Dreaming about......... Flagstone pathways

I have recently been bitten by the gardening bug. I have always been amazed by beautifully landscaped homes. I love the structure and beauty of New England style gardens with the beautiful boxwood zones, but it looks like a lot of work. While I love the idea of gardening, I have learned that I do not enjoy all of the work that goes along with it. It’s not the initial work of putting together something beautiful, but the upkeep that follows the project. I find myself drifting towards more of a rough and tumble cottage garden, which is more in keeping with my esthetic anyway.

I have recently been obsessing over the part of our yard between the front steps and our vehicles. It is a muddy, sandy mess that always ends up in the floor mats of my car. Plus, it’s really ugly. I have always loved the way flagstone pathways look, there is something magical about them especially when they have a lush groundcover in between pavers.

Here are a few inspirational photos:

 

 

Via fishtailcottage.blogspot.com

This gorgeous image is actually intended as a dog run to keep the dogs out of the garden.

Via thinkingoutsidetheboxwood.blogspot.com

This is perfection! Gorgeous colors and lush grass… 
 

Via lushfloralandgarden.com

The problem is flagstone…. Can get expensive very quickly. Since this is not the location for our forever home I don’t want to spend a lot of money and time on something I can’t take with me, but I need to solve the problem of having a sandy, muddy mess of a driveway too…
There are alternatives out there for those who want the look of flagstone without the high cost… Concrete!!

You can purchase a form like this at your local home improvement store:

It is an intriguing idea… but it doesn’t have that natural look I really like. I have a crazy idea that I am going to hopefully test out this weekend- rain permitting….. and if it works I will have an amazing tutorial for you! If it doesn’t….. I may resign myself to making the above form work for me. Either way I should have a tutorial and update next week if the weather allows.