Ideas for stylish design of garden paths at your summer house.

What material can it be made of?

For a high-quality and long-lasting result, you should choose raw materials that can withstand seasonal fluctuations in humidity and temperature. The coating should also be resistant to fungus. There are many ways to make garden paths yourself or with the help of specialists.

Concrete

A budget, durable and popular material that will last for several years. You can make a path of any shape yourself from a sand-concrete mixture. Concrete is almost impervious to moisture, resistant to low temperatures, but when the soil moves, the slabs can crack. The solution is suitable for decoration: you can add colors, pebbles, mosaics or use any other suitable design. Slabs with lawn grass growing between them look no less impressive.

A path made of concrete slabs is a permanent structure, it is difficult to move or dismantle. Before you design a path, you need to plan both its direction and its surroundings. There is no need to strive for perfectly evenly laid squares and rectangles – different directions and sizes of slabs will add originality and dynamics to the landscape.

The photo shows a garden concrete path made with your own hands using figured forms. A detailed master class on creating such a structure is at the end of the article.

Stone

Natural stone is a traditional option for decorating a summer cottage. It is the most durable and wear-resistant material. It has high heat resistance, does not change in the off-season and has a relief surface, due to which it does not slip. It is easy to lay, with a small gap and in any direction.

Stone is considered the most expensive type of raw material, but the high price pays off due to its durability.

Natural stone can be called elite, since in addition to its high cost, it is distinguished by the uniqueness of the pattern.

Paving slabs

Almost as durable as inferior to stone, environmentally friendly, as it is made of concrete or ceramics. Tiles are produced in the form of squares, hexagons, diamonds and coils, it has different shades and sizes. With its help, you can create any composition that will successfully fit into the design of the garden plot. Moisture-resistant, durable, easy to lay and, if necessary, easy to repair by replacing the damaged part.

Paving slabs cannot be called a budget option, moreover, due to the peculiarities of laying, a large amount of material is required. Before cladding, the turf is removed to a depth of 15 cm and the earth is carefully tamped. Curbs must be installed on the sides of the path. The base should consist of sand and crushed stone.

Areas with high traffic are better laid with paving stones. It is several times thicker than tiles. You can make various patterns from paving stones and alternate colors, forming a unique design.

Clinker brick

Sometimes you can see paths made of brick on the plots, but this is not the material that is used for construction. It is made from special clay that is fired at a high temperature. The birthplace of clinker bricks is Holland, where they have long been used to pave roads. The completely non-porous material does not absorb water, is not destroyed by frost, is environmentally friendly and serves an incredibly long time. By mixing several types of clay, manufacturers achieve a variety of colors, so a brick path will not necessarily be red.

The photo shows an example of a path made of clinker bricks, laid in straight paving, and a round area for the future patio.

Decking

Also called garden parquet. It is tiles or individual planks made of hardwood impregnated with wear-resistant compounds, making it more durable. It can be laid straight or curved on a concrete or sand-gravel base, but especially valuable wood should be dismantled for the winter.

There is decking made of plastic strips that imitate wood grain and color. They are connected to each other using fasteners, so you can do the installation yourself. Plastic does not require special care, does not mold or deform.

The photo shows flooring made of wood-polymer composites obtained by mixing wood with monomers, which provide the boards with stability and mechanical strength.

Plastic

Colored plastic paths have become popular due to their low price and ease of installation. They are sold in modules or rolls, are easily dismantled for the winter, protect against weed growth and are not afraid of moisture. Despite all the advantages, plastic is short-lived, and some products quickly fade.

Gravel or crushed stone

To make garden paths look natural, you can use small pebbles, gravel or crushed stone, which do not require much effort when laying. Before forming the paths, you should prepare the base, apply herbicide or lay a film. The gravel will not shift if you border the path with a decorative border. Such a structure will not withstand heavy loads, so you should not lay crushed stone in the parking lot.

Stones for paths can differ in shape, color, texture. Light gravel is ideal for decorating a garden plot in Japanese style.

Wood

Wooden garden paths look harmonious, as they are created from natural material. Boards can be used as an independent decor, as well as in combination with pebbles or tiles. You can make a wooden path with your own hands, but before installation, you should treat all the elements with antifungal compounds, and then cover them with varnish or durable paint.

If you have a high budget, thermally modified wood is suitable for creating a garden path at your dacha: such wood is very dense in structure, since all moisture evaporates from it during the heat treatment process. There is one drawback to this type of flooring – its high cost.

Helpful tools

Owners of summer cottages often create paths from burnt bricks or their fragments, and also combine several types, adding clinker and building bricks. Solid bricks can crumble, but in some garden plots such a design looks quite harmonious.

A budget option for paths is linoleum, but this covering is not durable and beautiful. It must be laid on a carefully compacted base. Unfortunately, after rain, linoleum is very slippery.

Owners of garden plots do not limit themselves in imagination and form paths from cast iron, broken ceramic tiles, pallets and even tires. On the one hand, not all of these methods are durable, but on the other hand, they help to show imagination and reuse things. Another popular solution is wooden cuts treated with drying oil. Their thickness is about 80 cm.

Combined paths from different materials

If not If you are not afraid to experiment and combine raw materials that differ in color and texture, you can get a complex and harmonious design of paths on your garden plot. Successful combinations:

• Concrete slabs and gravel.
• Slabs or stone plus sawdust.
• Wooden planks and pebbles.
• Wooden cuts and gravel.

The photo shows a combined path formed from cuts and white gravel.

How to make it yourself from figured forms?

The main advantage of creating garden paths with your own hands is its low cost. Preparing a solution and pouring it into forms will be cheaper than ordering ready-made slabs. In addition, you can save on delivery.

Tools and materials

To create paths from forms, you will need:

• Cord.
• A regular shovel and a scoop.
• Cement.
• Sand.
• Water.
• Gravel.
• A container for the solution.
• A special plastic form.
• Machine oil.
• Trowel.

Step-by-step instructions

Let’s get to work:

1. The future structure should either go along a path or on carefully compacted earth. We mark the boundaries with a cord and remove a layer of turf.
2. Then fill the trench with gravel and sand, compact it thoroughly.
3. Mix sand and cement in a ratio of 3 to 1. Add water to obtain a solution of the consistency of sour cream. You can mix with a shovel, but for a more convenient process it is better to use a drill with a special attachment.
4. The mold must be lubricated by applying oil to a toothbrush. It is important that the entire inner surface is lubricated – the edges and corners.
5. Place the mold, press down and pour in the solution. Push it with a trowel, getting rid of voids. Add mixture if necessary.
6. Carefully remove the mold after about 40 minutes.
7. This way we form a path of the desired length. After drying, fill the seams with sand.
8. The garden path is now complete.

Then fill the trench with gravel and sand, compacting it thoroughly.

Mix sand and cement in a ratio of 3 to 1. Add water to obtain a solution of the consistency sour cream. You can mix with a shovel, but for a more convenient process it is better to use a drill with a special attachment.

The mold must be greased by applying oil with a toothbrush. It is important that the entire inner surface is greased – edges and corners.

Place the mold, press down and pour in the solution. We push it with a trowel, getting rid of voids. If necessary, add mixture.

After about 40 minutes, carefully remove the form.

This way, we form a path of the required length. After drying, fill the seams with sand.

The garden path is now complete.

Video tutorial

Watch this video for a detailed master class:

Budget ideas for a summer house

When arranging a site in landscape design, it is often Rubber tiles are used – this material for garden paths is made by recycling tires. The tiles do not decompose for a long time, are resistant to mechanical impacts and are not susceptible to fungus.

Instead of plastic forms for the construction of a beautiful garden path from concrete, you can use natural burdock leaves. With their help, original slabs with picturesque prints are obtained.

Application can also be found for collections of glass bottles, which are dug in with the bottom up using a construction or sand-stone mixture.

The photo shows a simple garden path made of rubber tiles, laid in a recess and framed by a lawn.