Gardens of any size usually have a walkway or two. Realistically one needs to get in between plants to tend them and many of our walkways act as service roads, allowing us to get close to our living plants to prune and weed. I am always curious about garden pathways as I have seen them function as a charming lure, begging for further exploration and drawing a guest or gardener further into the garden. On occasion these begin as slate patios and extend into walkways that lead beyond the house. Other times they are little more than informal mulched paths that criss cross the garden. The planting of these walkways can be interesting as there are many approaches beyond the do nothing and leave wood chips or pavers bare. I personally enjoy the wilder, half-planted look as well as the many options for fragrant, stepable plantings. Depending on the available sunlight, there are wonderful choices for the both the sunny walkway, as well as the shady one.

In working with slate pavers and bluestone dust, the cracks between the pavers should be two inches or more to establish low ground-hugging plants. In sunny locations the favored plant is creeping thyme, particularly the lowest growing varieties. I particularly like Thymus serpyllum 'Album' as I have found it to be the most evergreen of all. Many of the low growing lemon thymes are also popular for their pungent lemony scent, best achieved when bruised or stepped on. Other low growing herbs to consider are creeping marjoram and corsican mint. Rarely does corsican mint winter over for us, but the minty fragrance is worth a yearly planting. Annual sweet alyssum seed can be spread in between pavers to provide summer and fall color as well as fragrance. With any luck the seed will return in following years, a delightful surprise when it does. Add a few of the lowest creeping sedums, they will provide color in winter and flowers in summer. Favorites are Sedum spurium, S. emarginatum, and S. floriferum. When grown in sun with very lean conditions, the foliage remains small and the plants compact.

Moving into shade there are even more options as plant selections are tremendous. For in between pavers consider Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' or golden creeping jenny for its yellow to chartreuse foliage. As well as growing flat, it will brighten shady nooks. Minuarta or Irish moss will also take hold. Available as pale green in Minuarta verna 'Aurea', the paleness functions as small rays of light, like penetrating shafts of sun reaching into the shade. The smallest ophiopogon, Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nanus' barely reaches two inches in height. The foliage is dark green, almost black. A great foil for paler partners. Extremely slow growing, one of the best displays of established ophiopogon as a groundcover exists at the National Arboretum in the Japanese garden that edges the Bonsai Pavilion. A petable plant, the urge to reach down and stroke the leaves is irresistible.

Numerous other low growing shade perennials exist. Mazus lays flat on the ground, producing flowers of either white or lavender. From the Himalayas, best growth is evident in spring and fall, during the cooler seasons. Ajuga can be found with numerous leaf patterns and loves a spot along a path in the shady garden. Dotted with the most miniature of gold leafed hostas, the effect is magical. Sprinkle Sedum pulchellum about, a shade loving, native sedum that seeds in moist places, and all manner of walkways will be enhanced.

As one may conclude, the process of planting a walkway simply means thinking small. Recreate a space filled with the tiniest of plants, laid out in the smallest of landscapes and reach beyond the static one plant, one groundcover mentality. Expand further by curbing your lowest plantings with reseeding violas and succulent hens and chicks as it all steps up to more standard sized perennials. Keep in mind your sense of scale and it all becomes quite fun and adventurous.