Flagstone Paths: Design, Use, and Cost

Design and Use

Flagstone is an excellent choice for paths in well-traveled areas. It brings a natural elegance to the garden and is suitable for both primary and secondary paths. When flagstone is fitted together tightly and care is taken to create a clean edge, the material matches the mood created by the most stately homes and formal landscapes.

Fitted more loosely, flagstone pathways complement all other styles and sizes of homes and yards. It's preferred by professionals to use limestone and sandstone for pathways in shady areas, where the lighter hues (a gradation or variety of a color) of the stone make the pathway more visible (usually in the evening).

Granite

In hot, sunny areas, the darker tones of slate and granite create a cooling effect. Direct sunlight will also cause the rich and varied colors of granite and quartzite to sparkle and shine. If you like color and brightness in a garden, you might want to consider trying these types of stones.

Quartzite

Flagstone is sturdy whether set in mortar or not. Even the heaviest wheelbarrow loads or lawn equipment traffic will not mar or damage a properly installed flagstone path.

Cost

Flagstone prices vary greatly across the country; the closer you live to an area where stone is quarried, the less expensive the stone is. Of the many types of pathways that can be built in a garden, flagstone falls in the upper-middle cost range. We will discuss cost compared to other pathways in later blogs.

Stone Pathways: Introduction (Part I)

Pathways will lead us somewhere. That is their sole purpose. When you are walking in the woods, you usually see a trail. When you walk outside, you have streets intertwining with one another, or even leading to a dead end with a trail into the woods. When you ski down a hill, you might see flags to show you where to go, because if you go elsewhere you might get hurt. These are all pathways, because they guide you.

Pathways not only guide you from place to place, but they guide your eyes as well. When designing pathways, consider both the practical and aesthetic possibilities within your yard and garden. Depending on your taste, you might go for one or the other specifically.

Make sure to start your design by laying out the main pathways. These paths are the routes leading to and from the house. Also ask yourself this question:

"Where do I travel most in my yard?"

If you travel to your shed (if you have one), that might be an ideal place to have a pathway. But, the main pathways for most home owners lead from the street or sidewalk to the front door and also from the garage or driveway apron to the back or side door. If you want to see a good example, it's right outside your front door (literally). These pathways need to be the widest and easiest to walk on. Why? Because this is what you'll be walking on when you come home from grocery shopping or clothes shopping.

A 4-foot-wide pathway allows two people to walk side-by-side very easily. Guests parking on the street or in the driveway and walking to the house will be appreciative of this. Pathways with smooth surfaces and few irregularities are best for guest entryways, but also can help if you are on a date or taking a walk with your spouse.

Stone Landscaping: Stones Uses (Part I)

Besides stone's use in pathways, walls, steps and patios, stone can be used for many other things in a garden. These are much smaller projects, but still can add new life and value to your garden. It'll also help people notice your plants better, because the stone will accent the plant.

Rock Gardens

The rock gardens of today take many more forms than those of Victorian times. Early rock gardens were usually on sunny slopes and made to resemble windswept, natural outcroppings. Only true alpine plants were used. Today, rock gardens can be in any part of the garden, and can include any plants you desire.

Outcroppings and Accents

Outcroppings of boulders can carry the rugged, permanent presence of stone throughout the landscape. Make sure to arrange boulders carefully, so they appear to have been in place long before the house was built. This is one of the most appealing displays to the eye, and the most natural-looking.

Planter Boxes

If you want a good stone landscaping idea, I got two words: planter boxes. You might want to consider building a long, narrow stone planter box along the edge of a patio (the one pictured above is built on a street corner, not really ideal for your needs). Or, you can have two matching boxes flank the entrance to the driveway or the sidewalk leading to the front door. Usually constructed of cut wallstone, planter boxes can be any shape or size.

Next blog will finish up stone uses. After stone uses, we start getting into the specifics of each of the possibilities we have covered. If you want to know what possibility will be covered, check back here tomorrow and I'll tell you.

Stone Landscaping: What are the Possibilities? (Part II)

Are there other possibilities for stone landscaping? Yes, since I only covered three, I will conclude the possibilities today. There are three more possibilities to arrange stone. There are more uses for stone, but we'll cover them next time. For now, let's discover the possibilities.

Patios and Outdoor Living Spaces

Your yard can become an extension to your own home when you develop outdoor "rooms" that define and showcase your family's way of life. Stone is great for creating a place for dinner when you have family and friends over. It's also great as an entertainment area, or a place to sit back and relax.

Container Spaces

Stone is great for developing surfaces where you can put containers filled with plants. A pot of annuals set on a small gravel or flagstone floor with the garden bed can become a bright and colorful focal point. Stone pillars of different heights, topped with plant in containers, also provide great displays of a garden.

Garden Edging

Any kind of stone can be used to edge garden beds (stone, brick, cement), implementing an extra dimension of color and texture. A garden bed edged with one course of fieldstone brings out a casual, country feel to its property. A raised bed edged with cut wallstone creates a more formal, urban look.

That brings this part of stone landscaping to an end. This doesn't end our stone landscaping guides and tips though. For this entire month, we will be covering stone landscaping's potential for gardening and ponds. This is a great things for gardeners and pond keepers. We will dive into many topics with this category, so check back daily for more information on stone landscaping.