Budget Friendly Walkways: DYI Enchanting Pathways In Your Yard And Garden

|

In today’s blog post, I want to share inspiration for cottage style inspired walkways that won’t break the bank!

This post may contain affiliate links. For my full disclosure, click here.

Hello my friends! As many of you know, I’ve been working over the past few weeks to make some big changes in my backyard space! One change that I made was tearing up the old wood plank walkway leading into my backyard and installing a new pea gravel and slate walkway in its place. This project got me thinking about different budget friendly walkways to add to your backyard landscape!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

I have been wanting to plant a vegetable garden for a while now, but the garden boxes we used were treated and would not be safe to grow vegetables in. I settled for planting a garden of perennials but knew one day I would redo our garden to make it safe for growing our own food!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

This spring we decided to finally redo the garden and boy was it labor intensive! We completely tore up our garden boxes and the rock surrounding them to make way for my long awaited vegetable garden. However, I didn’t want to fully give up the beautiful perennial garden I have enjoyed for so long now.

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

Instead of getting rid of my perennials, we simply moved them over to surround the wood plank pathway we installed several years ago. But if you know me, you know I love my pea gravel patio and wanted my garden boxes to be surrounded by the beautiful, natural look of a pea gravel pathway. This got me thinking about budget friendly walkway ideas!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

We used the slate we ripped up from our kitchen when we redid our kitchen floors as a paver walkway in the gravel paths. I love how this garden pathway turned out, and you’ll have to watch my YouTube video to see the final result! I plan to write a blog post all about the updates we made, but until then, I hope you are inspired by these budget friendly walkways!

Gravel Walkways

I love the versatility and low maintenance of a gravel walkway. Pea gravel has a very English cottage feel to it, and you can layer any kind of stepping stones you want on top of the pebbles. An inexpensive way to add a stone walkway on your gravel path is to utilize materials you may already have!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard
Pea Gravel Walkway with Stepping Stones

For me, we had leftover slate from our kitchen renovation that has been sitting in my shed for a while now. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it when we ripped it up, but I knew I should hold onto it in case I could make use for it in a future diy project. And thank goodness I did because we found the perfect use for it in our diy garden path! The slate has almost a flagstone or fieldstone look, and I love using natural materials in my lawn and outdoor spaces.

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard
Pea Gravel Walkway

Wood Walkways

Wood can definitely be a more expensive material, but I’m always on the hunt for reclaimed wood! Our original pathway was made with wooden planks from our church’s remodel. They were going to throw the planks out, but I gladly took them home!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

I also have a lot of reclaimed wood in my home from an old barn in my area that was burned down by our local fire department. Check with your fire department to see if they have any scheduled barn burnings and you may just get lucky and score a lot of beautiful old timber to use for a walkway!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

Brick Walkways

Is there anything more timeless or classic than a brick pathway in a small garden? I love the charm a brick walkway can add to a garden and the various patterns you can create with them. There are also so many different shades of brick you can use to achieve a cottage style look. My mom’s little herb garden is surrounded by reclaimed bricks she was given for free from a house my great grandpa built! Talk about affordable!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

It never hurts to ask family or friends if they have any leftover building supplies that could be used for budget friendly walkways! Seriously, so much of my home has been sourced from family and friends either for very cheap or free. All of the stone around my patio and gardens I received for free from a church friend! We saved so much money simply by asking.

Beautiful Herringbone Brick Walkway

Of course I will always suggest checking Facebook Marketplace or garage/yard sales as well! I have scored so many great finds through these outlets; for example, the stacked stone surrounding my front porch was from a garage sale!

barn wood, brick, brick pathway, brick walkway, budget friendly, cheap, cottage, cottage garden, cottage path, cottage pathway, cottage style, cottage walkway, diy, diy project, english cottage style, fieldstone, flagstone, flower beds, flower gardens, garden, garden path, garden pathways, garden walkways, gravel, gravel pathway, gravel walkway, home improvement, inexpensive, inspiration, lawn, outdoor project, Outdoors, outside, path, pathway, patio, pea gravel, pea gravel patio, reclaimed wood, salvage, second hand, slate, spring, springtime, summer, summertime, vegetable garden, walkway, walkways, wood pathway, wood planks, wood walkway, yard

One last tip before I wrap it up: don’t skip out on a quality weed barrier! It may be tempting to go the cheap route, but trust me, to prevent weed growth and make your walkways last, invest in a high quality landscape fabric! We unfortunately went with a low quality weed barrier for our first few DIY yard and garden projects and now we constantly have to weed out our walkways and patio. It’s worth it to invest now so you don’t pay later.

Well friends, I hope you were able to get some ideas of how to install budget friendly walkways into your yard and gardens! To overview, try to use materials you may already have on hand, ask family and friends if they have any surplus building materials, and check out Facebook Marketplace and garage sales for deals on supplies!

You don’t have to spend a fortune to achieve a beautiful garden walkway. Have you created a budget friendly walkway for your yard and gardens? Let me know in the comments below!

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Similar Posts

3 Comments

  1. Andrea,

    This is such a welcome post! I, too have been thinking of ways to create an English cottage garden feeling without spending a lot of money (I’d rather spend it on the plants anyway!). I hadn’t thought of checking Marketplace for free used materials and it’s coming to mind that there have been several listings with free brick! Thank you for the ideas and lovely visual inspiration!

    Warmly,
    Rachel

    Reply

  2. I have reclaimed wood and could make those paths. I see you put the planks on sand or gravel but how did you stabilize the planks? Are they really just sitting on the sand?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *