How to Make a Cheap and Easy Garden Path

With a little creativity and some basic materials, you can design and make a charming garden path that blends seamlessly into your yard.

June 20, 2024

For me there’s something deeply fulfilling about stepping outside, getting my hands dirty, and improving my backyard.

Can you relate?

Little by little over the last several years, we’ve worked tirelessly to create a backyard that’s low-maintenance, beautiful and more functional.

One of these projects has been garden paths.

Adding a charming garden path to your yard not only enhances its beauty, but also brings a sense of satisfaction.

Living in a desert and experiencing water restrictions, we decided to reduce the amount of grass in our yard.

When we purchased our home there was a narrow strip of grass that ran from the patio to the garden area.

It was basically a grass pathway, which not only looked silly, but seemed pointless.

After completing a paver patio in our front yard, we had quite a few leftover pavers and while not enough to create a paver pathway, we were able to use them in our garden path along with crushed flagstone.

I think the look of crushed flagstone blends seamlessly into our natural landscape, is low maintenance and creates a great hard surface.

We’ve used it in our garden area around the planter boxes, in our fire pit area and recently used it in the additional seating area where we built the rock retaining wall.

Hillside pathway using stacked stone as a border and crushed flagstone.

On our hillside we used leftover stacked stones to form the border of our pathway and then filled in the area with crushed flagstone.

It’s clearly an affordable solution for walkways and patios.

Join us as we explore how to build a garden path that’s both practical and beautiful, perfect for adding functionality to your yard.

Table of Contents

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Planning your Garden Path

Planning your pathway begins with assessing your garden layout to determine the ideal placement for the path.

Consider your existing landscaping, foot traffic patterns, and focal points like flower beds or seating areas.

Once you’ve identified the path’s location, the next step involves measuring and marking out the dimensions.

This helps in visualizing the path’s shape and ensuring it fits seamlessly into your garden design.

In our case, there is a rock retaining wall on one side and the back of our home on the other side.

Following the gentle curves of the retaining wall, we marked out our path.

To keep the pathway feeling more natural we made gentle curves and made our path meander towards the garden.

When choosing materials, pavers and crushed flagstone have clear advantages.

Pavers provide a durable and versatile option with various colors and patterns, while crushed flagstone adds a rustic charm and is extremely affordable.

Both materials are cost-effective and complement different garden styles, from modern to farmhouse, making them ideal choices for creating a beautiful and functional garden pathway.

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Pinterest image: Cheap and Easy DIY Garden path.

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Materials and Tools

To make a garden path like ours you’ll need the following materials:

pavers
crushed flagstone or decomposed granite

While you’ll often find recommendations to use landscape fabric under a pathway, I do not recommend it, I feel it really doesn’t work.

I find that weeds still grow through the fabric and it’s extremely difficult to get them out.

In my opinion, it’s easier to use a weed spray on any stray weeds that pop up and I find the crushed flagstone does a good job at keeping the weeds at bay.

Helpful tools for creating a garden walkway:

shovel
rake
rubber mallet

To keep costs down, consider sourcing materials affordably by comparing prices at local landscaping supply stores, searching for discounts or sales, or even repurposing materials from other projects if feasible.

In our case our pavers were leftover from the patio and we found a local supplier for the crushed flagstone who sells in bulk and would deliver it to our home.

If we owned a truck we could have even saved more money and picked it up ourselves,

By planning ahead and gathering everything you need upfront, you’ll ensure your garden path project progresses smoothly.

Prepare Path Area

Once your garden path location is chosen and marked the dimensions and flow, it’s time to prepare the area for your new pathway.

Begin by clearing the pathway area, removing any grass, weeds, and debris.

Our first step was to spray ground clear, which not only kills the grass, but will eliminate any weed growth in the area for up to one year.

Then we removed the dead grass.

Once the area is clear, focus on leveling the ground.

Use a rake to level the soil and compact the area with a tamper or roller.

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Install Paver Boarder

Installing the paver boarder is an exciting step in creating your garden path, where you can see your design come to life.

Each paver is placed following your garden path border.

Paver boarder installed 1" above ground for garden path.

As you lay each paver, ensure they fit snugly against each other with minimal gaps.

On our garden path border we used a combination of 9″x6″ and 6″x6″ pavers, this helps create the gentle curve you’d find in nature.

Also you’ll find it helpful to use a level to check that the pavers are even and make adjustments as you place them to maintain a flat surface.

If any paver sits too high or too low, gently tap it into place with a rubber mallet, adding or removing the dirt as necessary to achieve a level paver boarder.

Pavers lining both sides of the garden path along the back of the house.

As you go along backfill the garden side of the paver with dirt.

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Adding Crushed Flagstone

Adding crushed flagstone or decomposed granite is the final step to complete your garden path.

Woman rakes crushed flagstone on garden path, leveling it between the paver boarder.

After placing and leveling your pavers, spread the crushed flagstone evenly between the paver boarders about 1″ in depth.

Woman with a mister attachment on the garden hose wets down the leveled crushed flagstone.

Once the flagstone is leveled out between the paver boarders, take a misting nozzle and wet down the flagstone material.

This will compact the flagstone and help to lock the material into place.

With this crushed flagstone or decomposed granite material there is a fair amount of dust that will settle in between the stones and create a good walkway.

Crushed flagstone and paver boarder walking path.

You can also use a tamper or walk over the damp crushed stone to aid in the compaction, creating a firm, stable surface.

Remember if you are unable to locate crushed flagstone in your area, decomposed granite is another great option.

It’s very affordable and will create a great hard surface in your backyard.

Cheap and Easy Garden Path

Creating a garden path using pavers and crushed flagstone is not only easy on the budget, but it is easy to customize for your space.

Allowing you to design a path that perfectly fits your garden’s aesthetic.

Finished paver and crushed flagstone DIY garden path

In addition, it’s easy to maintain by blowing leaves or debris.

Also easily keep weeds at bay, by periodically checking and giving them a quick spray with a natural weed killer.

Cheap and easy garden walkway along the back side of home with a rock retaining wall.

Overall there’s personal satisfaction when you build something with your own hands and adds to the experience.

Backyard pathway leading to the garden lined with pavers and filled with crushed flagstone.

Finally a garden path not only improves the functionality and beauty of your garden, but also provides a serene and inviting environment for you to enjoy.

Is this a project you’d like to try for your outdoor space?

For more ideas for your backyard, take a look at these ideas:

We hope you found some inspiration for your home today.

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