Strictly speaking, walkways are about transportation. The washing machine that needs to get to the laundery room, the guests for a dinner party, hauling soil in a wheelbarrow to a bed in the garden-all kinds of activities rely on the walkway.
This does not mean that the utilitarian route shouldn’t be scenic. This generously sized slate walk has some beautiful curves; a curved walk invites lingering and looking. The walk is plenty wide enough at the drive to swing the car doors open, and drop off multiple guests.
This is one of my favorite walkways. I managed to persuade my clients to install a wood walk; they were dubious both about its serviceability, and its longevity. However, it used to be that all roads were made out of wood; they fell for this. 4″ by 4″ pressure treated lumber, in 8′ lengths, were routed to look like bricks. The boards were laid over a 8″ deep gravel base. After 6 months exposure to the weather, I was able to stain it black. It has been in place a good many years now. The new owners of the house re-stain it every few years. The ends of the taxus hedges have fence posts of the same material, capped in rusty steel ball finials.
Not all walkways need to be a hard surface; grass makes a beautiful walk. These gravel troughs signal the change from the lawn, to a lawn walk. The length of the gravel trough gives visitors plenty of time to contemplate the massive door, and what might lie behind it.
Some walkways belong to a terrace, or a series of terraces. The identical material and pattern gives visual weight and grace to this walk between terraces. The aged cut limestone tiles, punctuated with limestone dots, is a striking way to get from here to there.
Some walkways are more about defining a view, than transportation. I can attest to the fact that having pushed a wheelbarrow along this path countless times, I would much rather look at it, than use it. The simple stepping stones describe a view without intruding on it.
Some are fortunate to own homes where the old or original materials still exist. This house built in the 1920’s was graced with with a walk of old granite setts. As they had heaved about with the frost, and were a little dicey to walk on in the winter, the entire walk was taken up and reset. This was a bit of maintenance that counted for much; this old walk softens the newness of the new landscape.
This steel and concrete walk is sharply contemporary. The softly trimmed hedges of blue arctic willow are a great contrast. There are so many good ways to get somewhere, are there not?
In my opinion, the walkway to the pearly gates looks pretty much like this.
I like dark surfaced pools that reflect whatever is in the sky. However, some people do not like jumping into water where the bottom is not visible. Its a matter of personal preference. This pool thus has a white pebbletec surface.
Montreal has many stone buildings. It seems sensible that a City build in such a fierce climate would be made of stone, for permanence. This feeling of permanence gives garden objects, made of stone, great cache. So many things in a garden are ephemeral; the stone by contrast speaks quietly to great age.�
I never really worried about the weather; gardening people usually like weather. And I plain have faith that when I need to be in the garden, I will be able to. But this morning promised perfect weather, and delivered partly sunny; the 74 degrees in the afternoon-perfect for touring. 
All day long there was a steady stream of keenly interested and thoughtful people. I so enjoyed being there, hearing what people had to say about my place, and the other 7 gardens on tour. So many questions; what plant is this? How do you do this? What is your idea here? It is such a good way to figure out if your design ideas are being translated into the garden you intend. Listen to what people say; are you being clear?
I heard not one cross or disparaging word. All I heard was energetic appreciation-for the gardens and the people behind those gardens.
My neighbors, Fred and Jean, brought their Oscar and Beckett for the day they spent as docents; they were right at home. My corgis would have been low little and long wrecks over all the people; I left them at the store.
The overcast day made all my color look intense and rich-just as I intended. I like this color so much I am already fretting over what I will do next year. 
Adding people to the garden is always the best part. People we had-over 300. This hefty increase over last year was unexpected-and so welcome. We had a party going on.
Landscape clients, customers of the store, new people, old friends-a great mix made the reception afterwards so much fun. So much talk about gardens-I could not have had a better time.
Gardening is bloody blasted hard and frustrating work, but this tour made it all seem so worth it. My favorite comment came from a woman whom I did not know. “You don’t use unusual or rare plants particularly-its how you use them, the numbers you use, and the shapes you make that is so interesting”-this was music to my ears. 
A close second, this woman here from Cleveland for the tour. She was determined she was taking a variegated Moses in the Cradle she saw in my yard home with her. “Will you please get me one of those plants before you have a cocktail?”-too funny. We got her the plant.
Diana and I both dearly love the Baumgartners. They have sold their house and garden, and are moving out east to be near their kids. We will so miss them. I was so glad they put their garden on tour; I have worked for them for almost 25 years. From the looks of this picture,, they enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. 
