After dismantling a display at work, I was asked if I wanted the polished pebbles for my garden. 'Sure, I can always use more pebbles', thinking to spread them around a mondo grass garden. When I bought them home from work, little did I know it would turn into a major garden project.
One evening after a glass or two of wine I found myself fossicking through the buckets and sorting colours, admiring the pattern in this one, the gloss of another, the incredible flat and smooth surface of them all. O oh. Isn't it amazing how many incredibly great ideas people have after a glass or two !! But as it turns out, I had a brilliant one of course. Yep, a pathway.
Later that night I started doodling patterns for a pebble and concrete pathway through a new garden bed I had recently added. After sorting through all sixteen buckets (with the occasional help of my daughters) that's right, a bucket each night before dinner, ha ha, we finally got all the colours sorted out. It's at this point your probably realising I am a bit obsessive compulsive.
I laid out all the pebbles in the exact colour and pattern beside the newly dug out path on sheets of cardboard, and then ordered the mini concrete truck to deliver my redi mix. When it arrived we threw in some colour pigment. THEN it was battle stations. I enlisted friends, neighbours and family to quickly but neatly transfer the pattern of pebbles into the freshly troweled concrete, pressing each into the concrete slightly. And voila! Everyone that helped then wrote their name in the concrete circle in the middle. Great job team.
The pathway has weathered nicely
The occasional pebble has popped off -
Just glued them back on with liquid nails.
It's a bit bare in winter, but when spring arrives so does the colour.
It's only a little path, but it adds interest to my garden, beckoning the visitor to investigate an area they may not otherwise. If you squint a bit you might notice a golden shape lounging in the background behind the statue. You guessed it, another one of those projects under way. A garden
sculpture of a mermaid who has her own story for another time...perhaps when I have finally gotten around to mosaic-ing her!
