Paving Design Guide

Good paving is surprisingly difficult. The problems are:

• it is as easy to make a paved area too small as to make it too large
• most of the paving materials sold in garden centres are ghastly
• making crude patterns with crude jointing takes no thought
• sometimes it is best to align a path on the most direct route (the 'desire line'); othertimes it is best to use the most circuitous route

The safest generalisation about paving is 'use only the best materials'. These are not necessarily the most expensive materials:

• a good aggregate (gravel) can be cheap but superb
• precast concrete is almost always wrong in gardens: it looks fresh when first laid but deteriorates thereafter
• sawn granite, though very expensive, rarely looks good in gardens: perhaps it is too closely associated with banks and tombstones.

Laying good paving is craftwork. It requires good selection of materials, sensitive jointing and well-judged patterning.

Another key point for the paving designer to consider is the use of local materials. They are often the best choice and do much to create local identity.