As the years pass at our house many things have changed in appearance. The interior of the house looks nothing like it did when we first moved in. Each year we come up with several possible projects for around the house, one of 2002's main choices was to complete a path on the west side of the backyard. At first the west side was devoted to a large garden area and a small grassed section beside the house with the shed butted up to the house along the sidewalk. Now the vegetable garden is long since gone and the shed has been moved to the northwest corner of the yard and a brick patio has taken it's place. Access to the shed has been from the main sidewalk and a 3' wide brick path along the west side. Over time several smaller flower beds were added along with a large multi-leveled strawberry patch. 
This arrangement had a certain visual appeal but maintenance was a problem due to expansion of the flowerbeds and the retreating grass walkways. It was becoming ever more difficult to cut the grass without damaging the new floral growth. A solution was needed to allow for passage through the garden that would stop weed growth and not create a muddy mess. We were trying to come up with something that would stand up well and also look as natural as possible.  

Many different ideas were tossed about, all with their own inherent drawbacks.

  • gravel

  • brick

  • woodchips

  • wood decking

Most of these choices would allow weeds to readily develop and would also allow the product to migrate into the beds. The decking would deteriorate quickly and the brick was expensive and because of the multiple curves, hard to place.

Lee Valley Tools in Calgary provided the answer. They market this 2'X2' square cement mold

 

($34.50) 

They produces stone shaped bricks. Simple directions are provided for curves and special conditions. No special tools are required for the job other than a strong back and a set of knee pads.  
The next pages are photos and descriptions of the process to complete the path