Are you receiving full enjoyment from your garden landscape year-round? Gardeners spend so much time tied up with chores- planting, cultivating, and weeding. The fall and winter months are a great time to enjoy the garden, particularly if your footwear is dry and not muddy. A network of garden paths permits you, also neighbors and friends, to enjoy the 12 months of beauty created from your labor.

Nasty spells of weather hit many parts of the U.S. in fall and winter. On pleasant days you can walk through your garden. A path serves as a focal point of discovery such as viewing flowering bulbs poking through or witchhazels (Hamamelis spp.) and lenten roses (Helleborus spp.) in bloom. You are likely to gain a different perspective strolling through the garden.

Landscape designers recommend a spacious path, 20 inches or more in width. The path may be straight or curvilinear. You can construct a series of paths inexpensively from pea gravel, fine grit, or wood shavings. Garden centers and hardware stores sell metal or plastic edging to contain the gravel or shavings from spreading into lawn areas. You may utilize 16-inch wide concrete stone pavers, either attached or spaced several inches apart according to the pre-measured stride of your step.

Paths add new dimensions to your garden space. You may discover new areas for planting a shrub or tree, or set additional planters and containers. Perhaps a water feature, some statuary, or accent lighting along the path to extend the hours of enjoyment outdoors in your garden.