Less Lawn, More Garden Paths

I luv this...

Stamped concrete path
A curved path, high walls, soft greens, and a bubbling fountain make this Southern California garden a soothing escape.The broad path connects the gate to the front door. The walkway is built of stamped concrete and has a dusting of multicolored sand for extra texture.

For more ideas like this go to:

Paths - Great ideas for garden accessories - Photos - Sunset.com

Casual Stone Path
Casual stone path bordered with perennials enhances charm of thatched cottage. Verenda Magazine, Photo credit: Tom Woodham


Tintinhull Garden
At Tintinhull, a National Trust property in England, graveled axial path leads garden visitors through potager towards meadow where sheep, passing back and forth, offer now-you-see-it/now-you-don't focal point. Verenda Magazine, Photo: Tom Woodham



Atlanta Garden
Crab Orchard stone laced with dwarf mondo grass solved a shady, mucky problem in Sharon McHale's Atlanta garden. Verenda Magazine, Photo credit: Tom Woodham



For more garden path ideas from Verenda Magazine:

Plotting Garden Paths - Plotting a Garden - Veranda.com
Garden pathways bring order green spaces and make the landscape enticing. Veranda offers advice on plotting a garden and planning garden pathways and garden ...




Reducing Lawns

by P. Allen Smith

Over the years as my garden has continued to evolve, I've made a concerted effort to look for ways to reduce the amount of lawn I have to care for. I've done this by creating different types of garden paths using a variety of materials such as this gravel or brick or even just fieldstone or mulch.

However, I'd have to admit that one of the most compelling reasons for me to reduce lawn is it gives me more opportunities to create beautiful flowerbeds like this one. However, it really goes beyond the beauty of these flowers, it's about the environment.

Did you know that in America each year we mow over 25 million acres of lawn? That's the size of the state of Pennsylvania. If you think about the number of mowers it would take to cut this much grass you can see it can have quite an impact on the environment.

You see, more than 89 million small gasoline engines are operated in the United States each year. The reason this is such a big problem is that these gas powered small engines aren't equipped with the same pollution controlling devices that we have with automobiles.

Of course the good news is in the next few years we can begin seeing more rigorous environmental standards for lawn and garden equipment. But until then I'm going to keep looking for ways to reduce the amount of lawn in my garden.

P. Allen Smith Gardens
Copyright: 2000
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