Perfecting Your Path

By Marie Hofer

A wide path — four feet or more — enables two people to walk side by side. It's the most welcoming approach to the front door, and it's often used to lend a spacious feeling to a stroll in formal gardens. Narrow paths — 18 inches or so — invite the visitor to slow down; such a path is perfect where people want to inspect small plants along the way. A path that's too narrow — a foot wide, for example — can lend a sense of instability, especially if the surface is rough or uneven.