Easy DIY Garden Path

[Pictured above: My front garden with the neighborhood cat checking out my newly mulched path]

I have a natural-style garden in the front of my home. Most of the plants there are native so they are not perfectly uniform and can even get a little shaggy through the year. For this reason I have included elements that make the garden look more deliberate instead of looking like I just stopped mowing one day. These elements include signs, decorations, and a garden path. My favorite type of path in the front garden is an inexpensive, easy, and best of all temporary, mulch path that can be created in one afternoon and really makes the garden pop.

To create this path you will need:

• Mulch – I use cedar mulch (woodchips can work too)
• Landscape Fabric or uncoated cardboard
• Garden Staples
• A Shovel
• (Optional) Stepping stones – I used recycled rubber stepping stones

Laying Out the Path

What areas do you need to access throughout the year? For example, we had solar panels installed a couple of years ago and the panel boxes were installed in the corner of the front garden. Everything is small now but by summer all of my plants will be humongous, so I made a small path to make this area accessible to the panel technician. This will make it easier for him and it will keep my plants from being trampled. Same idea regarding the gas meter man. He stands by the fence to look into the yard and read the meter, so the path extends to that part of the fence. Maybe you want to split the garden up to have better access for weeding. Think of your needs first and then think of a path style.

My path is wavy because I like a more informal look, but you may decide to create a straight path with 90 degree angles. In that case, you need to measure well. I’m an “eyeballer” so a wavy, mostly unmeasured path suits me best. I knew I wanted the path to be about “yay big”🤣 which ended up being about 18” wide, so I started digging and made sure to go around certain plants that I didn’t want to disturb. I removed about 2 inches of soil and relocated it to the sidewalk hell strips that were looking a little sunken. Altogether my path was about 20 ft long so it wasn’t that much soil to relocate. If your path is larger than that, then you need to think about where you’re going to put the extra soil (fill up some planters? give it away? take it to the dump?). I don’t recommend making a very large path with this method because it is temporary and will need to be redone to some degree each year.

Once I dug out the path, I used the back of the shovel to smooth it out and make it as level as possible. I made sure not to remove too much dirt in certain places because I didn’t want to create a situation where water would be pooling near the foundation of my house. If you have a slight slope like I do, always shape the path so water will run away from the house.

Laying Down the Weed Barrier

I used landscape fabric that I folded and pinned to the path with garden staples. Garden staples are big U-shaped staples that you press into the ground, no tools required. Since my path was wavy I cut short sections (about 3′ long) of landscape fabric and pinned those down. I don’t normally use landscape fabric in the garden but I made an exception for this path because it will keep the weeds down during the year. You can use cardboard instead of landscape fabric but it will break down sooner so you will need to replace it or just weed the path later on in the season. Also, you will need to moisten the cardboard before you put the mulch down so the mulch stays put.

I put down a 2 inch thick layer of mulch and tamped it down with my feet by walking on it. I stepped on it with very close steps all the way until it was compacted. It was like dancing Bachata but moving only towards one side while being ogled by oncoming traffic and curious passersby. Small, close steps.

I put some recycled rubber stepping stones at the beginning of the path. I laid those straight on the ground and used them to anchor the landscape fabric. I didn’t place them on top of the mulch because they would have become a trip hazard. Also, I imagined myself sailing across the front garden on a runaway stepping stone that decided to slide across the mulch one day.

And that was it. I installed this path about 2 years ago and it took one afternoon to complete. The cost was minimal too ($12 mulch, $10 garden staples, $13 landscape fabric). The pictures above were taken a few days ago after I added fresh cedar mulch. I didn’t replace the landscape fabric, I simply pulled out any weeds that had grown through the fabric, added more staples as needed and then added the mulch. The landscape fabric will last for many years.

Temporary Solution

I like this path because it’s temporary. If I change my mind or sell my house, all that needs to be done with this path is to pull up the landscape fabric and maybe add some soil to level the area. A conventional path would mean removing many more inches of soil, adding crushed rock and sand, and finally adding the pavers or gravel on top. Can you imagine the mess it would be to remove all that? Of course, if you have the space and certainty to install hardscaping, then by all means do it, but if you’re like me and just want a quick way to get across the garden, then a mulch path is a good option.

Let me know if you build your own mulch path!

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