How to Create a Garden Path

One of the best ways to show off your garden is to design a garden path which visitors can follow enabling them to enjoy the sights along the way.

One may argue that garden design is perceived as the work of experts, landscape architects, landscape designers, garden designers, and landscape contractors. Yet research proves that some of the most beautiful gardens in the world were not designed by experts. It's also argued that a lot of thought should be put into the humble garden path, after all a well designed garden path will showcase your garden to its best advantage. The garden path should take you along a beautiful and approachable route. Paths invite you into the garden and lead you through it.

First of all think about the mood you want to set on the path that leads people from the street to your front door. This is where you can begin to show your individuality and style; do you want your garden to have a formal or informal look? Think about how you would like someone to view and move through your garden.

Paths are one way to connect some of the various places in the garden to achieve a sense of order and cohesiveness. The hardest part for most people is to trust in their own intuition and you need to constantly experiment till you get your own unique garden design. You need to make sure that you have a logical progression from one area to the next to get a pleasing and satisfactory result.

Another primary path to take into consideration is from your back door to your back yard. You may have separate paths leading off to different areas such as a fountain in the middle of a lush green lawn, a secluded corner where you can sit under a shade tree and read a book or even to the vegetable plot. It's a good idea to have any paths that lead off the main path slightly narrower in size. Careful planning, along with a sensitive touch, good insight and the ability to experiment are not the exclusive rights of a garden design expert.

Just use your imagination, do a little research and you will find that designing a unique garden path and garden is not all that hard, and will surely draw accolades from your friends and neighbors.

Build your dream garden around your unique path, making it interesting as well as breathtaking. Leave room for the unexpected, for example, as the path curves round place a bird bath beside it or plant a huge plant around another bend. Don't forget to add some lighting along your garden paths; solar lights make this job very easy. Try adding roses rambling over an archway or a stone wall, there are lots of ideas to suit your personal taste readily available.

Repeating splashes of color will also establish a rhythm in the garden and help to guide the eye to the next surprise along the path. There are designs around to suit all gardeners, but take comfort in the fact that in garden design there are no right decisions, so just try and overcome the garden design jitters, and make a start. Whatever you decide, just try and work to a theme be it animals, birds, rocks etc.

If you're going to use stepping stones, do a mock path first, (use this rule with any type of path) and lay the stones on the ground, make sure they are evenly spaced with the use of a measuring tape. Don't place them too close together but ensure that people can step from one to another comfortably. Remember, your aim when designing any path is to lead and highlight important focal points of your garden.