Thanks for the info Karin.. obviously I know little about landscaping. So that fabric should be banned because... let me guess, it is made from noxious materials that are hazardous to the earth and living things..?? Go figure! Well now I know. The good news is my friend just went ahead and put the newspapers down and then sand.. I will let him know what you said but he's already planning to put the gravel down tomorrow. But, at least he didn't use the black stuff.

If you do a search of this forum for landscape fabric you get the gist of the objections to it. My personal issue is that the soil under it goes dry and dead and the fabric feels gross, but also it doesn't actually function to reduce weeds. If the weeds are the sort that grow up from underneath, like blackberries, they just grow out sideways or push the feeble fabric out of the way, and if they are the sort that seed from the surface, they do so in the debris that the pebbles collect.

Well good luck, and if you stay on top of the maintenance it should be fine.

KarinL

There are all kinds of books and websites on building paths.

If you would set the stones directly in the grass at the right level (cut out section of sod--look up directions), then you can mow over them, rather than having to maintain 2 path edges.

A lot depend on how much litter and debris will fall on your path. If a lot of leaves, acorns, etc, then the gravel is hard to maintain.

Tell your friend that he is going to have a mess on his hands. St. Augustine grass rhizomes spread on the soil surface. It is mandatory that a pea gravel path be laid within some type of metal or benderboard edging. Nothing placed beneath the gravel will stop the spreading grass. In time he will recognize that laying flat stones on pea stone is a mistake. Better that he set them in well compacted stone dust within an edging.

I once made a path to the front door of my house with railroad ties for the border, gravel for the path set with pavers to walk on. It was something I came up with on my own when I was just starting out with gardening and landscaping. I hated it. The gravel and pavers shifted when we got a lot of rain. It was uncomfortable to walk on and a pain to maintain. And since the pavers were round, it looked like a slice of pepperoni pizza leading up to my house.

I think a gravel path when done right is fine, but I don't like the mix of pavers and gravel. You have to get the right kind of gravel, which will pack down hard and tight, so weeds aren't as much of a problem.

We have done something like this. We put a series of prefab concrete square in the lawn next to the driveway. We dug out the grass and dirt down 2-3" for each one, put down an inch or so of very fine gravel (gravel base?) under each one.

It's worked great. The St. Augustine grass wants to grow over the top of it, so we edge around the squares about one a month. (if you edge in long lines, not just around each one, it's not too bad)