Laying A Natural Stepping Stone Pathway

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This spring on one corner of my house I installed a shade garden. I removed the old $30 builder special privet bush and put an oak leaf hydrangea in its place. I added astilbe, ferns, hostas, heucheras, and heucherellas. We traded at a plant swap for some variegated Soloman’s seal and added annuals like caladiums, coleus, and impatiens. What I didn’t have at the time was a pathway to the gas meter. Laying out the pathway for the meter person was important since I didn’t want someone to accidentally step on a prized plant. Aren’t they all? Of course since installing the garden the bunnies have done some damage, but that’s another story.

During our last visit to my wife’s parents house we picked up some stones. Some were small and some large but many of them were flat. While every stone has its quirks and irregularities they were level enough to use in my rustic stepping stone pathway. The key with making the pathway was to make it as level as possible.

I began by laying out the stones in a logical arrangement that looked good and was functional. I had my daughter help me with this, as the official stepping stone tester. She loved going back and forth on the stones. After determining the right arrangement I removed the stones and laid them in the same arrangement on the grass temporarily. I used a garden rake to level the area then I went back smoothed out some clumpy spots with a shovel.

Then I laid down a thick layer of newspaper under the spots where the stones would go. Landscape fabric works well under stones but since I didn’t have any on hand thick layers of newspapers would suffice. Next I put the stones down on the newspaper and put mulch all over and around them. I even put mulch underneath the stones to help level them up. I cleared the mulch from the stones and worked it into the cracks while I checked the stones for stability. Any stone that moved or wiggled was shored up with a little mulch underneath.


I’m planning on adding a couple more flat stones in the future when i find some that are suitable. My total cost for the pathway was probably around $2. I used half a bag of pine bark mulch, natural sandstone and limestone stepping stones which were free, and newspaper from our newspaper collection. Gardening cheap is gardening good!

10 thoughts on “Laying A Natural Stepping Stone Pathway”

  2. I love that idea. We have used free rocks to outline our garden beds. I love the look and the price was right! The plants look great..one day I’ll get to the shade areas…I hope..:) Great to visit a fellow TN gardener.

  3. Wow, what a cheap way to do a walkway. You would have never known. So gorgeous. Cam and I are thinking seriously of landscaping, but its so expensive! I’m glad this project was so cheap!

  4. Hi Dave, your path looks perfect. I think newspaper is way better than the fabric, we have lots of the fabric that was used when the slope was first terraced by the back hoe, to keep the mud from sliding down to the back of the house. Then several big dump truck loads of mulch was added. Little by little, the fabric has been removed, what a terrible job. The plant roots had grown into the mulch on top of the fabric, each thing had to be dug out to get the fabric up. I am telling you this to prevent it from happening to you. Use the newspaper!

  5. I must acquire me some stepping stones soon. I have way too many projects going, but I love those.

    UH-oh
    You have been tagged. Please visit my blog if you would like to play along 😉

    Or just come for a vist.

  7. Looks really nice! I’m making one myself, but buying the flat slate at $4.99 each. At that price, it’ll take awhile… 🙁

  9. Thanks for the compliments! I have the same opinion as you do Frances about the landscape fabric. It has its uses but definitely not anywhere near plantings.

    Eve,

    Thanks for the mention and the tag but I try to avoid those. I will add your blog to my Blogroll though!

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