Garden Living

Features

PATHWAYS TO HEAVEN

Garden pathways have three key functions, first and foremost they provide a clear access route to the different zones within your garden, secondly, they provide a clear means of segregating the various living areas within your outside space and finally, they can enhance the overall designer feel of your outdoor room by delivering a substantial style statement in their own right.

Just as you might invest time and energy into working out the best way to maximise the living accommodation within your house, so too is it worth planning out how you might want to divide up the space available to you in the garden. Once you know how the area is going to be used, you can then begin to consider the access routes required to each zone and the practical / aesthetic requirements of each.

Whether you are p lanning a garden from scratch or simply wanting to update an existing walkway, if you’re looking to create pathways with some panache, there are now a whole range of options available to grace your outdoor room.

Burglars beware

One of the key benefits of gravel is its inbuilt burglar deterrent feature – unwelcome visitors will avoid gravel like the plague due to the familiar crunching sound which provides an unmistakable announcement of the intruder’s presence. On the down side, gravel (and other decorative aggregates) do not always provide a solid , user-friendly surface and may therefore not be suitable if the garden is to be frequently used by anyone with walking difficulties.

Designer dressing

The huge surge of interest in dramatic modern garden design has instigated a revival in contemporary, ornamental gravels and surface dressings which can play a pivotal role in bolstering the style credentials of your outdoor space. Examples include coloured slate chippings, coloured / polished cobbles and pebbles, tumbled glass and metallic nodules. The latter two options are more expensive and are therefore more likely to be used to create some detail within a path than provide the actual pathway surface dressing itself.

Traditional with a twist

If you’re looking for a smooth, highly durable and uncluttered pathway solution with a sophisticated spin, then paving could be for you. Natural stone products such as Indian Sandstone have long been a favourite amongst alfresco style aficionados. But recently the public has been awakened to the fact that much of the beautiful Indian Sandstone that is so readily available in the UK, has been imported at a considerable cost in terms of flouting ethical trading standards. There is now a far greater public awareness of the importation of Indian Sandstone from unethical sources. Marshalls was the first hard landscaping manufacturer in the UK to join the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) and regularly conducts a rigorous screening process of its suppliers to ensure they are in compliance to the ETI Base Code; no child labour is used, no-one should be forced to work, Working hours should not be excessive, healthy and safe working conditions, etc… Take a look at their Haworth Moor Sawn Sandstone paving which has been lightly sandblasted to provide added non-slip practicality. Another great non-slip paving solution is Marshalls Saxon Paving - made from Yorkstone aggregate, with an attractive, coarse granular appearance - it is now also available in a totally modern “mocha” shade.

Sophisticated sleepers

If you love the chunky texture of wooden railway sleepers but don’t relish the thought of the maintenance required to keep their good looks on track, then Marshalls ’ Woodstone is hard to beat . Woodstone reproduces the colour, texture and appearance of wood, but with the durability of concrete. Available in two colours (dark brown and light buff) this makes an ideal material for a striking walkway.