DIY English Garden Walkway

How we made a DIY English Garden Walkway from my back porch to my she shed!

So I recently did a thing.  I asked my husband how much he loved me and he gave me his automatic response to that question, “what do you want”. 

Well since I had put in my She Shed a few months ago  I was walking through the mud to get to it. It needed a walkway from my back door to my she shed that was affordable and still beautiful.  With a quick Pinterest search and quickly found some doable ideas.  

My English Garden Walkway Design Plans

I already had large flat rocks and some red bricks from the fire pit that I had put in when the boys were in high school.  

I did a quick drawing and off to the store we went for some additional bricks and white marble stones for filler.  

Check out my doodle skills! 

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Materials Needed for a DIY Garden Walkway

• Paving Stones or large flat rocks like mine
• Edging bricks or some kind of edge to keep the smaller rocks contained
• Pebble rocks or white marble rocks
• Weed barrier paper
• Shovel
• Garden Hoe
• Solar Lights (optional but very helpful)

How To Make a Diy Garden Walkway

We dug our lines to match the drawing I had made. I didn’t want it to be a straight shot.  Like life, there needed to be some exciting twists and turns!

Dig Pathway Outline

This was just a 2 to 3-inch “ditch for the bricks to sit in so that they could hold the weight of the marble stones.  It took my husband and me about 1 hour to dig both sides. 

Install Weed Barrier

After we dug the ditches (lol) we laid a quality weed barrier that was 3 feet across and went the entire length of the walkway.  When we came to a curve we cut a slit across the material and pulled it up and over to follow the lines. 

Laying Brick Walkway Edging

The next step was laying the bricks in the ditches. Ensuring that we firmly covered the edges of the weed barrier with the brick. This way no weeds would come up inside the walkway. 

Adding the Large Stepping Stones

Now the heavy and the hardest part.  Luckily I called in the big guns and both of my sons were able to help us place the large stones in the walkway. The path had to be smooth and the stones to be close enough that I wouldn’t have to trip or hop to reach the next one. 

I placed the largest stones first in the front middle and the end.  I made a small landing in front of the doors to the she shed because I will be loading and unloading furniture and larger items in those doors so I wanted it to be safe and create a “porch” feel.  

Add Marble Landscaping Rocks

Once all of the large stones were placed where I wanted them, and/or the boys would no longer move them for me, we started dumping the bags of white marble chips in the open spaces between the stones and the bricks.  We ended up using 15 bags at $4.47 each.  That includes the rock garden in front of the she shed as well. 

We filled in the “porch” and created rock gardens on either side.  I added 3 Blue Rug Junipers on the larger side. They will spread out and cover the ground oner time with a beautiful blue-green color.  

Add Solar Lights For the Garden Walkway

The last thing I added was 8 Portfolio solar lights to the path.  I often go out at night and the lights have helped tremendously! 

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Other DIY English Garden Walkway Ideas

Common Questions About Building a DIY Garden Walkway

Can you make a gravel path without edging?

You can, but edging does make it easier to keep the small rocks or mulch in the boundary of the path. Without the edging that material can spread into the yard and other places you don’t want it to go easier.

Can you lay stepping stones directly on dirt?

Again, you can, but you want to make sure the dirt is level as much as possible. The benefit of a weed barrier under your stepping stones is fairly minimal as I used the best possible and still have weeds breaking through so I think that helped but didn’t completely keep the weeds away.

Should you put gravel under stepping stones?

I would not. I would lay your larger stepping stones and then add your pea gravel or gravel around the larger stepping stones. Putting gravel under your stepping stones will make them harder to keep in place and could cause them to be unstable.

How far apart should I place stepping stones?

They should be close together but not touching. I would say within 12. You want to make sure that you will be able to walk comfortably on each stone with out stretching or tripping over yourself.

Try measuring your steps and see what is comfortable. My husband is significantly taller than I am and we both step comfortably on our walkway.

Another benefit to putting the smaller rocks around the larger is that if I do miss a step, my walkway is level and I don’t trip.

What size of gravel is best for a walkway?

I used the small white marble landscaping rocks, but pea gravel would work as well. I recommend choosing a smoother rock rather than a sharper gravel rock especially if you go barefoot as we do!

Update Two Years Later

Here is my post on How to Make a Citronella Candle for Summer that you see here on my table.

I still love this DIY English Garden Walkway and walk it many times a day! It makes me very happy!

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