Updated on December 3rd, 2024 Posted In: Garden Trends & Design
Author: Alexandra Campbell

Garden path materials – the good, the bad and the beautiful

Garden path materials are usually a big investment, so it may be tempting to go for something cheap.

But a beautiful garden path will make such a difference to your garden. And it’s likely to be a one-off investment, although some garden path materials need more maintenance than others.

Our garden path was originally gravel inset with concrete pavers. When we had to top up the gravel we used sea shells. Read the full story about a seashell path here.

I have seen a wide range of garden path materials in the gardens I’ve written about, so I thought I’d pull all my favourite garden path ideas together for you.

You may wish to think about the design of the garden before choosing a garden path. I recommend reading 5 garden design tips (and 2 mistakes to avoid!) and the essentials of garden design.

Note: if you’re digging out a garden path yourself, find out where mains water and electricity runs are. You don’t want to sever them!

What materials are best for a garden path?

There is no ‘best material’ for a garden path. It depends on your lifestyle, budget, how much maintenance you’re happy to do and what you want your garden to look like.

The budget options for paths and walkways are bark mulch and simple mown paths. But you will need to keep mowing a mown path. And you will need to replace a bark mulch path every one or two years.

Gravel is also relatively inexpensive but will need renewing every five years or so. Gravel can also need more weeding than some other options.

Concrete pavers are also inexpensive and low maintenance, but they rarely look as good as real stone or brick.

The most expensive options are stone (flagstone) and brick, but they last for decades – or even centuries. Flagstone is relatively low maintenance and looks beautiful.

Don’t forget labour costs. Unless you are doing a DIY garden path, the cost of laying a path adds considerably to the overall amount. And it will cost much the same to lay concrete pavers as it will to lay stone or flagstones.

Brick is not the most expensive to buy, but it could be the most expensive to lay as there is more work involved.

Mulch paths – cheap eco-friendly walkways

Mulch is an easy, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly garden path material. It will need topping up with more mulch every year or so, but there are no installation costs. Just empty the bags of mulch where you need to have a path!

A mulch path is an inexpensive, easy and flexible choice, and it’s environmentally friendly. This is in No Dig expert Charles Dowding’s vegetable garden.

You don’t need to dig out a base for a mulch path. I interviewed a garden owner who had mulch paths everywhere. When a tree blew down over one of the paths, they just re-routed the path around it by buying more bags of mulch.

This is a mulch path in the exotic garden of Steven Edney, head gardener at The Salutation in Kent and his partner, gardener Lou Dowle.

In Eco-Friendly Garden Design – What You Need to Know Before You Spend Money, Oli Haden says that a mulch garden path is the most environmentally and sustainable option. It’s also one of the cheapest.

Gravel paths

Gravel is one of the cheapest garden path materials. However it does need a bit of maintenance – blown-in weeds will establish themselves easily in the gravel, even if you have a weed-suppressing membrane.

There’s been a growth in the trend for planting in gravel. So one option is to have gravel garden area or very wide path. See how to make a gravel (dry) garden here.

There’s a trend for blurring the boundaries between paths and planting with gravel. The top photo is The World Child Cancer Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the picture below it is at the Beth Chatto Gardens

Is gravel environmentally-friendly? It’s more permeable than stone or concrete, so it allows water to drain. But gravel and shingle is mined and transported, so there is an environmental cost.

Gravel will also need renewing every so often – I’ve found my gravel paths probably need topping up every five years or so.

Last year, we renewed our gravel paths by using seashells instead. They’re a by-product of the seafood industry, so are environmentally-friendly.

Garden designer and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Mark Lane shows that a gravel path – if properly laid – can also be wheel-friendly. Gravel is one of the least expensive garden path materials.

Laying a gravel path yourself means measuring it out, digging it out and then laying a crushed concrete or aggregate (MOT type 1 base) on it, then tamping that down. You’ll then add one or more layers of crushed aggregate until you add the top level of gravel.

There’s more about having a gravel path laid in this interview with garden designer and BBC Gardener’s World presenter Mark Lane.

Pea gravel or pea shingle paths and walkways

Pea gravel or pea shingle is a small, smooth type of gravel. It’s used to create a smart, uniform look in natural colours, such as grey, cream or tan. Pea gravel can also be cheaper than standard gravel.

Pea gravel is more even so can be an option for a patio or seating area, but it’s generally considered to be slightly more slippery than some garden path materials.

Gravel comes in a wider range of shapes, colours and sizes than pea gravel. It’s more jagged and angular. Gravel has better drainage than pea gravel, because the irregular shapes provide more gaps for water to drain through. It’s also very stable with better grip than pea gravel.

Some people also use pebbles for paths or walkways, but these are less comfortable to walk on. They are also particularly difficult for wheels. If you want to take a wheelbarrow, a wheelchair or a buggy down the path, don’t choose pebbles.

Mown paths

These work in relaxed country-style gardens where there are patches of meadow or orchard.

They’re very easy. You just mow where you want the path. Obviously, you have to keep mowing, so they require a little more maintenance than other paths.

But otherwise they’re free. However, they will get worn and muddy in very high traffic areas.

A mown path through a mini-meadow in a town garden.

Stone garden paths

Stone is generally a more expensive choice for a garden path.

When stone is used for paths and pavers, it is often called flagstone. Flagstone is a word used to describe stone or rock that is used for path and pavers. It can

However, it may never have to be replaced. Our front garden path is made of the original Georgian stone, so although it is a little cracked and weathered, it’s still looking good at 200+ years old. I love its patina and the worn dip in the front step where thousands of feet have trodden over the years.

Our stone front path probably dates back to the 18th century. It’s a little worn and cracked but a smart new path would look wrong, in my opinion.

Stone is also an easy-care choice. You only have to clean it when it gets moss or algae, because that’s a slip hazard. It varies as to how often this happens – we only have to scrape off moss every few years, but commenter ‘David’ ( see below) says that algae builds up on his stone paths every 6-8 weeks in the summer.

Brick paths

If you use brick for garden paving, it’s a good idea to look at your house. If it’s built of brick, it will usually look better to echo or match the building.

The Salutation in Kent is designed by Edwardian designer Edwin Lutyens. He used the same brick to mark out the garden paths.

When you choose brick or stone garden path materials, think about how you are going to fill the joins. We have pavers on our terrace. Their joins are filled with sand and get weedy.

So when I picked an Indian sandstone for the path, I had the joins filled with cement. After 8 years, the path has more or less weathered in, but until recently it looked very hard compared to the rest of the garden.

I really wish I hadn’t asked for cement in the joins between these pavers. I don’t have to weed between them, but it doesn’t look as nice to have a continuous hard surface. It has weathered down a bit, though. There is now a trend for allowing selected ‘weeds’ or chosen plants to grow between pavers, and this does cut down on weeding.

Plant between pavers to cut down on weeding. The top photo is Bea Tann’s Moss Magic show garden at RHS Hampton Court. The photo below it is alchemilla mollis growing between pavers in my own garden.

Choosing a ‘colour’ for your garden path materials

Although stone, brick and gravel are largely made of natural materials, they still have a hue or colour. It’s really worth thinking about what colours or hues you already have in your garden. Then ask yourself whether you want to echo the themes or contrast with them.

The gravel path at Mark Lane’s garden doesn’t match the blue grey fence, but the two materials are harmonious.

The gravel in the Rock Garden at Doddington Place Gardens harmonises nicely with the rocks.

Echoing – using a yellow brick or creamy stone with a yellow brick house – is usually calmer.

Stepping stone paths, mixing materials and crazy paving

Crazy paving – or using a mix of materials and shapes – was very fashionable in the mid 20th century. Most mass-market crazy paving doesn’t look great, but it can be very creative. And it’s an economical choice of materials.

Stepping stones in river sand at the Agapanthe garden in Northern France.

It’s environmentally friendly as it can use up off-cuts and scraps that might otherwise be thrown away. And unless the pattern is set in with concrete, it allows rain to run off into the ground between the stones.

Stepping stone paths are the simplest way of getting across a garden. Many people use off-cuts and set them into the lawn. Even if you need to buy the pavers, you won’t need many.

I love garden writer Francine Raymond’s simple diamond pattern. She has used just a few square pavers as stepping stones to make a short path.

Gardening writer Francine Raymond has inset square pavers to link the more formal part of her garden to the wilder bit at the back.

Unusual garden path materials

A garden in Whitstable has terracotta, tiles and scraps of stone set into an old concrete path. When the owners bought the house, there were worn concrete paths and terrace.

Instead of replacing the paths, they worked patches of concrete free and filled them with patterns made of brick, shells, terracotta and stone.

A creative way to deal with an old concrete path.

Another friend of mine has used old tyres, delivered for free by a local garage. However, when she opened her garden for the Faversham Open Gardens & Garden Market Day (held every year on the last Sunday in June), the pressure of hundreds of feet walking over it made it sag.

This path is made of car tyres. Two rows of tyres mark out the sides, and there are more tyres laid flat under the grassy part.

Garden designer Posy Gentles also chose seashells for her garden path.

Can you DIY your garden path?

Some friends of mine have simply wedged bricks or stone into their lawn or beds to create a path. This is fine, but if it’s a main way, then they may get dislodged and prove a trip hazard.

The proper way to lay a brick, stone or gravel path is to check where your utilities are. Then measure out your path, either using a garden hose or posts and string.

You dig out the path. It will need to be deep enough to take a membrane, at least one layer of base material and then your topping. If you have a gravel path, you need to make sure the little stones can’t spread over the lawn so it needs an edging.

If you have a stone or brick path, you may want to make it easier to mow by making it flush with the lawn. We did this in our parterre and Mr Middlesize mows straight across.

I am not a DIY expert, so I suggest you search on YouTube for tutorials if you want to take laying your own garden path further. Watch a few of them to get a sense of which ones are good or not.

There is some good advice on saving money on garden design here.

How wide should a garden path be?

Traditionally a good garden path should be wide enough for two people to walk side by side. that’s 1.2m-1.5m or 4ft-6ft.

A wide, straight path looks smart and imposing, even in a small garden.

But a narrow path can be curving and inviting, suggesting an adventure just around the corner.

So think about what you want from your garden path. If you just want a practical walkway along the back of a border, it can be just wide enough for you to edge along it to deadhead, weed or cut back.

If you want to direct the eye to a focal point, then a grand, wide path will make a statement.

This garden path is wide enough for two people to walk alongside each other. It draws the eye to the fountain focal point.

Who will lay my garden path?

If you’re not going to DIY your garden path, you’ll need a landscaping company. Landscaping is the digging, building, excavating and laying side of gardening.

In Britain, you can search BALI (The British Association of Landscape Industries) or the Association of Professional Landscapers for qualified member companies.

Before looking for a landscaping company, read these 12 professional insider tips for landscaping your garden.

And garden paths often involve steps, so read this to find out how garden steps differ from house steps.

This post has more garden paths and garden path advice.

Pin to remember how to choose garden path materials

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