NC State Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County

Landscape Design

Garden Paths

The open space of a garden path immediately catches your eye—the invitation to share what is down the path is irresistible! Paths are fundamental to beautiful landscape design, whether they are elaborate or simple, costly  or inexpensive.

Mosiac-Track-Michael-Coghlan-Sharealike 2.0-Generic-(CC-BY-SA-2.0)
Mosaic Path

Paths’ purposes

  • Paths serve as guides. Gardens may be for growing food, showing off collected plants, or for peace and meditation. Paths create important visual and physical access to planted areas in the landscape.
  • Paths are points of interest. Paths’ design, structure, and materials mark garden areas and add texture.
  • Paths provide access. They provide a way to negotiate the landscape—moving among plants and around physical barriers and difficult topography.

Successful design

As in all landscape design, line, color, form, and texture are central to a successful path. Both formal and informal garden paths require planning.

  • Establish the location—chose an origin, a destination, and the line that will connect them. Consider the slope and drainage of both the garden and the path. Wet places cause problems for users and also accelerate deterioration. Paths should have a maximum slope of 5 percent—no more than a 1-foot rise to 20 feet of run for easy walking and moving of equipment such as wheelbarrows in the garden. Always consider safe passage in developing your design: on steeper slopes. Plan to use steps or include breaks that allow crossflow of water using drainage berms and/or underground drainage pipes.
  • Choose materials—choice of material creates color, form, and texture. Use edging materials such as stone, wood, synthetic, or metal to define the walking area. The path’s surface can be the same materials or a complementary material—for example, fill well-defined metal edges with crushed stone. Consider whether your path will be impermeable—stone, concrete—or permeable—grass, gravel, wood chips. Properly installed manufactured paving stone or brick properly can be environmentally friendly permeable walkways.

Building a path

  • Mark the path design with string or paint.
  • Dig to an appropriate depth to accommodate the path materials PLUS a base material such as crushed stone or sand to provide necessary drainage.
  • Install any edging materials—anchor with stakes, concrete mortar or compacted soil.
  • Smooth the base material to provide a uniform bed for the surface material.
  • If you use stone, level and space it to provide a safe and comfortable walking surface. Stones should be large enough to accommodate your entire foot and spaced from 24 to 36 inches apart. You can fill the space between stepping stones with sand, crushed rock, gravel or “steppable” plants such as grass or other groundcovers.
  • Consider studying universal design principles to make your path more accessible (see Resources).

Two examples of informal paths

  1. The first is a path of hard-packed soil and decaying leaves in a minimally maintained woodland area. It is simply a cleared area that takes the viewer’s eye toward an unknown area in the distance, easily created and maintained by a home gardener. Cutting away encroaching plants keeps the path’s edges defined. Fallen branches arranged to mark the edge and/or wood chips or mulch for the surface could further enhance this path. In high traffic areas a different surface treatment may be necessary to keep muddy areas in check.

    Wooded-Path-James-Wade
    Wooded-Path
  2. The second path uses large stones. Once the area and design for the path and the patio it leads to were defined, soil was excavated to the desired grade, and a base material of small stone and sand placed as a base for the larger stone. Power equipment was required to move and place stones this large. Cracks between the large stones were filled with small gravel. Because there is a step from this path to a patio, a handrail was added for safety.

    Garden-Path-James-Wade-2-18-19
    Garden-Path

Paths that create an appropriate guide, add interest, and promote access are a joyful part of a creative landscape.

Article by James C. Wade, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer

Resources

Designing your landscape:

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/19-landscape-design#section_heading_6163

More about universal design principles:

http://www.mun.ca/communitygarden/Universal_Design.pdf

 

 

 

Groundcovers Part III: Low Growers Under Six Inches

Low-growing groundcovers—those reaching no more than 6 inches in height—are ideal for difficult areas such as sunny slopes or shade, particularly under trees, where grass will not grow. Shorter groundcovers are especially useful in rock gardens, along pathways, and at the front of borders. Most low-growing groundcovers spread by rhizomes (rootlike structures under the ground) or stolons (above-ground runners). 

Sedums beneath conifers_JDeutsch_EMGV
Sedums beneath conifers

Planting and maintenance
In growing groundcovers, follow a few simple steps to ensure success:

  • Clear the area of weeds and grass before planting. Groundcovers are tough, once established, but competitors can easily overrun them when first planted.
  • Test your soil to determine if you need to add fertilizer or lime.
  • Weed regularly to keep gaps clear in the several years it takes most groundcovers to fill a space.
  • Water your new plantings regularly for the first year.
  • Divide your groundcovers to fill in any remaining gaps.

 Groundcover varieties
Choose groundcovers that fit your site. Pay attention to the plant species and growing requirements—light, moisture, frost hardiness—as well as other characteristics—evergreen or deciduous.  If flowering, consider the flower season, size, and color of the specific cultivars or varieties you pick.

Here are some native plants that provide attractive groundcovers for our area—including suggested spacing between individual plants to give some idea of the number of plants needed to fill a space:

  • Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) is a shade-loving pachysandra that will not become invasive. It has fragrant, bottle-brush type blooms in the spring and attractive mottling on its leaves. It is semi-evergreen in Western North Carolina and will tolerate drought and dense shade. Allegheny spurge does well under trees and on slopes if they are not too sunny. Plant 6 to 12 inches apart in moist, rich, acidic soil.
  • Appalachian barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides) prefers partial shade. It has yellow flowers in the spring, grown mainly for its foliage—evergreen leaves that turn an attractive dark red or bronze in winter. It is a good choice for slopes that are not in full sun. It spreads by rhizomes and is easy to divide once established. Plant 16 inches apart; it will spread about 18 inches per plant.
  • Green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) thrives in part-sun, part-shade settings. It has pretty yellow flowers in the spring and bright green, evergreen foliage. It makes an attractive border. Green-and-gold prefers moist, acidic, rich soils and appreciates consistent moisture with good drainage. Plant 18 inches apart.
  • Phloxes: Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) tolerates shade and moss phlox (Phlox subulata) loves sun. Many people call them both creeping phlox, in contrast to the tall garden phloxes. Phlox stolonifera is a woodland plant and prefers rich, moist, shady locations with good drainage. It can do well under trees, shady rock gardens, or in other shady, moist areas. Phlox subulata likes sun and good drainage, making it an excellent choice for sunny slopes. Its foliage is needle-like, distinguishing it from its cousin which has oval leaves. Both phloxes come in a variety of pastel colors as well as white. The recommended spacing between plants is 12 to 18 inches.
  • Sedums: There are many stonecrops (Sedums) that are useful as groundcovers. Low-growing sedums thrive in thin, poor soils and will grow on and around rocks. They are a good choice for rock gardens and walkways, planted in gaps or cracks, and in borders. Most readily available varieties are not native to our area, love sun, are drought tolerant, and do well on dry, hot slopes. Our native Sedum ternatum, known as wild or woodland stonecrop, prefers some shade, and has unusual white flowers in late spring to early summer. Space 8 inches apart.

Article written by Judy Deutsch, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

Learn more
Groundcovers: Planting and Care
by Home & Garden Information Center
Clemson Cooperative Extension

Groundcovers Part II: Pollinator-Friendly Choices

If bees could speak, they would strongly suggest that instead of mulching our landscapes, we should plant flowering groundcovers. Expanses of mulch, to most of North Carolina’s 400 native bees, are food deserts offering little or no housing. Bees rely entirely on flowers for food and raising young, and most flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce seed. No flowers, no bees!

Green and gold groundcover (Chrysogonum virginianum)
Green and gold

Groundcovers for pollinators
A wealth of options let you choose height, color, and bloom time to suit most any site—and no need to choose just one! 

Perennials.

  • Green and gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)—Almost nothing beats our native green and gold for beauty and ease of growing. Bright green with abundant yellow flowers, it thrives in most well-drained soils in part-shade to part-sun, though it tolerates deeper shade and full sun.
  • Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) produces a beautiful bee-friendly carpet that suppresses most weeds yet allows access to the many ground-nesting pollinators. Both green and gold and bugleweed bloom in mid- to late- May, spread readily but are easy to contain. They benefit from dividing or thinning every year or two, yielding more plants for your garden or to pass along.
  • Pachysandras—Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) is a common groundcover for part to deep shade, especially under trees; but the native pachysandra, also called Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens), is a taller, slower-spreading, interesting alternative that blooms in very early spring when so many pollinators are in need of nectar and pollen.
  • Phloxes—Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and moss phlox (Phlox subulata), both of which are native plants, are useful for sunny slopes.

Herbs. Many herbs are wonderful flowering groundcovers for sunny, dry sites.

  • Thymes—Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) produces fewer flowers but quickly makes a thick mat that stops all weeds. Creeping or red thyme (Thymus praecox ‘Coccineus’) is shorter, semi-evergreen, and tolerates a bit of foot traffic. From a distance when in bloom, its cloud of reddish lavender flowers gives an effect similar to that of the phloxes.
  • Prostrate forms of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) are fine groundcovers, though not always winter hardy and must have well-drained soil.
  • Mints (Mentha)—Although not as easy to control or contain as other groundcovers, mints are a favorite source of nectar and pollen for many bees and certainly do a great job of covering bare soil and suppressing unwanted weeds. Some people choose (or try) to control mints’ aggressive tendencies by planting them in a deep pot or other container, then putting the container into the ground.

Shrubs. Several suckering shrubs provide excellent groundcover, particularly on slopes.

  • Cotoneaster’s tiny white spring flowers feed bees and the resulting red berries feed birds through the winter. Several species, including willowleaf (Cotoneaster salicifolius), keep their rich deep green color through the winter. The rockspray species (Cotoneaster horizontalis) is an excellent option for places needing a much shorter plant.
  • Winter-blooming heathers (Erica) are another excellent groundcover, tough and drought tolerant once established, they need loose, amended, well-drained soil. ‘Springwood White’ and ‘Springwood Pink,’ are widely available; but you can find many other colors and heights. These plants bring a special dynamic to the winter garden—there’s nothing quite like watching honeybees gather nectar on a mild January day to warm a gardener’s heart!
  • Creeping evergreens (such as (Juniperus ) do not offer floral resources but provide excellent erosion control on slopes and allow access to underground nesting pollinators. Honeybees will also harvest resins from many conifers to use as caulk and an immune system ingredient.

Article written by Diane Almond, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

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N.C. Cooperative Extension
Buncombe County Center
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

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