30 
House & Garden 
STONE AND THE GARDEN PATH 
The paved garden walk 
lends an air oj solid 
permanence to the whole 
setting, in elective con¬ 
trast to the transient 
nature of the flowers 
Regularly shaped slabs 
arranged in a geometrical 
mamier are sufficiently 
formal in effect to fit in 
well with a scheme such 
as this 
ROBER'r STEIT. 
Korthend 
make the comparison still more marked, low- 
growing plants like snow-in-summer, speed¬ 
well and rock pink may be planted here and 
there in the spaces between the stones them¬ 
selves. 
riie actual making of such a path calls for 
more care than the casual beholder would 
susfiect. 
First, there is the matter of the foundation, 
ddhs must be solidly made of well graded and 
packed earth, perhaps with an underlying layer 
of broken rocks for drainage if the location is 
low and tends to wetness. The level of the 
path, of course, should be raised enough to 
jjrevent surface water from collecting. 
'I'he rock slabs themselves may be of native 
heldstone dressed roughly flat on the upper 
side, or else irregular paving stones of the sort 
used for ordinary street sidewalks. In either 
case they should be of varA'ing sizes and 
shapes, except Avhere an extremely fonnal ef¬ 
fect is desired. Here uniformity of outline is 
called for. The limits of size vary according 
to the width of the path and the general scale 
of the surroundings, but as a general rule 
none of the slabs should measure less than T 
or more than 3' across the longest way. 
Paved JFalks and How 
to Make Them 
T he garden without walks fails in half its 
mission. It may be beautiful, as a field 
corner thick with wild asters and goldenrod is 
beautiful—but it is not wholly intimate and 
inviting. A garden should be more than mere¬ 
ly a pretty thing to be admired from outside. 
You must be able to wander through it easily 
and without thought of stumbling or treading 
on tender growing things, if you are to know 
it at its best. It must have paths to guide you 
naturally and without conscious thought. 
Of a variety of paths—gravel, earth, turf 
and others—I am not going to speak here. 
Each has its special place, each its particular 
advantages. But the j^ath of large stones is so 
comparatively seldom built, and its good cjuali- 
ties relatively so little appreciated, that it calls 
for more than passing attention. 
Some Paving Reasons 
In the first place, there is its practical utility. 
Paths like those illustrated on these pages are 
always dry, firm and solid. 'Fhere is no mud 
or dust to walk in, no grass to keep eternally 
cutting, no back-breaking raking, grading or 
filling to do after the initial work has been 
completed. 
.\nd there are other more esthetic ljut no less 
important features. There is something sane¬ 
ly substantial and forthright about the path of 
large stones. It knows where it is going, and 
Avhy; it lends an air of pennanency and de¬ 
pendability to the Avhole garden. The age and 
strength of the rock slabs contrast effectively 
with the fragile beauty of the flowers. To 
