A Garden Path

My shade garden has pea gravel between the plants.It looks good, and keeps the weeds down, but it's not comfortable to walk on in bare feet, flimsy sandals, or heels.So I thought I'd see ifI could find some attractive paving stones that didn't cost too much, and would fit organically into my garden design.

At Lowe's I found white concrete stones in an attractive leaf shape, about twelve inches long at their longest. I bought three, at $3.99 each.They were easy to install; you just need to make sure that the surface under them is even. If there's a bump or a valley, they can crack when walked on.

I decided three wasn't enough, so went back to get a couple more, and found them on sale for $1.99, so bought three.One of them broke in my car on the way home (I didn't notice until loading them that it was slightly cracked, and I should have taken it back then -- so my bad).I decided later in the summer that it would be nice to have some extras, in case the winter damaged them. My neighbor was going to Lowe's and agreed topick up a couple for me. He brought four; they were then on sale for a mere 49 cents each!

They have now survived the worst that a North Dakota summer and winter can throw at them: high wiinds, furious rain, hail, snow, and temperatures of -35 degrees and colder. They have weathered slightly, and look even better in my garden than when new.They are best seen if you enlarge the picture with the pink flower (a foxglove) in the foreground; the other shows them new in a "path" to the far side of my garden. I have some extras now, so may do some rearranging this spring.