Walking along a walkway in the garden , if well designed and built in a workmanlike manner, surprisingly imitates the feeling we get when we take a walk in nature. If you think about it, you will have experienced this feeling when walking along a path in the woods, during a beautiful spring day. At the end of the path, in that case, you will have found a fantastic landscape to admire in silence, appreciating the feeling of space that opens up in front of you. You sit for a moment, listening to the sounds of a distant small stream, or being inebriated by the scents of the woods that slowly envelop you. Look ahead and see that the path, gently hides behind a large boulder or some trees. On the ground there are some stones of different sizes, which seem to be artfully laid, with different shades of color from yellow, to green, to gray. Your natural curiosity makes you get up and continue the journey to discover new enchanted corners arranged along the way.
When a landscape architect designs garden paths , he should tap into this set of sensations and emotions to try to recreate this magic. We see the path in the garden as a simple means of moving from the entrance gate to the front door, or from the patio to the tool shed. In landscape design , the goal we must have is to add pleasure and enhance this short journey.
A stone walkway welcomes those who enter the garden of a country house with a warm and rustic note. Choosing the correct stone when designing the garden is an essential element. We must think of imagining the use of stone in the garden also in other kinds of houses, not only in the countryside but also in the city or by the sea.
The function of the paths in the garden
How a path in the garden is designed and built depends on how it will be used in the future. It can simply serve as a service access to the garden, or to lead the guest into the magical dimension that every garden should have.
The walkways, stone or other materials, can have a major impact on the landscape character. We must not think that the path must have a specific destination to be exciting to travel. These paths create a sort of map of the landscape in general and of the garden in particular: they help to connect the different spaces, to define the spaces and to organize the whole.
They guide us through the green space in which we are and frame the most interesting views as we move, create unthinkable relationships between the different “rooms” of the garden , add balance to the whole.
We must not forget also the simplest but useful functions they perform in garden maintenance : they allow you to move easily from one point to another even with tools or with the waste of the activities carried out, facilitate pruning and weeding , protect the lawn from trampling and trees and shrubs from soil compaction.
When designing a path in the garden , the choice of materials to be used varies not only according to the budget we have, but, first of all, the atmosphere or character we want to give to the garden. For example, a formal or informal garden ? Do we have a small stream to cross? Can we include a small wooden or stone bridge in our path ? As just mentioned, cost is a very substantial discriminating element but don’t be discouraged, the ideas and materials can be many and not all so expensive.
Interaction between paths and plants
The shape, color and size of the plants that line the paths created have a great influence on the final quality of what we want to achieve, including the experience of walking on them.
You can convey a feeling of welcome, with small protruding leaves, or of spontaneity with ground cover plants that naturally creep along the edges of the path.
The width of the path also plays a primary role in defining the landscape. A narrow stone path is more discreet, suitable for a solitary walk. A large avenue, always in stone, comfortably welcomes several people together and has a greater impact on the structure of the garden.
If you have enough space available and want to create an entrance reserved for the view, a winding path , partly covered by plants, is ideal for masking a large entrance and creating an expectation in the guest.
The sound and the feel of the material used for the path underfoot influence the choice. The materials available are many: natural or synthetic stone , grass , gravel , large recycled wooden beams , bricks, pebbles , just to name a few. Walking barefoot on grass , natural Luserna stone or gravel will be a completely different experience.
How to make garden paths
Many of the gardens that each of us is used to seeing consists of a lawn, surrounded by hedges, with some small anonymous flower bed and few or very few trees. Maybe beautiful but rather boring! Designing and building one or more walkways or paths in the garden reduces the size of the lawn , also decreasing the amount of water needed for irrigation and maintenance of the same and, at the same time, gives a complete overall structure to the green space .
Before starting to dig even a patch of the lawn it is better to take a step back. It is advisable to draw, even briefly, what we would like to build, in order to be able to correct shapes and sizes even several times. Once you have defined the shape, try to bring the design back to the ground with wires tied to pegs. Moving a stake is much less tiring than digging and repositioning clods of earth. At this point the final form will be clear.
Take care to understand which parts of the garden to connect and how. The entrance to the house is always a primary point of arrival of a well-designed and properly realized path, which invites the guest inside the house. The entrance should give the proportion and size of the path.
A sinuous motif manages to be more interesting than a straight corridor to the front door. If you can’t play with shapes, do it with the types of paving stones to use, with the addition of plants and adequate lighting along the way. Remember that you enter the house at any time of the day or night.
The garden paths should be wide enough to allow two people to walk together, or to bring a wheelbarrow or other garden equipment useful in maintenance. The width should also take into account both the size and the theme of the garden. Inserting a bench , stairs , if possible, a bridge or other garden furniture in the walkway can make the path more interesting.
Useful tips on stone walkways
First of all, try to choose good quality natural stones extracted as close to you as possible or, in any case, in Italy. You will help the environment, reduce costs, having limited the movement of the raw material, you will have a product of excellent quality and of certain origin. As already mentioned in another post on the choice of stones for the garden , in Italy we have numerous natural stones of excellent quality, among these the Luserna stone , of which Vottero Riccardo is an excellent example.
If the area where you want to build the stone walkway is subject to getting very wet during heavy rains, it is advisable to lay a bed of gravel and sand under the stones. Gravel and sand help stabilize larger stones and are able to easily drain excess water and avoid the formation of annoying puddles. In extreme cases, in this way, it is also easy to be able to slightly and discreetly raise the height of the path with respect to the surrounding ground to keep it dry.
If you have chosen to use large stones , these may collect rainwater or irrigation water in their natural troughs. Better to install the stones slightly inclined towards one side of the path, so as to facilitate the flow of water. The inclination must be made on the opposite side to the house or other structures, so as not to damage them over time.
To have a job well done and that will last over time, I recommend that you ask for help from professionals in the sector for the design but especially for the choice and installation.
