Laying a path...

I am very pleased with the end result of one of my recent garden projects. We had a very uneven and randomly placed slabbed patio area half way down our garden and around a corner (our garden is 'L' shaped) which was pretty useless. I decided to pull it up and use the slabs to lay a path down the centre of the first third of our garden. Previously, there was a path but it was very thin, and to one side of the garden, and never really got used so in the colder months we would always bring muddy footprints into the house after walking on the grass.

Here is the garden back in January this year:

Not much interest and in need of some love. The old patio area is around the corner to the right.

In April i pulled up the old path on the left of the garden and have kept the pentagon shaped slabs for another project later this year insha'Allah. At least 10 wheelbarrows full of pebbles had to be moved from that area down to the bottom of our garden to make a path behind our two sheds (for Little D to play on).

I also dug up a strip of worn out turf on the right hand side of the garden in preparation for a border of flowers and shrubs.

In May i used old bricks from a house renovation we worked on this year to edge each new border i have created on either side of the new path. Little D lifted, carried, and placed about a third of these bricks for me! I spent ages measuring and then digging out a wide strip of grass for the new path.Then i had to rake it level, add a layer of sand, then lay the slabs on top. I filled the gaps between the slabs with more sand. All of this digging resulted in at least twenty wheelbarrows full of soil and old grass which needed moving around the corner to our temporary dumping ground. I did it all by myself with Little D at my feet!

I planted grass seed in the space where the old path used to be.

By the start of this month i had my greenhouse seedlings transported outside into the borders, new plants along the sides of the new path, and some very luscious, fresh, green, new grass growing where i had sprinkled the seed. The hard work is now complete! It really has been hard work, ive done every part of it alone and there have been times when i thought id be spending the rest of the year doing it. But im so pleased with the result - insha'Allah when the plants have matured a little and i have filled in some more of the gaps, it can start taking on a much more wild and cottage garden style. The path actually gets used and just makes the garden look so much better. There is still years and years worth of work to be done in this space but im excited about every part of it!

The new path is lined with Pinks and Lavender. Lavender has long been one of my favorite plants and ive always had some in my gardens, and Pinks are said to be the prophet Jesus' favorite flower, and i like them too.

And this planter was bought from a charity shop for about £5 - i spray painted the black plastic box cream but left the rusted white frame as it was as it looks more interesting this way. The orange flowers were grown from seed (nasturtiums) and the others were reduced to just ten pence each in B&Q (petunias).