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Monday, 27 May 2013

Garden Path

Maybe a little like my own body, my garden lacks definition.
Although the veg garden fenced off, the muddy track down the middle is a haven for weeds and general messiness. I decided that I would use the free slabs I got back in the winter to add some paths and try to make it look a bit tidier.
The garden did look a bit wishy-washy and weedy
 I had intended to lay the paths on a hardcore base, bedded on mortar. But time and logistics are against me so I took the easy option and laid them on the soil. In fairness this means I can change anything I don't like and alter the layout if I want to at a later date.

The slabs make it easy to see the divides and to see where I should be weeding
I had to lug the slabs a fair distance (three at a time on a little push sack truck), and I levelled off the earth with a mattock, a tool I've always loved using!
 I was quite pleased to get around 80 slabs down today (although I can feel it now), and although I know they're settle yet and move a bit when it rains, it's really changed the whole feel of the garden. In fact now it feels like a proper garden!

Quite a long stretch up there!
I've got another pallet of slabs (about 50 I think) stored at my parents to bring over yet so they're will be more paths added around the fruit garden and up by the greenhouse. Hopefully this will help to keep it looking a bit more loved!
Quite pleased with my days work today. Anyone else have experience of laying slabs on dirt and how they fair?
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15 comments:

  1. John Going Gently27 May 2013 at 23:19

    Envious is THE word

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:42

      I love a freebee but I did have to pick them up on a cold winters night. I'm so glad I did though as I bet they would have cost a fortune to buy this many!

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  2. Compostwoman27 May 2013 at 23:45

    Nice work!

    They will sink and you will have to re lay them, but will be ok for a year or more in my experience - ours ( the ones along the polytunnel into the wood - remember?) need re doing now and have been down for ( thinks) 3 years?

    A path is an esential on our heavy clay soil :-)

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:43

      Yeah the clay soil can get a little sticky! I don't mind packing them up every few years. Next time they might even get some stone under them!

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  3. Jane and Chris28 May 2013 at 00:03

    Noe your little girl needs an electric car...the path would make a great race track!
    We've been tarting up our patch this year...it looks so much nicer even with the small amount we've done. Yours is looking very professional!
    Jane x

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:44

      I think with the slope it might be a little dangerous as I think she would reach quite a speed by the time she got the bottom!
      Next job is garden gates and herb garden I've gotta try to keep on top of it all this year!

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  4. Gorges Smythe28 May 2013 at 02:11

    They start to rot rather quickly, but you can always look under them for fishing bait!

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:45

      Yeah a good place to find worms! These are concrete slabs so they should out last me if they dont sink!

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  5. Gorges Smythe28 May 2013 at 02:13

    Or are they STONE slabs?

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  6. Tania28 May 2013 at 12:09

    Great job on garden path Kev, I think it looks fantastic!

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:46

      Thanks Tania! I think it might look better in the photo than in real life though!

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  7. Hippo28 May 2013 at 13:47

    Slabs straight onto soil never worked for me, every rainy season they wash out underneath and look like the Mountains of Mourne. All my pathways are concrete. I'll admit, slabs look much, much nicer than plain concrete but you can get a product called cretestain http://www.decocem.co.za/Cretestain.html which permanently stains the concrete in a variety of colours and finishes. If you impress the concrete to give the appearance of tiles, you can recreate what looks like a terracotta pathway at a fraction of the cost. Not sure if you can get a similar product in UK though, mine came from the supplier in SA.

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:48

      I've seen those things your on about and they're meant to work well. These were much cheaper than concrete (free) so thats why I chose them. I doubt our rain comes down as hard as it does in your rainy season. These are on to clay so in the summer its rock hard.

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  8. Anonymous29 May 2013 at 20:46

    The path looks great, Kev. Putting slabs straight on to our heavy clay soil has worked just fine. And, as you say, it makes it easy to change your mind later and move them around.

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    1. Kev Alviti29 May 2013 at 21:49

      Cheers for the comment. I think they will move a bit (our soil is heavy clay as well) but I can cope with it. It would have made it far too bigger job to do it properly.

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