12 Stepping Stone & Garden Path Ideas

Want ideas for garden paths and stepping stones for your yard? These photos come from home gardens with walkways made from stone, brick, hypertufa, and concrete pavers.

If you would like more ideas for using stones in the garden (plus crafting with them), also see Garden Stone Craft Projects and How to Make Hypertufa Pots.

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Garden Paths and Stepping Stones

I became a little obsessed with garden path design last summer while I was trying to figure out possibilities for my own back garden.

The pathway right now is grass and, with the very sandy soil, I know whatever I try will probably sink into the ground over a few years. I can verify this because, when digging garden beds, I have found bricks and pavers buried down below the surface: little patios and walkways that have gradually lowered into the sand!

So, for me, a stone pathway might be an unexpected short-term investment, but I do love them.

Related: Weeds on a brick patio? Here’s how to get rid of them.

I took these next photos on garden tours and there are plenty of good ideas, most that you could do yourself without needing to hire a crew.

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“If you are in a bad mood go for a walk.
If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.”

~Hippocrates

Winding Paths

These first few gardens have curvy pathways made from low cost materials.

When I was starting my current garden (from a bare lawn), I spent a ridiculous amount of time debating curves or straight lines and ultimately went with the most practical solution for the space (straight lines).

I’m guessing landscape designers also debate this topic. There’s no right or wrong but it does make for very different gardens.

This first garden is an incredible gem. The whole thing was so photogenic.The owner is plant-fanatic and he shows it well.

This next garden shows two ideas I like. The simple, curved concrete pavers, plus the stones used to create raised beds which double as a retaining wall.

This next pathway has a message in one of the stones that gathered a lot of admirers. I’ll show what it says in the next photo.

Engraved Stepping Stones

Here’s the enchanted garden stone. I’m wondering if you could use a Dremel tool to engrave something like this?

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Leaf-Shaped Stepping Stones

Speaking of stepping stones, here’s an arrangement of giant homemade leaf stones.

You can make these giant leaf walkway steps in an afternoon. The instructions are here plus information on making hyperfufa and concrete planters.

You can also make your stepping stones like this one:

Fossil Imprint Stepping Stone tutorial

Circle of Stones

I photographed this stone maze years ago in a country garden. They used the heavily-shaded areas under the trees (where nothing much grows) to create this little work of art.

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Checkerboard Herb Garden

Here concrete pavers are placed in a checkerboard pattern with various herbs and ground covers planted in the open spots.

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Stepping Stone With Edging

Here’s another glimpse of the garden I showed you at the start (the one with the curvy brick pathway). The contrasting colours of the plants were just breathtaking.

And how cool are those garden art tulips? Here’s one version of them at Amazon.

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This next idea solves a common problem: how to prevent grass from growing against flower beds. They lined the edge of the bed with pavers at grass-level which makes mowing much easier and not trimming needed.

Okay, yes, I’m showing you lots of these stone-sided raised beds. But, since I live somewhere with zero stones, I’m a bit envious.

And finally, when it comes to arranging a pathway, consider flower power. Here the flagstones are cut and arranged to form giant flowers. There are lots of possibilities. In a more modern garden, it would be cool to spell out a word such as ‘WALK’. Inventive, I know. But you get the idea.

May your pathways take you just where you need to be.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛