erosion. weeds.

Hmmmm ... why don't we see overstuffed furniture with some of the upholstery left off? Because it's not pretty! Dirt CAN be pretty, but usually it's not. Vegetation is nature's upholstery. You live in a place where exposed "dirt" is prettier and has potential to be the finished product so you might could pull it off. Most other places, it doesn't look that good and tends to be messy ... especially when wet.

I like to see exposed soil. In most of the country that sort of path would become a messy mud pit. Even in California I could not have one because I need to reach my gate even during our so called rainy months.

"vegetation is nature's upholstery" - I like that!

weeds can be pulled, erosion, well; I agree that planting and hardscape are necessary to control that (and I have special circumstances in my area anyway.) But surely a small area in a small, natural styled yard wouldn't be hard to handle.

Water, now -- well I sort of forgot that one, but we only get 9 inches of rain here a year anyway, so not all that much mud. .
Restoration Hardware Sells stuffed furniture with some of the guts showing for thousands of dollars. Just saying -- sometimes it's the interpretation.

This post was edited by Violet.West on Mon, May 26, 14 at 18:14

here in n. ca with our extreme water shortage many properties now have large spaces that are left just bare dirt and it can look very nice, with or even without occasional hardscape, rocks and xeric plantings.
my garden has bare paths and are no trouble at all. without much rain no weeds grow, so you should be ok too.
i'll have to google the restoration hardware furniture- what a hoot!
min

I keep hearing the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, "I Like Dirt" in my head. when I read this thread.

I took a sledgehammer to the sidewalk in front because it was too formal for the woods our cottage sits in. I left it bare soil for a long time and maintained the garden on either side simply by walking it often. I admit that I've since got a little fancy and put some of that rust color bark on the path edged in what else? Remnant concrete... I still like it either way. Except the neighbors cat thinks the bark is its poddy box. So, I let my little dog out at strategically timed intervals. Not to be mean, just for a bit of natural boundary enforcement. Because I know what is under those little mounds are not piles of gold.

Violet, I had my backyard dug up because of the drought conditions here in TX, and that's what i'm striving for. I don't want the 'contrived' look of a lawn, but more like what you might see out in the country. I had mulch brought in and have been trying to establish 'my dreams', but it's been difficult b/c of weeds that won't seen to stop! I had landscape fabric put under the mulch, but the weeds still come. I've pulled it all up and am now laying down cardboard as a last ditch effort! I've heard it's better than anything you can buy.

Like Elysia, I like things that are more natural.

Just for fun here are some pics of the "mudpies" I've been making to help me plan out the hard scape. Kinda fun playing in the dirt

This circle will def be gravel rock spiral

This rectangular feature is meant to echo the size and shape of the covered porch. Still deciding what to do here. I may- MAY-- put grass in.

As much as I think grass is not a good idea in my area, a small patch (8x10) like this probably wouldn't be too bad, and would increase the utility of my yard by a lot.

If I don't put grass, I'll put a hardscape "rug" to match the circle feature.

This post was edited by Violet.West on Mon, Jun 9, 14 at 13:59