Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Yard Sale Find Creates an Inexpensive Garden Path

While shopping at our neighborhood yard sale I found some capstone at a yard sale and then my brother gave me some cypress mulch.  I knew immediately that I had the makings of a practical and inexpensive garden path.
Garden path

When it comes to creating garden paths in my yard I tend to design paths that are practical and cost-effective.  I do not have a lot of money to invest in garden hardscapes so I tend to make the best with what I have or buy inexpensive materials from yard sale finds.
Stepping stone path with mulch

Path Location
The capstone path would be located adjacent to my side steps and then would wind around my black-eyed Susan flowers, ornamental grasses, and herb garden beds, thus providing me with easy access to gardens without walking on the grass.  It would also put an end to dirty shoes tracking mud or dirt indoors.



Garden Path Installation
When planning a garden project I prefer to design by drawing the path out and then work with my husband in the preparation and installation. 

Husband's to-do list:

  1. Remove the grass with a lawn trimmer
  2. Level the soil
  3. Lay out the stones for easy stepping
  4. Remove the dirt so he can set the stone into the space so that it is even with the soil.


When my husband completed the layout for the stepping stone path I then filled in around the stones with cypress mulch. 


The finished recycled capstone and cypress mulch path looks wonderful, even my neighbor likes the mulch surrounding the stepping stones.  You do not have to use the stone steps, you can create an easy garden path by using the mulch only. 

The total expense was $10.00: 14 capstones for $10.00 plus cypress mulch was given to me.   

View another landscape posts by Sgolis here

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