16 beautiful garden paths

Wooded escape

A flagstone path in Pasadena, Calif., leads through a garden underplanted with New Zealand flax, shrubs and grasses.

Blue-leafed ground covers create a delicate tracery between pavers.

• Twitter users: Get the latest updates from MSN Real Estate
• Facebook users: Become a fan of MSN Real Estate

Grasses and shale

Fractured shale fills gaps between concrete pavers in Dennis and Susan Hourany’s yard in Alamo, Calif. 

Yarrow and grasses soften the path’s edges.

Design: Mathew Henning and Heather Anderson, Oakland, Calif.

Grass circle path

Grass circles appear to float on a river of black pebbles that winds through a grove of bamboo in Malibu, Calif.

Design: Mia Lehrer and Associates, Los Angeles, for Lee and Carmen Ritenour.

Curving through green

Flanked by blue star creeper and Japanese spurge, a concrete “stone” path curves through Dan and Pat Nelson's garden in Gig Harbor, Wash.

Design: Scott Junge, Rosedale Gardens, Gig Harbor

A walk through color

Morro Bay, Calif.

Orange gaillardia brightens the flagstone path and marshlike plantings in this winner from Sunset's Garden Design Awards.

Inviting entrance

A half-inch of decomposed granite over a compacted base forms a firm, clean surface that drains well when summer rains drench this garden in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The path’s irregular shape, edged with pale flagstone, encourages visitors to slow down and enjoy the yellow-flowering palo verde, agaves, opuntia and barrel cactus along the way.

Design: Michael Buccino Associates, Palm Desert, Calif., for Paul and Carrie Stone. Installation by Randy Buccino.

Patio entry

Decorative and functional, a dry-laid flagstone and mulch path leads the way to a patio retreat.

A border of ferns and red-flowered Cuphea ignea creates a leafy entry.

In the back planter, a tall mallow hedge screens a vegetable garden.

Ingenious hidden path

How do you access a side-yard utility area with a hedge in the way? A secret path through a hidden opening.

Designer Brenda Gousha planted two 6-foot-long overlapping hedges of Carolina cherry laurel  (Prunus caroliniana) and ran a 2-foot-wide path between them.

Gousha says walls of foliage also make the perfect outdoor room. “When my husband and I sit out here, we’re just a few feet from the street. But we have complete privacy.” 

• Full story

Design: Brenda Gousha, Sisters' Specialty Gardens, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

Storybook setting

Irish moss adds classic charm to an informal path flanked by river birches.

Creeping Jenny, yellow-green Japanese forest grass, campanula and variegated boxwood mingle in the garden bed.

Easy-care front yard

Flagstone paths curve through a low-water front yard. A low berm of soil on either side of the walk adds interest, and weed cloth topped with pea gravel allows excess water to soak into the earth rather than run off into the street.

• More lessons from this front yard

A magical space

Curving flagstones lead to a dining terrace tucked into a sloped garden.

The lush plantings include full moon maple (Acer japonicum), deciduous magnolias, native ferns (Adiantum aleuticum, Blechnum spicant and Polystichum munitum), hellebores, rhododendrons, Siberian irises, smoke tree and yew.

• More about this garden

Garden art

In Newport, Calif., geometric steppingstones crossing a small pool give the illusion of walking on water.

A piece of art tucked amid greenery at the end of the path treats visitors to a visual surprise.

Native fence

A decomposed granite path passes through a fence and gate made from Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), a Southwest native.

The winding walkway invites exploration of more of this casual low-water landscape. 

Keyhole vegetable garden

A central pathway wraps around this veggie patch, making working the beds a snap.

It’s positioned so the opening faces south; the larger plants in back (beans, tomatoes and sunflowers) won’t shade smaller plants.

The gardener tilled the planting areas 8 to 12 inches deep, but didn’t till the keyhole (path). As long as the ground there is packed, weeds will have a hard time sprouting.

• Get the planting plan

Thyme travel

Creeping thyme isn’t strong enough for rough activities like soccer, but it handles ordinary foot traffic with ease. That's why Lynne Blackman chose it to line the paths of a classical labyrinth at her Del Mar, Calif., home.

Like a giant rug laid out on the grass, blue-gray thyme is soft underfoot. River cobbles mark off the path’s edges.

Blackman and her husband, Vernon, walk the labyrinth regularly. Children, who don’t yet appreciate the rewards of a meditative pace, race through it. 

• More about this path