[Update: click here to see how it all fared after a year and the answers to the most frequently asked questions. Click here to see the final outcome.]
Our vegetable garden is divided among four raised beds.
The grass in between was a pain to trim so we wanted some sort of path and at first we thought mulch. But then, on Pinterest, I saw a cut wood path that was wicked cool.
Matt and I had plenty of wood from when our trees were trimmed. We took turns cutting two inch (or so) disks from the logs. All different sizes.
We had to dig into the ground to press them in. Often I had to pack extra dirt around the edges. I'm not going to lie, this was a bit of a pain.
It's quite lovely. I really like the look. The trouble is that unlike stone pavers which are heavy, the wood is light and pops up rather easily.
We are planting ground cover thyme in the spaces and we hope that over time that will help hold everything down. Plus it will just look pretty. :) Thyme can stand up to foot traffic and it can still be picked.
But while we are waiting for that to grow, it's still nice.
Linking to the Pinterest Challenge:
Young House Love
Bower Power
Emily Henderson
Making a House a Home
Matt and I had plenty of wood from when our trees were trimmed. We took turns cutting two inch (or so) disks from the logs. All different sizes.
We had to dig into the ground to press them in. Often I had to pack extra dirt around the edges. I'm not going to lie, this was a bit of a pain.
It's quite lovely. I really like the look. The trouble is that unlike stone pavers which are heavy, the wood is light and pops up rather easily.
We are planting ground cover thyme in the spaces and we hope that over time that will help hold everything down. Plus it will just look pretty. :) Thyme can stand up to foot traffic and it can still be picked.
But while we are waiting for that to grow, it's still nice.
Linking to the Pinterest Challenge:
Young House Love
Bower Power
Emily Henderson
Making a House a Home
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Hi from HOH :) What a cool garden! Your path is perfect.
ReplyDeleteVery unique! I've never seen that before. I hope they stay stuck in there. It looks cool!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful and so, so creative!
ReplyDeleteI just saw this done at a show-house. I love the look. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDee
So unique and absolutely gorgeous! Loved it.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE this idea!
ReplyDeleteso glad you showed it-- and hope that planting thyme will help keep them in place.
I'm looking for ideas for my garden paths too...
This path looks perfect! I would just sit out there and look at it all day! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome!! I absolutely love it! Great alternative to stones, and it's free!! What did you use to cut the logs?
ReplyDeletethat is absolutely lovely...like a secret garden...it makes me happy :)
ReplyDeletelove! i want some of the wood. wish i had a tree to cut down ! lol they would look great with candles sitting on top of them. thanks for partying with me!
ReplyDeleteI like it...it would be nice with bamboo..but bamboo is difficult to control apparently.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea. I also have a little pathway that I would like to dress up. What a unique idea, definitely one for the inspiration file
ReplyDelete:0)
Firstly, I'm stealing 'wicked cool' that's guna be my new saying! Secondly, that looks bloody fantastic, full of personality, great job!
ReplyDeleteI looooove this garden path. What a great touch to your garden area!
ReplyDeleteI can not wait to have a garden like yours! The pathway is super cute!
ReplyDeleteThat pathway is awesome. And I love the "wicked cool" phrase, are you from Maine? I am from Maine originally so I say wicked in front of anything too! I hope the Thyme does the trick for you!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! So cost effective too! Glad to be a follower! Found you thru alinky party!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful, Jen! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteVery clever! It is absolutely gorgeous. The thyme is only going to make it more amazing. Definitely worth the hard work!
ReplyDeleteThis is soo cool! I saw it on pinterest too and pinned it. Good to know that they pop up...I wonder if you set them in sand or gravel if they would do that? Did you use a chain saw?
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited by all the positive feedback. To answer questions: no, I'm not from Maine but I lived in Boston for a couple years and I picked up "wicked" while living there. You just stick it in front of anything like an adverb. Wicked cool, wicked new, wicked awesome... you get the idea. One of my favorite phrases. It just slips out. :) Please do steal it. I've been trying to bring it to the nation single handedly. ;)
ReplyDeleteWe have also wondered about a sand base. I didn't want the color of sand peeking through though. We have considered pulling some up to try a looser topsoil to set them in. We have hard clay. If I do it, I will of course update.
And yes, I totally used the chainsaw! I had to try. This post has photographic evidence: http://domesticatednomad.blogspot.com/2011/06/sneaky-peak.html
The pathway is beautiful. MY only concern with wood is that it is extremely slippery when wet. Have you had any problems with this?
DeleteI am beyond thrilled that you shared this wonderful project on "A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday at Rook No. 17. It is by far one of my favorite garden projects ever, and I know I'm not alone in this since it's been getting re-pinned like mad on Pinterest. Such a pleasure to have you join the party!
ReplyDeleteJenn
Thanks for stopping by and sharing this with WorkShop Wednesday. Hope to see you this week!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! HomeSavvyAtoZ.com is a new member!
ReplyDeleteWow, I am going to show this to my husband!
ReplyDeleteConnie
New follower here
i featured you! http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com/2011/07/highlights-from-party-25.html
ReplyDeleteI love this and i would love to feature it on my next revival monday. please let me know if this would be ok with you.
ReplyDeletelauren
that garden path is amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous!
ReplyDeletewhat a fabulous idea--it looks awesome! showing the hubs tonight, we just cut down a big tree in the back yard so we have lots and lots of wood :)
ReplyDeletekatie@little things bring smiles
I have this one pinned too for a path from our house to our wood pile. I know, real original. I'm so excited to see that someone else has done it. And I pinned this: http://pinterest.com/pin/92119353/
ReplyDeleteSeriously great project!
absolutely brilliant!
ReplyDeleteI just had a thought about how you could keep your wood from rising up. Maybe glue them to those cheap pavers and set the pavers lower in the ground. then just use a little dirt or mulch to cover them up!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting idea, Nikki. My readers are full of creative ideas and tricks. I love it! Right now, the garden kind of went nuts and the path is barely walkable due to the encroaching leaves and such, so I haven't had any problems. As it has rained and been walked on, the wood has more deeply set into the dirt and not many pop up now. But like I said, we can't walk around the darn plants easily, so that may be why. I don't think we are going to make any changes this season, but in the fall as we cut back and in the spring as we prepared the garden we may have to try something. I will keep you filled in.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic transformation! You should be so incredibly proud of the outcome! Love it
ReplyDeleteI love the way this looks. I've got it pinned to do in my cottage garden this year!
ReplyDeleteYour pathway is gorgeous! We did a similar path with just singular stepping stones. They are starting to decompose, but still holding up after 2 years.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I saw your link on Not Just a Housewife's contest. Good luck!
Brittany aka Pretty Handy Girl
What is your solution for decomposition? Will you just replace them every couple of years?
ReplyDeleteIt's a great question and one that I intend to tackle in a more detailed post this spring after the snow is gone and I can look at how they fared this winter.
DeleteWe always wanted to see how they would weather because weathered wood can be beautiful. If they have decomposed a bit too much, replacing the ones that need it is possible. If there is just too much decomposition we have some thoughts about redoing it all with weather-proofed wood. I'm looking into to products for that though because I don't want to be leaching chemicals into the garden.
I will definitely have a better answer for you in the spring. Thanks for dropping by.
I want to do this but we're worried about termites and such. Do you think covering them in polyurethane would help??
ReplyDeleteWell, we are working on a full update as we speak. I literally just took a break. :) Termites or any bugs have not been an issue for us. This path is nowhere near the house, so I don't have worries about that.
DeleteHowever, the wood weathered too much so we are replacing the discs and coating them in Shellac. I chose Shellac because it is environmentally friendly and recommended by the EPA. Even though the vegetables don't grow in direct contact with the path, I still wanted to be careful about introducing chemicals. So, I guess at this point I recommend coating them.
I will be doing a full update with details sometime next week. Like I said, we are literally working on it right now.
Hi, I think you're doing everything right if you want to quickly break down wood. The path would last for years if you start with log rounds that are 4-6" long (6" is better). Don't dig them into the ground. Contact with soil will rot the wood away. It's best to lay down a bed of sand or gravel under the log round. So, if you want them level with the ground rather than a raised path, you would have to dig out the soil enough to end of up a ground level path. Gravel or sand should be used as the fill between the rounds. If you do it like this, they will last for several years even if you don't treat the wood. I'm interested in seeing how you end of redoing things and what you're future experience will be. :)
ReplyDeleteBen
Hi Ben,
DeleteIf you read the update, link at the top, you will see that I have already made some of these changes. I have a sand base at them moment, but I actually dislike it because of appearance. It was easier to set the wood in, but at the moment I wish I had a way to hide the ugly sand color. I'm not completely sure what you mean by 4-6" long log rounds. It seems you mean to keep them more rustic, but that is not a look I care for. If you simply meant to make the wood thicker, again, I already did that if you follow the link. Thanks for your interest. I hope you will check out the changes.
I love the look of this also and plan to do it from my arbour to my gazebo this spring. I read one post that put the sawdust from cutting the logs in between. They also put waterproofing that you use on fences and decks on both sides first.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if you had to treat the tree discs with Pentacryl to prevent them from drying out.
To make long lasting and to solve the movement problems, dig out 12 inches of soil and make the pieces larger then back fill with soil.
ReplyDelete