Give the flowers the real estate. But keep wide paths to enjoy them.

Converting your lawn to gardens starts with one decision, and it isn't which flowers to plant. It's where you'll walk.

Before you smother a single square foot, plan your pathways. Every yard has routes you have to keep open — map those first, then let the beds fill in around them.

• Driveway to your door
• Door to the street
• Anywhere you need to reach: the shed, the hose, the gate, the compost

Keep your beds within arm's reach

A border you can't reach into is a border you won't maintain. Keep beds to about eight feet across, and you can tend it comfortably from both sides — roughly four feet of reach from each path. If a bed backs up against a fence or wall, keep a path at the back of the bed for access. You will not even notice the gap when the perennials are doing their thing!

Paths earn their keep twice. They're how you get in to weed, deadhead, and divide — and they're where you'll stand on a June evening, drink in hand, watching everything you planted come into bloom.

Path options:

Paths can be covered in a variety of options to create a manicured and organized look. 

Mown grass strips

You don't have to remove every blade. Keep a ribbon of lawn as the path and plant everything else. You already own the mower, the grass is already there, and a green walkway running between full beds looks tidy. It's the easiest place to start — stop mowing the whole yard. Reduce your lawn maintenance significantly with just lawn paths/ 

Wood chips or bark mulch

Cheap, soft underfoot, and they melt into a natural-looking garden. Lay them thick over cardboard, and they smother grass as they go. The trade-off: they break down, so you top them up every year or two. Often free for the hauling from a local arborist.

Gravel or crushed stone

Permanent, sharp-draining, and that satisfying crunch that announces a visitor. Lay it over sand, and it holds for years with almost no upkeep. Perfect in hot, dry spots where you'd rather nothing grew in the path at all.

Stepping stones and flagstone

Set flat stones into the soil for a path that tells you exactly where to walk. Space them a comfortable stride apart, sink them flush so the mower and your ankles clear them, and plant right up to the edges. Reclaimed flagstone, broken concrete, and even old brick all work beautifully and cost next to nothing.

Walk-on groundcovers

The prettiest option of all: a path that's alive — low, tough plants that take a footstep and give back scent or colour when you press on them. You can add ground covers around stepping stones for a softer look and keep weeds at bay!!!

• Creeping thyme — the champion. Handles real foot traffic, blooms purple, smells incredible, loves full sun.
• Low sedums — tuck them between stepping stones for light traffic and zero fuss.
• Creeping Jenny — chartreuse and quick to fill in; happy in the gaps, just know it likes to wander.

Mix and match

The best paths borrow from several. Flagstone steppers running through a carpet of creeping thyme. A gravel main path branching into mown-grass spurs. Wood chips winding to a stone seating circle. There's no wrong answer here — only the difference between a garden you can walk into and one you can only look at.

Plan your paths this weekend, convert your first bed around them, and you'll be mapping the next before the first is even filled.

Visit Gardener Nation, and we can help you map out your gardens and paths. Check out our lawn conversion and paths in person. Bring pictures of your yard, and we can assist you in planning how to move through your garden. Then, we'll make sure you have the right perennials that will thrive at your address. 

Every plant grown on-site and winter-tested in Zone 4. Shop local.