Every Little Step We Take...Literally

We installed this paver walkway on the property which prompted my first article about Every Little Step We Take, a property for which I am on every week or every other, doing something. See Bend it Like Beckham - A Fun Sod Job.

And, I could write about so many other projects on this property (placing new plants, transplanting old ones and reworking beds, and pruning), but not to bore you.

There still is so much to do here on this property, but after we installed the centipede sod once and then added on more we realized we still had all these mulched areas, which now have a good balance with the plants beds (we will be redesigning these). But, we needed to protect the newly sodded areas from foot traffic, and the path to the workshop is virtually a highway, daily.

I love flagstone, its natural look and it has its place - I have done a few of these projects. Yet, this area needed a sure-footed path for on-foot travel or for a wheel barrow or cart.

Eventually the grass will marry up with the edge of the path and some simple edging will make this walkway crisp and pop in the lawn.

I have used concrete pavers on occasion and actually installed some for a walkway, on my property, which spans from an existing walkway of well-laid brick to a rail-less patio tucked under a Yoshino Cherry. I actually broke out a little trigonometry to determine the angle between each paver to have the appropriate curve over the distance. Oh, it worked, Mrs. Mayer.

These pavers were laid with no cement products or polymer sands. I prefer using paver sand after much attention is paid to preparing the area and grading just below or near ground level. Additional sanding and wetting may be needed a few days or a week after, but the result is much more natural and takes hold quite well. Using a thick-mil plastic underneath (unless soil drainage issues are expected) works well at keeping weeds at bay. Eventually, nearby grasses will work their way between the pavers - adds an even more natural look. Mine has been in-ground for about seven years and I haven't had to adjust a single paver.

Man-made concrete products are usually more porous than natural stone and may require more to keep clean, but once they age, they can have their own at-home, natural appeal.

I can't wait for this latest walkway to suffer a few rains and some pitch from nearby trees to gain its worn patina. 

Just another little step.