water feature in Alamo. The designer attached them to concrete pillars built into the bottom; each one is cantilevered 4 inches out from its pillar. The dark Mexican pebbles lining the pool and the dark-hued pillars make the water more reflective. The fountain in the foreground is made from an old millstone, polished smooth on top.
Design: Stefan Thuilot, Thuilot Associates, Berkeley (thuilot.com)
Extra Eye Candy
A path is more interesting when there’s something to stop and look at along the way. In this coastal California garden, a native dudleya pops out from between stones in a low wall; Carex flacca fringes the wall’s base. Other eye-catching options: shapely boulders, a piece of garden art, or a cluster of empty olive jugs. Add fragrant plants nearby to sweeten the journey.
Design: Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture, Los Osos, CA
Softened Edges
Plant low grasses or perennials along your path. Lavender and golden Mexican feather grass spill onto the gravel walkway at left, while creeping thyme peeks out from beneath them. Other billowy path edgers include Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’, blue fescue, Carex albula ‘Frosty Curls’, Japanese forest grass, lamb’s ears, and sage.
Design: Margie Grace Design Associates (gracedesignassociates.com)
Goal-Minded Path
Every path needs a destination, whether it’s a garden shed, a tree-shaded seat, or a patio with a vista. Here, a bench is positioned to take in the view of a coastal estuary. If your path ends at a fence, set a colorful solid gate in front to suggest that the journey might continue. If the path leads through an arching grape arbor, put a glazed urn or birdbath at the far end.
Design: Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture, Los Osos, CA
Barefoot in the Sand
A 6-inch-deep ribbon of fluffy pink sand meanders through beachy grasses (including Sesleria and Muhlenbergia) in this Malibu garden. Arbutus ‘Marina’ trees add shade while pale yellow ‘Graham Thomas’ roses and kangaroo paws fleck the “dunes” with sunny color.
The best part? It's cheap and easy to create: Dig a channel 6 inches deep in the soil, then just pour in the sand. At a building-supply yard, you’ll pay $52 to $62 for a ton—enough to cover about 43 square feet.
Transform a Driveway
Landscape designer Mary Baum transformed the unused back half of this Portland driveway into a curving path.
More: Reinvent your driveway
Grassy Path for Sun or Shade
Plant mounding grasses for a modern look. Here, they line a path of crushed basalt in a Seattle garden.
Stamped Concrete Path
A curved path, high walls, soft greens, and a bubbling fountain make this Southern California garden a soothing escape.
The broad path connects the gate to the front door. The walkway is built of stamped concrete and has a dusting of multicolored sand for extra texture.
Fragrant Journey
Designers know a great path includes an intriguing destination. Here, a yellow-glazed container catches the eye at the end of a lavender-edged gravel path.
Design: Lucinda Lester, Lucinda Lester Design, Santa Barbara (805/565-9252).
Path of Grass
A narrow carpet of grass, all that’s left of a once-expansive (30- by 60-foot) lawn, meanders between curved planting beds. To make room for the beds, the homeowners removed sod around the turf’s edges bit by bit as they discovered new plants they wanted to try.
Wooded Escape
A flagstone path in Pasadena leads through a garden underplanted with New Zealand flax shrubs and grasses.
Blue-leafed groundcovers create a delicate tracery between pavers.
Grasses and Shale
Fractured shale fills gaps between concrete pavers in Dennis and Susan Hourany’s yard in Alamo, CA.
Yarrow and grasses soften the path’s edges.
Design: Mathew Henning and Heather Anderson Oakland (510/531-3095)
Desert Garden Path
Bold furnishings and dense plantings can help you create a getaway in your own backyard, even where gardening can be a challenge.
Individual concrete pads create the illusion that they're hovering lightly above the desert floor. Their exposed aggregate finish blends in with the native soil's stony texture.
Grass Circle Path
Grass circles appear to float on a river of black pebbles that winds through a grove of bamboo in Malibu, CA.
Design: Mia Lehrer and Associates, Los Angeles (213/384-3844), for Lee and Carmen Ritenour.
Paths Connect Raised Beds
Generous gravel paths between raised vegetable beds give this Washington garden its casual farmer's market style.
Wide enough to accommodate wheelbarrows, the gravel paths―laid atop landscape fabric―stay mostly clean and weed-free.
Garden Art
A piece of art tucked amid greenery at the end of the path treats visitors to a visual surprise.
Curving through Green
Flanked by blue star creeper and Japanese spurge, a concrete "stone" path curves through Dan and Pat Nelson's garden in Gig Harbor, WA.
Design: Scott Junge, Rosedale Gardens, Gig Harbor (253/851-7333)
Ocotillo
(Fouquieria splendens)
Native to: Southwest
A decomposed granite path passes through a fence and gate made from ocotillo. The winding walkway invites exploration of more of this casual low-water landscape.
Rain-Smart Path
Both the multicolored flagstones set in sand and the ¾-inch granite gravel allow rainfall to pass through to plant roots. River rock edges the planting beds.
A Walk through Color
Orange gaillardia brightens the flagstone path and marshlike plantings in this winner from Sunset's 2008-2009 Garden Design Awards.
A Bridge for Seasonal Runoff
Mix gravel with rocks of varying sizes to add interest in large areas. In the landscaping pictured here, this technique also solved a drainage problem.
The gravel path, edged on the right with 'Libelle' hydrangea and a bank of maidenhair ferns, straddles a cluster of large, flat stones that creates a bridge over a seasonal runoff channel.
Water runs through a pipe hidden beneath the channel's river rocks to a catchment pond at the far end.
Inviting Entrance
The path's irregular shape, edged with pale flagstone, encourages visitors to slow down and enjoy the yellow-flowering palo verde agaves and opuntia and barrel cactus along the way.
Design: Michael Buccino Associates, Palm Desert CA (760/772-7166) for Paul and Carrie Stone. Installation by Randy Buccino.
Make a Park out of a Path
This entry path feel more like a nature trail than a garden walk. Thyme grows between steps; boulders, cactus, and rosemary fringe the path’s edges.
Even before guests get to the house, wide steps (made of concrete aggregate) encourage them to slow down and enjoy the garden.
If your yard doesn’t have enough sun for thyme, tuck Corsican mint or Japanese sweet flag between your steps or pavers; both have scented foliage. Stagger your pavers to slow the “journey.”
Rock Border
When a gravel path and adjacent planting beds are new, the transition from bare soil to gravel can give the garden an unfinished look.
One solution: Define the path edges with larger stones. As plants grow, they'll tumble over and hide the rocks.
In this garden, lady's-mantle with chartreuse blooms surrounds the stone fountain in foreground, while cape fuchsia (Phygelius) with orange-pink flowers spills into the path.
Classic Kitchen Garden Paths
Brick paths help define this kitchen garden designed in the style of a classic potager. Crops grow in small rectangular, square, and circular beds separated by walkways.
The little plots and generous paths make weeding, watering, harvesting, and other chores accessible. And the geometric patterns add order.
Mediterranean Style
A crunchy gravel entry is a clean casual foil for plant textures and colors.
Japanese silver grass billows over the basalt wall at right beside climbing hydrangea.
'Maori Sunrise' New Zealand flax in a container punctuates the small pond in the middle while 'Palace Purple' heuchera mugho pine and gunnera fill a bed near the house. Cotoneaster spills onto gravel.
Two-Day Path Project
You can install this pretty path in about a weekend. (The plantings take a little longer to mature; they'll look like this in about nine months.)
The gently curving path invites you to stroll among the plants, and leads to a small circular patio.
Patio Entry
Decorative and functional, a dry-laid flagstone and mulch path leads the way to a patio retreat.
A border of ferns and red-flowered Cuphea ignea creates a leafy entry.
In the back planter, a tall mallow hedge screens a vegetable garden.
Easy-Care Front Yard
Flagstone paths curve through a low-water front yard. A low berm of soil on either side of the walk adds interest, and weed cloth topped with permeable pea gravel allows excess water to soak into the earth rather than run off into the street.