Walkways & Pathways

So there is a difference between a walkway where one has to go from say the front door to the garden or from the patio to the driveway. Some are pretty standard at 4 feet wide others may be 6 feet wide. The trick is really knowing which your situation is calling for.

If one is going from the front door to an outside garage then a 4 to 6 foot wide walkway is very accommodating. Two people can easily walk side by side while carrying something like bags of groceries. These tend to be of a more formal quality simply because they are used more like utility than a stroll through the yard. If you are going from the back door to your patio where you will be entertaining then again we want that walk to be safe.

Pathways are different altogether. We want them to be safe too but we also want them to be enticing and relaxing and fun all at one time. A pathway can be very small with just a footpath for one person to walk along or it can be a little bigger and service a couple out for a morning coffee or a friend who’s come for a visit. These are the elements that bring joy and fill those parts of ourselves we often forget about.

I suggest no smaller than you can comfortably navigate. In a garden space I want the path to take somewhat of a back seat to the other happenings like plants etc. However a garden that has a lot to say should be able to accommodate two people while strolling along. In this case I suggest 3 to 4 feet and no more. Any bigger and it will feel like a jeep trail through your garden.

The material used for any path or walkway is wide open with possibilities. Again a formal entrance where you and your guests would be coming and going should be safe and easy to navigate. Stone on a concrete pad or pavers tightly fit bedded in granite dust works very well.

In the garden we are walking slower and with an entirely different purpose. Here we can meander and ponder and linger and be without the stress of daily living. Here a pathway might be a thin bed of river gravel or a layer of your favorite mulch. It might be stepping stones nested in river pebbles or large flagstone steppers dug into the earth with moses and natural ground covers. There are no hard and fast rules other than, you must use it.

Most pathways will have a change in elevation which will call for a step or two or three, no
matter what the terrain, there is a material design for all tastes.

The following images reflect the diverse nature of Walkways and Pathways.