How we made our garden path!

There’s something so magical about a garden path. Walking down the winding path - revealing more parts of the garden as you go - it’s so dreamy.

A garden path can add such character to your garden. So it’s no surprise one of our first DIY projects in our new build was to create our very own.

We decided to go with a self-binding ‘hoggin’ path, which is the type of gravel used for stately homes and is also used in a lot of cottage gardens. Being self-binding it makes the surface much smoother, making it much better for pushing buggies, wheelchairs or even driving on.

Here’s a simple step by step on how we DIY’d ours:

Step 1.

We started by marking out the shape of the path we wanted to create using string & some metal tent pegs.

We made it slightly wider as we knew we wanted flower beds either side of the path.

We then dug up the lawn!

Step 2.

Making the edging.

So for the edge we used these Gravel Boards from Wickes, which we pegged in using battons of wood.

To do the curve, we cut tiny slits in the wood and gradually bent it, which was tricky - but not impossible.

We wanted to use steel edging, which would have been much easier for the curve but it was too expensive for us at the time, but if you’re after the same look, then these guys are fab: https://www.everedge.co.uk/

Step 3.

We added a weed membrane to stop any weeds growing up through the gravel.

To be completely honest if we were to do this again, I probably wouldn’t use a weed membrane as they’re not very good for the environment. And we had enough layers of hardcore and gravel that it probably wasn’t necessary.

Step 4.

On top of the membrane we put down approx 10cm of hardcore (Granular sub base MOT 1) which we also got from Wickes.
This just gives the gravel a base to lay on - it also helps with the drainage.

Step 5.

We then laid the hoggin, self binding gravel! Which we did another 10cm on top of the hardcore.

Self-binding gravel needs to be compacted down to get the finished look. You can do this by hand with a tamper - but we rented a whacker plate which is a machine which does it for you.

& done!

This is how it looked when we finished it! We created beds either side so we could line it with gorgeous blooms for spring and summer.

I’ve also filmed a handy reel for you to follow step by step too.

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