One of my recent projects was to complete two entrances to our front sidewalk from the lawn. The openings were already there but didn’t have any definition – or at least any good definition that a person walking along would see a clear path to the sidewalk. I had some paving stones in the backyard set aside for another project (an extension to our patio) that I haven’t had time to get to yet so I thought they could be used for these short sidewalk entrances. I spent a little time with the assistance of my 2 year old son and 4 year old daughter clearing our the weeds and clumps of grass that were in the way. They had a good time moving the weeds to their wheelbarrow and dumping them!
Then I laid out the stones. Some were 6″x9″ and others were 6″x6″ which allowed me to create rectangular shapes with sets of 4 paving stones. Ideally I would have also laid out some sort of landscaping fabric to keep weeds down then put sand over top to level it but I didn’t have either of those handy. I ended up just laying it down on bare level soil. Any stones that were not level were lifted and fixed up underneath to level them either by adding soil or removing soil. Simple!
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| Powis Castle artemisia and Sweet Potato Vine next to Paving Stones |
Then I merged the stones with a larger stepping stone that I had used there before. I put the stepping stone in line with the stone borders in the front garden area and completely merged the sidewalk garden and the front porch garden borders with a slight curve.
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| Clara Curtis Mums are to the right of the path |
It took about and hour and a half to complete this project from start to finish. Of course I had a couple good helpers!
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| My 7 Year Old Daughter and 2 Year Old Son |
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Your new paver pathways look beautiful!
BTW, now would be a awesome time to move/remove that volunteer tulip poplar growing right next to your path. Eventually it will block access to your front door… they are rapid growers.
To quote the USDA:
"Tulip poplar makes a desirable street, shade, or ornamental tree but the large size it attains makes it unsuited for many sites. Its good points for aesthetic use are: (1) rapid growth (2) pyramidal form (3) resistance to insect and disease damage (4) unusual leaves and attractive flowers, and (5) yellow autumnal color."
Here is their link to a PDF for more information: http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_litu.pdf
Love your blog! Lynda