My dream would be brick pavers but that is out of the question at this time. I will be using small gravel. My hope is that this will help to keep things a bit warmer during the cooler months. We will not be using crusher fines as those are too small and track into the house.

We will not be using crusher fines as those are too small and track into the house.

I am glad I read that. I was thinking of trying the same thing. We figured they would pack down well.
Tammy

If it's available in your area I'd recommend pine straw.

Natal, your potager looks beautiful. I saw pics of it before it was done sometime back. I didnt think I would like pine straw, but that looks great. How long does it last before you need to place more?
Tammy

Tammy, I add a little a couple times a year. I love it because it's easy on the knees and it looks good.

Natal- As always, beautiful potager!

For paths, I'm using grass, but that's because it works well in this heavy clay. Grass is also softer for the kids to run around on, while they're "helping" in the garden LOL.

The pine straw is very pretty and would be a great choice for any garden :)

Gosh, Natal, that's a pretty potager!!

I'm using 3/8" crushed local bluestone in mine. Easy to walk on, stays clean and dry, and despite the cost and the fact that it was a FAT LOT of work to haul across the property, I am thrilled with the look of it so far. Even though the potager is only about halfway done. Heh.

Pine bark nuggets over cardboard.

Carol

Tammy, they don't. We have some laid down on landscape fabric that we tamped and they get caught in shows, kids love to kick in them, but they just never pack down. Eventually those will be removed to another location on the property and we will lay down bricks in their staid. The potager will not be right next to the house so pea gravel will be better for that. I always hope to purchase a flame weeder to help weed that area quickly. It probably would not be a good idea with a more organic mulch.

I use rubble. Broken bits of brick, cut up pieces of old tile, slumpstone, rocks, flagstone, bottles, broken concrete, etc., laid in sand and sometimes cemented in at the ends for stability.
Renee

Renee, I checked out your homepage. Your paths look so neat. What an effort!

hi, also new here, and contemplating the same thing. I was thinking decomposed granite but all the work of putting it down is off-putting. Plus now the husband is considering building beds of stone tile (our local nursery did this and it looks great - I have to snag a picture!) and I think stone beds with stone is just too much...stone. Considering our potager is in our front yard!

On the other hand I don't want grass because I don't want to have to water it. So maybe we'll go back to wood beds and decomposed granite, or pea gravel? I found a great pic on sunset of wooden beds with gravel paths.

Natal your potager is lovely!

and Renee your garden is absolute paradise.

Here is a link that might be useful: wooden beds with gravel paths

If anyone is interested, I found a source for pine straw on line.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Straw

I'm using field stone steppers interplanted with creeping thyme and/or goodness knows what else! I wintersowed the creeping thyme and had a few mishaps, so I don't have as much as I had hoped.

Hi folks,

I have so enjoyed reading about and seeing photos of your potagers and especially how you create the paths. Your gardens are all so beautiful.

Because my potager is very small (9' x 19' now) I have to have a 2' wide path going through or I wouldn't have much room for the beds (I made so many plans trying to accommodate a wider path, I lost track of which one was the final one at one point! lol)

So, for the path I decided on pea gravel, which I started putting in today and I absolutely love it. This mix has browns, blues, grays, and some green and black and gold hues. It will really add to the garden I think. Small but interesting!

I got so much inspiration from all your ideas, photos, and thoughts on how to do this. Thank you everyone!

Donna

I just finished putting down cardboard and playground (pine wood chip) mulch on my paths yesterday.

I wish I had seen the pine straw idea first - it looks nice and easier to spread!