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Along Path Leading: The arrangement of paving units in a path can subtly affect the speed at which you walk. A uniform grain along path leading the path—for example, that created by bricks laid lengthwise in stretcher bond—can seem to hurry you on, whereas a less directional pattern will encourage a slower pace. The treatment may be chosen to suit the purpose of the path—a "slow" path where there is plenty to admire, a "faster" path where the aim is simply to provide access to another part of the garden.
The straight edge of a hard surface can also be used in conjunction with curved flower beds and lawns within one design. The overall effect will be one of contrast: straight and curved lines, and squares and circles.
Paths should be used sensitively and for a reason. A path leading nowhere will not integrate with the rest of the garden. Use curved paths in an informal design and straight ones in a formal scheme. Rather than using a path to split the garden into two equal sections, consider running it along path leading the shadier side of the garden instead.
Although paths have a practical purpose in your backyard, allowing you to move about it without wearing bald patches on the lawn or turning flower beds into mud baths, they don't have to look purely functional. They can be made to enhance the overall design, becoming features in their own right.
As WITH so many garden projects, a scale plan drawn on graph paper will be of tremendous help in planning the position and width of your path. Draw in all the major features and then try different positions for the path. Another way of doing this is to take a photograph of the site from the house and then use tracing paper to add an overlay showing possible path positions.
If you intend to use bricks or blocks as a paving material, you can sketch these in too and gain a much better idea of how the finished path will look. The pattern in which you lay the paving may require that some pieces are cut, in which case a carefully drawn scale plan of the path will show you just how many will need cutting and allow you to adjust this figure by moving the pattern here and there before actually doing the job. |
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