Snowy Garden Path at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

The arrangement of paving units in a path can subtly affect the speed at which you walk. A uniform grain along the path—for example, that created by bricks laid lengthwise in stretcher bond—can seem to hurry you on, whereas a less directional pattern will encourage a slower pace. The treatment may be chosen to suit the purpose of the path—a "slow" path where there is plenty to admire, a "faster" path where the aim is simply to provide access to another part of the garden.

ALTHOUGH THE shortest distance between one point in your plan and another may be a straight line, that does not necessarily mean that the path you lay between these two points should be straight. A straight path may fit in with a garden that has a rigid geometric design, but in many cases it will serve only to split the garden needlessly. Straight or angular padis will tend to segment the area and give a formal appearance, whereas by incorporating curves you can produce a more natural effect. You should take into account the profile of the ground itself, both for the appearance of the path and for practical considerations: for example, a path sloping toward the hou: or other outbuilding will create a direct route for heavy rainwater to flow to the house walls rather than soaking into the ground as it would normally. Where paths need to change direction, in general it is better to make that change it the form of a curve rather than of a sharp angle, unless the latter fits in with the overa design of the garden. However, don't go ma with too many curves and squiggles, as building such a path can be a nightmare.

Farther down the snowy garden path a clump of sedums were pincushions of Mahogany and each of the dwarf conifers that edge the bank above showed myriad shades of green, subtly pastelled by their coat of snow. The fountain cotoneaster that flows from between a step of flagstones still bore a crop of scarlet berries and to the right, the weeping birch was an umbrella of countless ribs with two friendly chickadees precariously perched on the farthest side picking at the hanging seedpods. On the way to the pond we walked through the copse behind the vegetable garden and saw the green, leathery blades of the Christmas fern poking up through the cover of snow. Though some individual leaflets were somewhat tattered and torn, they were still green.