DIY Gravel Garden Path
3 Materials
$35
2 Hours
Easy
Laying a path in the garden doesn't have to mean back breaking labor. Lay this simple gravel path in just an afternoon!
Gather your supplies. For the path you'll need newspaper, paver sand, pea gravel, and a bow rake. The rake isn't essential, but you will want something that can smooth the sand and pea gravel easily.
Decide where you'd like your path to be. We placed ours between raised beds. This gave us built-in edging. We had added a long raised bed at the end of our kitchen garden, so we wanted to create a path between the old and new beds.
Begin by lining the path with newspaper 3-4 sheets thick. This is your first line of defense against weeds and grasses poking through. And look, you’re recycling newspaper. Win!
Then open up your paver sand and pour it on top of the newspaper layer. You'll want to use the back side of your bow rake to get the sand layer nice and smooth. We used paver sand because it's made to be out in the elements and helps keep the gravel in place.
Make sure you cannot see any of the newspaper poking through. You want the sand layer about an inch thick.
Next, add your pea gravel. The size of your path will determine how much pea gravel you will need. We buy the recommended amount on the bag plus 3. We always seem to need just a bit more! You can always add stepping stones at this point as well. Then spread the pea gravel around them.
Spread the gravel evenly over the sand layer using the bow rake. Be sure if you're using the path around raised beds that you push the gravel into the corners. This will help cut down on weeds and grasses growing along the edges.
And that's it! What you'll have is a lovely pea gravel path like those you see in British historical films, all without the full time gardener. (If you see weeds eventually poking through, just hit them with a bit of boiling water.)
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Comments
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2 of 31 comments
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We have used pea gravel in several projects similar to this one and it works well and always looks fantastic. A very good idea project that reasonably easy to do as well.
Ms. K
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Mate this project with the one about making paving stones and you have a great looking yard.
Frequently asked questions
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Can I use this when I plant my flowers as to not get the weeds. Emma
I'm planning to do something similar to this on a steep bank. Will the paving sand stay in place on top of the newspaper? I will be using larger stones than pea gravel. I also thought about using carpet remnants, but after reading other comments I'll forget that idea!
Does newspaper really do any good beyond a few days while you are working on it? Im thinking there is a good reason you dont suggest some plastic or cloth type weed block? TY for any advice.