I’m redoing the side yard along my house and could use some ideas before I commit.
I want to turn it into a walkway that connects the front yard to my garden and patio. I’m planning to remove the grass and do some kind of gravel or mulch setup, but I don’t want it to look super plain or boring.
A few things I’m considering:
– Doing all gravel, but worried it’ll feel kind of flat visually
– Mixing in pavers or stepping stones to break it up
– Adding a mulch strip along the fence with plants (and maybe converting the sprinklers to drip irrigation)
– Using different sizes or colors of gravel for some contrast
I’m trying to keep this pretty budget-friendly, so nothing too fancy. Also, what option will keep up well.
My rough plan right now is:
– Dig down about 6”
– Tamp it
– Lay a base of crushed rock
– Then top with gravel
Of note. there used to be a sandbox along the house, so the soil near the foundation is lower. I’ll need to regrade it so water drains away properly.
Would love to hear what’s worked for you (or what you’d avoid). Any design ideas that keep it simple but still look intentional?
by Clear_Honey1041
4 Comments
Grading is everything here. Get that dirt sloped away from your foundation before you even look at a rock. Also you are about to do way too much work. Digging down six inches for a simple walking path is massive overkill and will break your back. Excavate three inches tamp your dirt drop two inches of crushed road base and top it with one inch of decorative gravel. Any deeper and you are just building a bathtub that holds water against your house. Make sure you route that downspout extension all the way out of this area too.
A solid sea of gravel between vinyl siding and a white fence will look exactly like a dog run. You absolutely need stepping stones or large pavers spaced out to give it rhythm and make it walkable in bare feet. To fix the bowling alley effect carve out a sweeping planting bed along the fence side. Fill it with mulch and layer in some tough structural plants to soften up that massive wall of white plastic.
It is hard to picture how much space a plant bed takes up versus a walkway in a narrow yard. Before you order heavy materials or start sweating over a shovel throw one of these photos into the GardenDream web app. You can test out different paver layouts and plant masses right over your bare dirt to see what actually looks proportional. Getting that visual blueprint dialed in will save you from buying the wrong materials and building something that feels completely flat.
Make a solid path with pavers so you can get a wheeled barrow/cart/bin between front and back yard easily. Have the area next to the gate completely paved. If you’d rather use aggregate I’d just put in the road base and tamp well. Unless it’s bright white most aggregates are inoffensive colors, no point in spreading a thin layer of something that appears more attractive at the rock yard.
I’d put the paving next to the house and mulch next to the fence and espalier/trellis a vine or shrub on it but up to you, not necessary. Seems the bed might be 3′ wide so space for small perennials, annuals, perennial ground cover, herbs, food plants but avoid woody shrubs.
You can use grinders to do concrete, and then you can lay one desk on this place for after noon leisure time
My only suggestion would be do make sure you use a weed barrier to prevent weeds. The first time I DIY a similar area in my old house, I did not use any weed barrier and had to spend lots of time pulling out weeds by hand. Something like this would be fine [https://www.dripworks.com/weed-barrier-pro-landscape-fabric](https://www.dripworks.com/weed-barrier-pro-landscape-fabric)