Steve P asks: Garden Path Advice Please?
We have recently moved in to our new house, and have a patio path which is badly cracked, I am therefore planning on taking it up and making a little pathway (it runs through centre of garden and under washing line)
I have 2 options, and can not decide what to do so want some advice
1) Create a shingle / bark walkway with a low edging down side
2) Lay a brick path
I think the shingle would look really nice but worried as have a 7 month old and concerned as he gets older he could put in mouth / throw etc… so path seems safest option but any views / what have others done, anything that is safe for kids other than just brick path?
any advice be great
thanks
The answer voted best is:
Answer by westpalmharbor
Brick is lovely, but expensive and requires a good foundation to lay it properly. I wouldn’t use shingles, in the sun you’ll be getting rather nasty stuff off them that will be tracked into your home. Is there a possibility of patching the pathway you have and thinking of it as “charming” – like a New Orleans Courtyard that is aged and cracked, with tree roots pulling up some of the edges? If you can plant moss or a soft groundcover in the cracks it might turn out to be lovely.
You can also do 16″ patio stones, placed one step apart with grass or mulch between, looks nice, is movable and not pricey.
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we had a similar situation, as the house we bought was 75 covered in sharp gravel, including a slope to our backyard shed.
Shingle/bark is messy, as noted below.
Basically, we chose tumbled blue stone (has an aged experience and is much cheaper than whole blue stone or regular pavers). Another advantage of tumbled stone is that there are no sharp corners. Still hard, but better than a lot of concrete of square flagstone that have very sharp edges for little feet.
We laid them down and put scottish moss (very pretty) where it was too shady for grass, and then put grass where there was sufficient sun. Along with the scottish moss, the natural conditions where we did not put in grass attracted regular moss, very pretty and soft on your feet. We placed the stones so that they were a little lower than the grass, not enough so you notice them, but enough so that we can mow it easily without having to use edgers or special trimmers, which is a nuisance.