Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When we moved into our house there were a lot of rocks.  I mean a LOT.  And, they were nice rocks, not like they happened naturally, but as if someone brought them here, but then just left piles and piles of them.  We'd dig a new area of garden, and have to dig up rocks first. I didn't really want to leave piles of rocks in the yard, so I gave some away , built a rock wall along the front of our property, a rock wall in the back, and two paths using a small fraction of the river rocks that were here.  (My next rock project will be a fire pit using some of the remaining river rocks.)  

I love the paths.  This one only took me a day to make and I think it looks so charming.

Last month, Martha highlighted low-growing ground covers, resilient enough to be walked on and, therefore, used in garden paths. She included Elfin Thyme, Silver Carpet, Bronze Dutch Clover, several others, and my favorite moss. Actually, Martha used Scotch Moss, but in my own rock path I use whatever moss I find in the other parts of my yard. I figure it already likes its environment and it's free!  I have no idea what variety of moss it is, but I like it.

It looks really fantastic in the spring when the weather is much more conducive to moss growing and it fills in between all the cracks.  This time of year in DC the weather can, and has been, brutally hot, so my moss is not up to snuff.  But, I think the path still looks cute.  I also like the way this vinca vine, not usually something you would think of as a plant for a garden path, is growing into the cracks.  Since it seems to be thriving desipite the weather, I'll have to see if I can keep that one going into the path as well.  I like the idea of the Scotch moss too which Martha says has star-shaped white blooms in the spring.  Think I'll have to track some of that down.
-Jacqui