Path and Walkway Landscaping Ideas

Put your garden on a great footing with these landscape secrets.

By Kelly Roberson

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Through the Garden Gate

Zen Finesse

Rely on Classic Landscape Choices

Follow the Road

A Path As Destination

Charm in Curves

Phenomenal Path

A Call for Contemporary

Splendors of the Grass

Up and Over

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Through the Garden Gate

An easygoing path leads the way to a welcoming garden oasis.

A graceful latticework fence and expansive gate create an openness to lead visitors.
Creeping thyme between pavers adds a wonderful fragrance when its leaves are stepped on.
Irregularly spaced and sized flagstones boost the garden's nonchalant nature.
A large urn offers a visual relief from the densely planted yard.
A large California lilac (Ceanothus) next to the path adds wonderful fragrance and color.

Use rocks and stones in even more ways in your landscape.

Zen Finesse

An understated path adds a perfect front yard accessory to a home's modern lines.

A short retaining wall bridges the divide between path and yard.
Gray river rock provides interest as filler between the pavers.
Irregularly placed flagstone pavers offer a path from front door around the side of the house.
A trio of Japanese maples provides visual texture; once full-grown, they'll create a delightful canopy over the path.
Chosen for their deep shade of green and unfussy structure, ornamental grasses play off the contemporary design.

Rely on Classic Landscape Choices

Tried and true elements form the backbone of this quintessentially designed path and flowerbed.

Understated lights accent the path's traditional herringbone pattern.
Stacked, irregular-size stone pieces form a casual border for the flowerbed.
Unobtrusive in scale and structure, two trees flank either side of the path, creating privacy and coziness.
Just before the path ends at the sidewalk, a tall stretch of latticework offers additional privacy for the front yard.
Large swaths of stout perennials, including hostas and coneflowers, ensure plenty of color and texture.

Follow the Road

Take a leisurely stroll down a path that ends with a quiet nook for reading and relaxing.

Pavers set in a slight variation in pattern -- edging bricks are positioned horizontally and walkway bricks are nestled vertically -- create visual interest on the walkway.
Large pavers dramatically mark the end of the path, leading to a pergola and restful chair.
A cascading collection of yellow, deep pink, and purple flowers softens the walkway and plays with the muted brick color.
A collection of container gardens at the end of the path helps create a sense of destination.

A Path As Destination

Surrounded by an abundance of blooms, a rustic yet streamlined path offers quiet beauty.

Unfussy gravel offers a casual surface beneath a walker's feet.
Plants spilling over the walkway edge give the garden an established, lush feel.
Stone pavers act as edging to keep loose gravel inside path boundaries.
A large pot serves as a focal point to mark the end of the walkway.
Tall-growing plants gradually give way to a cascade of low-growing blooms and ground covers.

Charm in Curves

Scents and blooms steal the show along this lushly planted walkway.

A curving walkway provides more visual interest than a straight path -- and accents the garden around it.
A stone bench complements the color and style of the materials in the path.
Tall daylilies planted at a bend in the path create mystery by hiding what's on the other side.
An orange tree in reach of the path provides delicious treats.

Phenomenal Path

Dramatic design distinguishes this front door walkway.

Two path materials -- slate and brick -- provide a surprising contrast in both color and texture.
Grass offers a visual break between the overscale path pavers.
Boxwoods delineate a transition from the front yard's lawn to the entry door.
Two boxwoods -- this time in urns -- are repeated as focal point at the entry door.
Breaking up the walkway into separate segments is a clever (and easier) way to put in a path on a slope.

A Call for Contemporary

Restrained material and planting choices complement each other in this streamlined path.

The minimalist design of the pathway extends to the plantings -- the path winds past just three varieties of plants.
A pair of stacked limestone columns marks the transition from path to doorway.
The walkway exudes modern style with large, regularly spaced pavers interspersed with crushed rock.
Metal edging marks a clear definition between path and bed, and keeps the mulch and crushed stone from intermingling.
A dry creek bed echoes the path, adding drama.

Splendors of the Grass

Unexpected path materials add a distinctive element of surprise to a landscape.

Instead of a hard material, a grass path winds its way through the landscape.
Mulch as edging provides the garden beds with a tidy appearance.
A bench offers garden visitors a stopping point.
Plants supply a mix of textures and varying shades of green.
Slight bends in the path add visual interest, but are gentle enough that they don't make mowing a challenge.

Up and Over

This path relies on elements close to the ground and overhead to create a sense of discovery.

Two streamlined metal arbors form an archway over the path, drawing the eye forward.
Set in a geometric pattern, pavers create visual interest in a subtle fashion.
Large gray planters spaced along the path offer rhythmic stopping points.
Trees growing close to and over the arbor and path provide a virtual outdoor ceiling.
A simple color scheme -- shades of green and white -- highlights the simplicity of the walkway.

Path and Walkway Landscaping Ideas

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