Garden paths are an essential part of any private property. Garden paths not only serve as decorative and landscape design elements, but also protect planted areas from being trampled by guests or family members, who may not always understand where it's safe to walk and where it's best not to.
The most important thing in this matter is attention. Due to ignorance and carelessness, a garden path on your property can easily become a sidewalk. For the same reasons, you can choose the wrong paving style, which will clash dramatically with the rest of the property, thereby detracting from the aesthetic appeal.
For example, a Japanese path would look completely out of place in an English-style garden. A path mold will help you determine the style. Making a garden path yourself using a mold is quite easy; the key is to have a little patience.
Why do you need a pouring form?
Many people don't understand the need to bother with a walkway form when they can use special paving slabs. Of course, heading to a hardware store and buying everything you need is much easier, as is hiring workers who can do the job faster and possibly better. However, not everyone is comfortable with this option.
A DIY garden path created using a form has its undeniable advantages:
- A garden path mold is a cost-effective option. Compared to the cost of the tiles and the materials used to lay them, a mold is cheaper. Plus, you don't have to worry about transporting and delivering the tiles, which can also be expensive.
- Garden paths created with molds are always unique. The mold can be made in any width, length, and design, taking into account the overall design features of the site.
- These paths are very practical and reliable.
- Ease of execution is also a big plus, because by creating the desired shape, you can lay out the path not just one tile at a time, but entire large sections.
- The aesthetic appearance of such a path can always be supplemented with some elements, for example, pebbles.
To sum it up all the advantages, we can conclude that DIY garden paths using a mold are practical, reliable, cost-effective, long-lasting, and give the site a unique, beautiful appearance.
How to make a mold yourself
There are several options for making a garden path mold yourself. Which one to choose is a personal decision, based on your preferences, skills, and capabilities.
Option 1
What distinguishes this option from all others is the material from which the path will be made. The form for pouring the path can be made from wooden blocks.
To do this, you'll need four wooden blocks, which are fastened together to create a frame. You can cut grooves to secure the blocks together, or you can use steel brackets, securing them with screws where the blocks meet.
Option 2
This option involves making a mold from sheet iron. This type of iron can be found on wooden barrels, which are held together with iron hoops.
If you have spare barrels, you can use the metal hoops to form the path by removing them and bending them to the desired shape. This method is more convenient if you have several metal hoops on hand; it will save you time and speed up the process of creating the path.
If you don't have ready-made barrel hoops, you can make them from galvanized iron. To do this, cut several 5-centimeter strips and bend the ends with a hammer.
As you can see, you can make a DIY garden path mold from scrap materials that you'd think would be completely useless and would end up in the trash. But why spend money on expensive materials when you can so easily create a beautiful garden path mold yourself, using just scrap materials? Pay attention to when this should be done. Planting tomato seedlings in 2016.
Ways to decorate your path
Of course, every property owner wants to enhance their property in a unique way, so it's always a pleasure to be there. These days, ordinary gray concrete is hardly impressive, and gray is plentiful in the city. Therefore, colored concrete is especially popular today.
You can paint an existing walkway, but this method won't last long. Constant exposure to sun, rain, and other factors will eventually fade the walkway, requiring repainting.
The most practical option is to mix colored concrete and pour it into a walkway mold. How do you mix colored concrete? This technique is actually very simple and will last for many years.
To mix colored concrete, you will need:
- One part cement
- Three parts of the stove
- Four parts gravel
- Pigment of the desired color, no more than 2% of the total solution
It's important to note that it's best to use white cement for mixing this type of concrete, as it absorbs pigment better. If you use gray cement, expect to need more than 2% of the pigment in the mixture.
The most common mistakes
To ensure your DIY garden path is perfect using a form, avoid the following mistakes:
- An ill-conceived route for a garden path.
- The track angles are too sharp on the turns.
- The path does not match the style of the house (color, material, etc.).
- Ill-conceived width of the path.
- The material from which the path is made does not correspond to its purpose.
A well-designed garden path will not only be pleasing to the eye, but will also zone the area, allow for walks in any weather, and improve the microclimate on sunny days (due to the heating of the concrete). A popular method these days is planting cucumbers in 5-liter bottles.
Of course, you can entrust the task to a professional, but not everyone can afford it. Besides, it's always nice to have a hand in creating true beauty in your own space, even if it takes a little more time and effort.