Dress up a garden path or patio with gravel or paving stones: Should you splurge on bluestone? – OregonLive

You selected a patch of the backyard that would be perfect as an outdoor living pad. But before you roll out the barbecue and lounge chairs, plot out how youll walk from your home to your newfound sanctuary under the stars.

Do you want to crunch over gravel, hop on spaced-out steppingstones or glide over pavers? Or would the traditional style of your bungalow call out for a brick path or your midcentury modern require slick concrete?

Kevin Sipe is a designer specializing in Pacific Northwest-sustainable outdoor living spaces. He works with Portland-based Quality Paving and Design.

Sipe offers the highs and lows of different path materials to help with your decision.

Gravel is quick to install and inexpensive, making it DIY friendly. You can buy gravel and landscaping fabric at a home improvement store or landscape or garden supply center. Lay landscaping fabric on the dirt and then add a flat, starter layer of gravel. Then build up.

Gravel needs an edge restraint like a metal or plastic strip to hold it in place. You can also outline the path with rocks or paving stones, or plan to replenish the gravel when needed.

Let the gravel compact on its own or rent a plate compactor to compress the loose, small stones.

Later, you can upgrade the look of gravel by topping it with steppingstones or paving stones.

Control weeds by raking the gravel surface or hand pull the weeds. Avoid using harmful chemicals.

Be warned: Gravel is dirtier than stone pavers and it wont solve mud-tracking problems. The small pebbles might end up stuck in the bottom of shoes and scratch hardwood floors.

Adirondack chairs rest in pea gravel in an outdoor space designed by Kevin Sipe, who works with Quality Paving and Design (paverlayer.com, OR CCB 187527)paverlayer.com

Pea gravel is higher priced than gravel but offers more design options, styles and colors such as tans, light and dark grays. The loose surface of -inch rounded stones, however, is hard to walk on.

Pea gravel is best used between paving stones or precast slabs. It can help prevent erosion since water can soak into the ground rather than flow off of it.

River rock is outlined by a permanent paver border by Quality Paving and Design (paverlayer.com)paverlayer.com

River rock comes in various sizes, and is sold as 1 to 2 inches and 2 to 4 inches. With the proper preparation, the rocks will stay put. River rock is easier to install than a finished hardscape and requires no special tools (just a shovel and a wheelbarrow).

Use it for pathways to tie in the hard surface of garden beds, as a border or as a longer-term way to prevent weeds rather than wood or mulch, which needs to be replenished as time goes on.

Concrete pavers are a popular choice in Oregon because theyre in the mid-range price and there are many design options and styles. You can create a natural stone pattern or a clean, modern look, or use rustic pavers for an Old World, cobblestone-looking path. You can combine the light gray, dark gray, tan, brown and red colors.

Paving stones are low-maintenance and can be a long-term solution when installed correctly. They are also sustainable and local products are available from Western Interlock near Salem and other sources.

Some paving stones are permeable and clean water as it goes into the ground, reducing the stormwater load.

DIYers have been successful installing paving stones but sometimes a professional is needed to excavate and prepare complex, larger areas.

Natural-style paving stones were installed on the steps and patio designed by Kevin Sipe, who works with Quality Paving and Design (paverlayer.com)paverlayer.com

Bluestone and slate are attractive and their colors complement the surrounding landscape, especially when compared to gray concrete. But the materials and installation are pricey.

Anything but a very small area requires a professional since the organic-shaped stones cant butt up against each other; rather they need to be carefully placed.

Once properly installed, bluestone and slate are low maintenance. Except, even with proper preparation, over time, soils shift and the stones edges may raise and cause a potential tripping hazard.

There are enough stones in the Northwest that people dont have to use imports.

Cast-in-place concrete rectangles with grass is a modern, trendy option that creates versatile spaces, and blends the landscape with the built environment. The material price is low, but labor raises the cost.

Pouring small slabs of concrete requires proper preparation and time. Precast pieces are stronger and there is no curing time.

Maintaining a two-inch slice of grass between concrete is time consuming. The iron in the grasss fertilizer could leave rust spots on the concrete.

Concrete flooring with a smooth finish and cut lines offers many handsome design options such as patterns, diamond shapes and lines at a 45-degree angle.

The mid- to high-priced option is not DIY friendly. The concrete has to cure in place and it can require a lot of maintenance. The flooring slowly degrades over time, often cracking and breaking due to the Portland areas expansive soils.

If you want concrete with lines and seams, you should consider pavers instead.

Interlocking paving stones are three times stronger than concrete and an individual stone can be repaired rather than having to replace everything.

The stones are local, sustainable and permeable. Colors and designs can be selected to enhance any home, from rustic to modern. Curved lines can follow the contours of the landscape. The surface can be nonskid and nonslip.

Small projects are DIY friendly, but an area more than about 100 square feet requires professional equipment and good ground preparation.

When installed correctly, the paving stones can last as long as a home. The mid-range price is a higher upfront investment that pays for itself over time with its long-term performance.

Part of a series on outdoor entertainment spaces

Unique seeds delivered to new gardeners

Burpee seeds and plants, founded in 1876, has horticulture experts to answer questions.

Siskiyou Seeds has organic, heirloom, non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds for gardening and farming.

Spring Hill Nurseries, which was founded in 1849, offers a no-risk guarantee and a planting guide with instructions and easy-to-follow diagrams.

True Leaf Market has non-GMO seed packets and kits to grow microgreens, wheatgrass and an indoor herb garden for organic, vegan, vegetarian and raw food diets.

Urban Leafs products are backed by a green thumb guarantee. The motto: We want more than anything to make a successful gardener out of you. A herb starter kit has sweet basil, cilantro, dill, mint, parsley, chives, oregano and thyme ready to be transplanted into pots or outdoors.

Here are more tips from designers as well as resources to consider as you plan your outdoor spaces:

Compiled by Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman

Excerpt from:
Dress up a garden path or patio with gravel or paving stones: Should you splurge on bluestone? - OregonLive