Stylish paths for a modern dacha

Paths in the country are an indispensable element of landscape design. On the site, they perform two functions at once - decorative and practical. A path made in accordance with all the rules will become a real decoration of the country garden and will make it possible to move freely along it even immediately after the rain.

For the design of this element of landscape design, various materials are used - paving slabs, decorative bricks, natural stone, wood. Paths in the garden, made of natural materials, look stylish and interesting. It is recommended to outline their location on the site in advance. This will allow them to organically fit into the overall design of the landscape and become its successful addition. Stylish and modern paths in the country, photos of which can be viewed on the Internet, can be done on your site. Just a little imagination is enough and the design of the garden will be complete and complete. How to make paths in the garden with your own hands, we will consider in our article.

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What are garden paths?

Have you become a happy owner of a summer cottage? Congratulations! If you got it “from scratch”, that is, in the form of an allotment of land, then first of all you need to start planning. To do this, it is recommended to draw a sketch of how it should look, and then start developing a working plan, which is a set of drawings that will include not only fundamental buildings, but also all elements of landscape design, including garden paths.

They need to be placed so that you get access to all the remote corners of your summer cottage. This is required for free movement on it in any weather. Universal paths for giving are made of traditional material. His choice will depend on the budget of the owners of the site and on the overall style of its landscape. For instance:

• For a cottage, made in a rustic style, paved paths and paths made of terraced boards are perfect;

• For a luxurious suburban area with a wrought iron fence, paths made of natural stone or paving slabs would be ideal;

• For classic dachas with a metal-profile fence, concrete flood paths or bulk paths made of crushed stone or granulated slag would be appropriate.

You can make tracks in the country with your own hands or turn to specialists. When developing a plan for their placement on the site, keep in mind that for the overall harmony of the landscape you need:

• One main wide track. She should go from the main entrance to the site and beautifully go around the house. It is recommended to make it from expensive, noble material, since it will serve as a kind of "calling card" that allows you to make a general impression of your country house.
• Several minor garden paths or paths. They are needed for arranging convenient passages in the garden - to an equipped recreation area, a pond, outbuildings and other similar places. They can be made from more budget materials. Ideal for secondary garden paths - natural stone or wood.

After a plan for the placement of tracks in a summer cottage has been drawn up and the material that is optimally suitable for them has been selected, you can proceed to the development of a working draft and cost estimates. Below we will tell you how to make paths in the country with a minimum investment, consider their economy and elite options.

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Drawing up a project plan for a track in the country

The project plan is the main document on the basis of which all paths in the country will be completed. That is why its compilation must be approached with great responsibility. You can turn to the services of a professional landscape designer or look for interesting ideas on the Internet. On the World Wide Web you can see photos of tracks in the country, perfectly adapted for arrangement on standard suburban areas of our country.

But let's get back to the project plan, which you can either draw on paper with a pencil, or download a special computer program from the Internet, where you just need to upload all the necessary data and the necessary calculations will be performed. You need to place on the project plan:

• Entrance to the site;
• Country house and other outbuildings;
• Garden with all irrigation points;
• Vegetable gardens, flower beds and flower beds;
• gazebo;
• garden pond;
• Brazier;
• Playground and other facilities.

This is also necessary if you will equip the paths in the garden with your own hands, and if you entrust this important and responsible work to specialists. After that, you can move on to placing the main track on the plan. It will connect the entrance group with the house and the main areas of the site. Further on the diagram, auxiliary paths are placed leading to flower beds, garden beds, individual sections of the garden and other watering points. Paths and paths can be solid and branched. Everything will depend on the characteristics of the landscape of the suburban area and your imagination. How to make paths in the country with our own hands, we will consider below. At this stage, you need to once again check the availability and ease of access to all the objects of the suburban area, which will allow you to move around it during or after rain without getting your shoes dirty.

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Placement of the future summer cottage on the ground

It needs proper placement even if it is supposed to be an economy option for a do-it-yourself track in the country. Agree, it will be very disappointing if you invest your time and money in it, and in the end you can’t or don’t want to use it. There are special requirements for country paths. They should be:

• Comfortable;
• functional;
• Easy to care for;
• Organically fit into the landscape design and successfully harmonize with its other elements.

Almost all owners of suburban areas who plan to install a path in their country house with their own hands put its functionality at the forefront. To check this, markings on the ground are intended. Its essence is to transfer the previously developed project plan to the summer cottage.This stage is preparatory. It is intended for the final determination of the width of the tracks and their direction.

Even if you plan to install universal tracks in the country, you may still need to correct their size. For marking, pegs with cords stretched between them are used. Additionally, the outer boundaries of the future track are covered with lime for greater visualization. And at this stage, you can outline the installation sites for borders and planting points for ornamental plants that will frame it.

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Preparation for the installation of the track in the country

After the markings on the ground are completed, you can visually assess how well the do-it-yourself paths in the country house will fit into the landscape design. If everything suits you, then you can proceed to the next stage of their implementation - preparing the foundation. Their durability, functionality and convenience depend on how correctly this work is done.

The universal track in the country house consists of the following elements:

• gravel pad;
• sand cushion;
• Trench for water drainage;
• Reinforcing side board;
• side brick;
• Outer covering of previously selected material.

Next, we will look at how to make paths in the country with our own hands and start by preparing a reliable foundation for it.

The first thing to do is to dig a pit. This work is not so much difficult as laborious. For a garden path or path, you will need a recess with a depth of 2 cm or more with smooth side edges - they will serve as borders. They are covered with sand and reinforced with boards.

If you are interested in how to make paths in the country with curbs, then their width should be greater than the depth of the pit, at least 1 cm. These structural elements, after they are leveled, are securely fixed with reinforcing bars. This is necessary to keep them in the desired position.

This is followed by the installation of gravel or crushed stone pillows. Its optimal thickness is from 0.5 to 1 cm. For uniformity, the layer of bulk material is periodically wetted with water and carefully compacted.

A layer of sand is laid on a gravel cushion. It will serve as a kind of gasket between the base of the track and the top lining.

At this, the preparatory work for installing do-it-yourself tracks in the country house of the economy option is considered completed. You can proceed to the implementation of the external cladding, which, as already mentioned above, can be made of various materials

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Geogrid as an alternative to complex preparatory work

The geogrid for paths in the country has become a real breakthrough in the field of their arrangement. It is an excellent alternative to the complex and time-consuming installation of their base, which includes the formation and compaction of bulk and sand cushions, the strengthening of side slopes, the formation of drainage gutters. This device has become actively used by modern landscape designers. Geogrid for tracks in the country almost 2 times reduces the time of their installation. It is a full-fledged internal frame with high reinforcing properties, the service life of which, with proper installation and operation, is more than 50 years.

The benefits of using it are as follows:

• Resistance to corrosion and temperature changes;
• Prevention of seasonal ground movement;
• Prevention of silting of the base of the outer lining of the country path, which can lead to its destruction;
• No need to install drainage to drain melt and rainwater;
• Affordable cost;
• Ease of installation.

A geogrid for paths in the country can be installed in areas with any terrain features. It exactly repeats its shape and can serve as an excellent base for planting ornamental plants and flowers. This frame is made of environmentally friendly materials that are harmless to fertile soils - hard plastic and flexible polymer tape. A geogrid is suitable, including for the formation of lawns, flower beds and flower beds on the site. It will prevent their erosion and subsidence.

We figured out the internal frame, it's time to move on to the external cladding. Successful photos of the tracks in the country can be viewed on the Internet, below we will tell you how to bring them to life.

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Options for external cladding of paths in the country

If you are determined to lay out the paths in the garden with your own hands, then this section will allow you to finally decide on their final appearance. The simplest are rubber tracks for summer cottages.. The modern market offers a wide range of different models. They are sold in rolls and laid on a concrete base. From this we can conclude that their installation is not particularly simple.

Stylish and beautiful rubber tracks for giving are considered the best way to design landscape design. You can choose a variant of different shapes, made in any color scheme with a different textured pattern, which will allow you to arrange paths in the garden in a short time.

In addition, rubber tracks for summer cottages can be used to cover:

• playgrounds;
• Spaces near the pool or garden pond;
• open terrace;
• Places for car parking.

Rubber tracks for giving are called an option for the lazy, and in vain. Their installation also requires serious preparatory work. On the modern market you can find their styling models:

• On the ground, subject to the preliminary preparation of a bulk and sand cushion;
• On a hard surface - concrete screed or wooden flooring.

Some gardeners prefer classics to rubber tracks and therefore advise using more traditional materials for exterior cladding - paving slabs, natural stone, concrete, etc.

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Walkways made of natural stone

The presence of a suburban area implies complete unity with nature of its owner and guests invited for the weekend. That is why quite often the paths in the country are made of natural stone. This natural material has a lot of advantages, among which are:

• Aesthetic appearance;
• Increased strength and reliability;
• Compliance with country traditions;
• Ease of installation;
• Status and nobility;
• Durability.

Most often, limestone, basalt, granite, sandstone and labradorite are used for the outer lining of a geogrid for paths in a country house or a previously prepared excavation pit with a sand-fill cushion and reinforced edges. Marble paths are laid out on elite suburban areas with exquisite landscape design and an expensive wrought-iron fence.

Natural stone used for external cladding requires certain skills and special skills. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will be able to arrange a path in the garden with their own hands. It is better to entrust this work to an experienced professional. Let its design take some time, but it will bring prestige to the garden, make the general appearance of your summer cottage noble and expensive.

Flagstone skillfully imitating it serves as a budget alternative to natural stone. You can deal with its styling yourself.On the modern market of finishing materials, it is presented in a large assortment.

The paths made of natural stone in the country house will look great in the design of decorative coniferous shrubs. They go well with garden beds, and with other design designs that support the overall style of the suburban area.

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Paths in the country from paving slabs

Universal paths in the country are made of paving slabs or, as it is also called, paving stones. The advantages of this facing material are obvious:

• Wide range of colors;
• A wide variety of forms;
• Resistant to sudden temperature changes and other aggressive weather conditions;
• Durability;
• Affordability.

Do-it-yourself paths are made from paving slabs in the country house. This versatile facing material allows you to realize any design idea. It is great for decorating garden paths and paths for cottages, made in a rustic style. There are a lot of options for laying paving slabs. Here are the most common ones:

• Old city;
• Hexagon;
• Wave;
• Rhombus;
• Coil, etc.

You can look at several ways on how to make paths in the country from paving slabs on the Internet. On the modern market of finishing materials, you can buy chipped and sawn paving stones made of sandstone, concrete or granite. For the design of garden paths, both plain tiles and elegant mosaics made from it are used. Perfectly fit into the overall landscape design and abstract patterns folded from it. It is difficult to find a more versatile and affordable material for facing garden paths than paving stones.

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Clinker paths in the country

The World Wide Web has a huge number of photo tracks in the country, made of clinker bricks. This material:

• Has a wide range of warm and rich colors;
• Convenient and easy to install;
• Fits well with modern landscape design;
• With proper installation - durable;
• Affordable.

Clinker bricks are great for cladding a do-it-yourself economy version of a garden path. But at the same time, you need to keep in mind that you need to lay it on a concrete screed. This will guarantee its durability. A sand cushion will not ensure its proper fixation, so there is a risk that the clinker path will “float” on it.

The clinker brick path is in harmony with the curb. He will make it complete and give an aesthetic look. A border made of the same material or special stone blocks will serve as its visual boundary and will not allow the coating to be covered after heavy rain.

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Concrete paths for giving

Another option for a do-it-yourself economy version of the track in the country house will be concrete pouring. It will not only ensure free movement around the site in any weather, but also prevent the growth of weeds. In addition, concrete paths are resistant to aggressive water, durable, frost-resistant and durable. Their installation, as a rule, does not take much time.

Concrete can be formed:

• Filled garden path;
• Path from ready-made concrete slabs;
• Original garden cover using special casting molds.

It is worth dwelling on the last option in more detail. Forms for tracks act as a kind of matrix.With their help, by pouring concrete, which, when a dye is added, acquires the desired color, it is possible to form an exquisite design path in the country house. When using a solution of the correct consistency, its service life will be at least 10 years, without losing its original performance properties and aesthetic appearance. Additionally, broken colored glass or ceramics can be added to the concrete solution. This will give the path a decorative look. Along it you can plant garden flowers or small shrubs.

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Country paths made of wood

If you are interested in how to make paths in the country with your own hands, then you are ready for bold experiments. An excellent material for this would be natural wood, great for forming paths in the garden.

In order for the wooden country path to be strong and durable, the natural material used for its external cladding must be pre-treated with special impregnations. They will make it resistant to pests, mold and aggressive moisture. Budget options for wood for garden paths will be saw cuts and bars of oak or larch, expensive, elite - decking.

A path laid out of the same type of wooden bars or saw cuts will turn a country garden into a fabulous forest. You need to use this option for the external lining of country paths if your site has a lot of skeletal branches and dried trunks. This will save on the purchase of material and show your own design imagination.

Exquisite wooden paths in the country, photos of which can be viewed on the Internet, will give a pristine look to the garden, decorated in a rustic or old style. As for the decking, this version of the external cladding is suitable for a luxurious suburban area. In modern dachas, it is used extremely rarely due to the high cost and complexity of installation.

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Bulk paths for giving

Winding and winding bulk paths will look elegant and original in the country garden. They:

• They have a decorative look;
• Easy to install;
• Affordable;
• Durable.

Are you interested in how to make paths in the country from bulk material - gravel, pebbles and crushed stone? Very simple. It is enough to remove the top soil, form a shallow pit, which must be impregnated with herbicides to prevent the germination of weeds. Next, it remains to install borders that prevent the path from sprawling and fill in the selected material. No additional devices for water drainage are required for bulk garden paths.

Country paths made of bulk material will look great in the country garden and near gazebos, surrounded by flower beds and flower beds.

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Designer paths for giving

Dacha is a place where we relax body and soul. It is perfect for a flight of design fantasy. In the previous sections, we talked about how to make paths in a country house of a traditional plan with our own hands. You can come up with an alternative to them yourself. We will just throw in a couple of interesting ideas.

You can cheaply and beautifully equip your summer cottage with the help of improvised materials, for example, multi-colored corks from plastic bottles. From them you can lay out original patterns, both in traditional and abstract style. And the plastic bottles themselves are perfect as a border.

A narrow path made of fragments of ceramic dishes or multi-colored glass will look good in the garden. Many summer residents use plastic tiles as temporary coverings. They may well become an alternative to country paths.Their most prestigious type will be decking or, as it is also called, garden parquet, skillfully imitating natural wood.

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Photo gallery - paths in the country

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