Gardening for Amateurs 



Making Garden Paths 



MUCH of the charm of a garden 

 depends upon its paths and walks, 

 and if these are badly laid out 

 the place can never be- a delightful, pleas- 

 ing retreat at any time. 

 Wriggling walks are 

 highly undesirable, nor 

 should there be a mul- 

 tiplicity of paths cutting 

 up the various borders ; 

 badly constructed paths 

 are an eyesore, and unless 

 the surface is level and 

 even, rain will form 

 puddles and soon ruin its 

 appearance. 



Drainage. When 

 paths are being made 

 the foundation is all-im- 

 portant, and should de- 

 mand careful building 

 and thorough attention ; 

 though unseen, it really 

 determines whether a 

 path is to be a lasting 

 one or not, and work 

 expended in its construc- 

 tion is never wasted. 

 Drainage requires first 

 consideration, and if the 

 soil is stiff and clayey, 

 and more or less im- 

 pervious to moisture, a 

 drain-pipe should be laid 

 down one side of the 

 intended path at a depth 

 of about 2 feet. Drains 

 should never be laid in 

 the centre, as, in that 

 position, they tend to 

 become dislodged by any 

 subsidence in the path surface or by heavy 

 wheeling. If the path be level, the 

 drain ditch must be made shallow at 

 one end and deep at the other, so as 

 to allow a good fall or slope to carry off 

 the water. 



Once drainage has been seen to, open out 

 the soil to a depth of 1 foot, and the width 



Paved path edged with Mossy 

 Saxifrage. 



previously determined on ; in the bottom 

 of this ditch lay large stones, bricks or firm 

 clinkers, building them neatly and closely ; 

 soft rock or brittle clinkers are not advisable, 

 as heavy traffic above is 

 very apt to cause sub- 

 sidences in parts ; if the 

 drain has been laid at 

 one side of the path, this 

 material is best laid on 

 a slanting bottom to let 

 water which percolates 

 through the path flow 

 towards the drain, as 

 illustrated. On top of the 

 large stones, which should 

 form a layer of some 6 

 inches depth, beat down 

 firmly a 3-inch layer of 

 smaller stones or rough 

 ashes ; above this again 

 spread the material of 

 which the surface is to 

 consist to a depth of H 

 inches, and the path is 

 then complete. 



A Loose Surface. 

 Fine gravel makes an ex- 

 cellent surface layer, but 

 red blaze, well burned, is 

 also good if small addi- 

 tions are made from time 

 to time to ensure a thick 

 enough layer. Shell gravel 

 is in popular favour, and 

 affords a clean, elastic 

 walk. Ashes are not so 

 satisfactory, because in 

 wet weather they become 

 ground into a sticky 

 mud, and after frost they 

 are soft and clinging. Marble or granite 

 chips can be used for the purpose, and 

 they may be regarded much as fine gravel ; 

 the chips should never be very large, 

 and, as with gravel, as uniform in size 

 as possible. 



A Solid Surface. Modern villa gardening 

 often demands a path with a solid upper 



