Cheap DIY Garden Path in a Day
Looking for a cheap DIY garden path you can complete in a day? It’s possible! I mean, you’re going to be sore as hell, but it’s doable!
In the last decade of gardening, as with most things, I’ve learned quite a bit. And a big learning curve for me has been hardscaping. I’ve come to not only appreciate it, but to love the heck out of it! And you should too!
Hardscaping is simply the non-living portion of your garden esthetic. It’s not the gorgeous trees and flowers. Instead, it’s the patios, driveways, walkways, pathways, gazebos, pools, and so on. It can also be big planters and urns, chairs, fountains and tables. These non-living elements play a big role our landscapes. How we use them matters!
Cheap DIY Garden Path Ideas
There are loads of different cheap DIY garden path options out there. You can mow a path with your lawnmower and call it done. Yes, that’s a path.
You can use mulch/wood chips to designate a path. It’s cheap and readily available. It breaks down which can be both good and bad, depending on your need.
But my favorite cheap DIY garden path idea is large stepping stones with pea gravel. It’s affordable (about $8 per stone and $5 per bag of pea gravel) and possible to lay in a day.
Pea Gravel and Stepping Stone Path
We needed a path to access our chicken run. We considered mulch as that was already around the girls’ playhouse. But, there was a great chance it would get muddy from constant travel with waterers being sloshed back and forth.
So instead, we decided to replicate our stone patio. But where the patio uses polymeric sand (which fills in small joints and makes them hard to the touch) between the stones, we used pea gravel for this path. We also spaced the stones about stepping distance apart so we don’t step on the pea gravel as much. And it’s gorgeous!
I love how quickly it came together. The area had already been cleared out to make room for the chicken run. And we already had some random stones in the mulch around the playhouse. So it was really just a matter of laying out the stones to accommodate our travel patterns, and digging out the ground under each stone.
A Quick How To
I like to lay out the big stones along where I want my path. These are heavy stones so I want to touch them as little as necessary.
I look for the spots with the most foot traffic, and place the biggest stones in those spaces. For instance, the door to the run is a constant spot under our feet, as are the windows of the playhouse (we play drive-thru with the windows. Classy, I know!). So I knew I wanted the biggest stones at those 3 spots, as well as the first step off the grass and onto the pathway.
After the big stones are placed, I go back and fill in the rest of the stepping stones.
I like to walk on the stones to see how I want them turned and spaced. I let my kids do the same (as this path is for them, too). It’s important that our feet are stepping on the big stepping stones more than the pea gravel. Pea gravel gets tossed around and can be messy. I like to keep our feet on the stones!
Once we like the general stone placement, we dig a shallow line around the perimeter of each stone. Moving one stone at a time, we dig out the ground about 2″ deep below the stone, and then place the stone back. It usually takes some adjusting with dirt to get the level right. Once it feels secure, it’s done!
Now there are more in depth ways of doing this. Like digging down and laying a crushed gravel base, then sand, then the stone. But, I don’t feel it’s necessary with a garden pathway like this.
Once a few stones are in, I’ll go in and dump a bag of pea gravel and cover the dirt between the stones and spread it to the first layer of plants. This gives the look of the stones being a mulch. But, it doesn’t go beyond that first layer of plants.
Laying a path this way is simple. It is, however, back-breaking work! You don’t have to do the whole path in a day, or in a weekend. Just do what works for you and your family.
We have laid stone and pea gravel on both sides of the playhouse as well as around the chicken coop and run. We still have to lay the rear of the playhouse. It’s just a mishmash of stones and weeds at the moment. I’m pretty good with almost completing a project!
A Cheap DIY Garden Path
If you’re looking for cheap DIY garden path ideas, I recommend considering how this would work for your project.
I find pea gravel and large stones to be a great option for pathways in flower beds. They provide a rest for the eye as well as an easy way to reach deeper parts of the garden bed. Pea gravel and stone paths look great, are super functional, and don’t break the bank (your back a bit, but not the bank:). That’s a winning combination!
I hope this gives you an idea of whether or not stepping stones and pea gravel can work in your landscape. If you have any questions, I’m happy to talk gardening and garden paths! Thanks for visiting!
