Читать книгу Your Herb Garden - Barbara Segall - Страница 46

There are many different materials which can be used for paths and the choice will depend on your budget and taste. If you are cutting a bed from a grassed area, it is simple to leave strips of lawn in place to form the paths. Make sure that the width is adequate to allow your lawn mower through or you will have a problem keeping the paths mown.

Gravel or washed pea-shingle are relatively low-cost materials that look effective in a hot, Mediterranean-style herb garden. Lay black polythene over the base to suppress weeds. Cover this with a layer of pea-shingle 3cm (1¼in) deep: any deeper and it will be difficult to walk on. Edge the path with narrow battens of treated wood, so that the gravel does not spread into the herb beds.

Brick looks very attractive laid in patterns and is the most traditional material for herb garden paths. It is more expensive than gravel, but is very hardwearing. If you live in a cold climate, make sure that the bricks you use are frostproof.

Other materials include setts and cobbles, reconstituted and natural stone pavers, log rounds, woodchips and bark. The paths in the project are made from reconstituted stone pavers and divide the herb garden into four. The central area can be left empty to allow for a plant or a container, sundial or piece of garden statuary.