My Weekend Project: Finishing the Flower Garden Path

First-time visitors to my garden inevitably are drawn to the arbor and path in the flower garden – the path that dead-ends at a statue (Winnie).

A path that doesn’t really go anywhere isn’t much of a path.

Winnie used to be surrounded by tons of overgrown ivy (and poison ivy) that also climbed the trees. A couple of years ago, when we had the overgrown left side of the yard cleared out by a landscaper, we had him clear out the mass of ivy around Winnie, as well. (Somehow, the ivy on the trees still lives.) It was around this time that I had elbow surgery and this was as far as I had gotten to extending the path...

I had laid bricks (that had been found in the overgrowth on the left side of the yard) to form a path around and past Winnie. This path became a haven for weeds and had remained so for about two years. Until this weekend.

I weeded and leveled the ground as best I could. There are a lot of tree roots in this area due to the three large trees that are there, so I knew it wouldn’t be perfect.

I edged the circular area with plastic edging since I knew I wanted to put River Jack stones around Winnie. I put down landscaping fabric and hammered in earth staples to hold it in place.

The stones are the same used for the older part of the path, they are just covered in dirt so they look more white here.

I had decided I didn’t want the whole path to be the stone because I also use stone in the Kitchen Garden, which is where this path leads. I thought it would be nice to break it up and give the eye something different to look at, as well as a different kind of texture to walk on. So this part of the path has more of a “woodland” feel with mulch and stepping stones, although it still has brick edging.

I should’ve taken a close-up of the stepping stones. Each stone has a bee on it. Seems appropriate since I have tons of bees in the garden all the time.

I faced the bee stepping stones towards Winnie, since she is really the main focus here. She was a real prize find and has been a part of the garden since not long after we bought the house. She is the protector of the flower garden.

Doing this work this weekend reminded me of the many weekends I had spent building the Kitchen Garden – hauling soil, compost, gravel...digging and leveling the ground...all of that back-breaking work. I am one big ache today and I am sure it will be worse tomorrow. I am not as young as I used to be, but I can’t imagine life without gardening. It keeps me fit, it keeps me sane, it keeps me connected to nature, and it brings me peace and contentment. There’s not much you can say that about.

Now that I have this area looking more “finished,” I guess I need to start weeding back here more often. A gardener’s work is never done.