Chapter 6 - Walks And Drives

Importance Extent, width, and distance
Construction.

Good, dry, and smooth walks and drives are a necessity for comfortable getting about on either the home or public grounds, but they can in themselves add nothing to the naturalness or beauty of any place. One of the first points for consideration, after the house and outbuildings have been located and built, is how to get to and from them, or, in other words, where shall the necessary walks and drives be located.

If we could always walk or drive on the velvety grass of a good lawn without getting our feet wet or killing the grass, graveled or concrete walks or drives would not be a necessity, we should save much expense, and the beauty of our grounds would be greatly increased; but we can do neither of these, and walks and drives are therefore, from this point of view, a necessity.

A properly located walk or drive, however, may be made an attractive feature, as it invites us by its smoothness and dryness to walk or drive over it to the house, or from the house to our daily toil or pleasure. It adds an air of comfort and hospitality to the home that without it would seem cold and inhospitable.

Walks and drives in themselves add no beauty to grounds devoted to the growth of choice trees, shrubs, and plants, and, as they are unnatural features of the landscape art, only such should be made as are actually required by those who frequent the grounds. Besides, a good walk or drive is expensive to construct, and requires constant attention as to border and surface to keep in good condition.

Location of Walks and Drives.

The location of walks and drives should be where they will be most convenient, and as nearly as possible give the shortest distance between the points to be traversed, and yet, unless the distance is very short, the straight line should be avoided.

Graceful curves, taking one from place to place about one's grounds, give the idea of quiet and leisure that is conducive to the study of beautiful objects about us; and by a little variety of material and skill in the arrangement of it in ornamenting the borders of walks, thus obliging us to move out of the straight line to reach a certain point, we may not be conscious of the fact that the curved walk is any longer than a straight one would be, and much beauty is gained. This is illustrated in Fig. 32; were it not for the groups of shrubbery along the border there would be a feeling of restraint at going over so much distance to reach a point directly ahead, but we are attracted in part by their beauty to pass among them, and, being between us and the objective point, the feeling of restraint disappears.

There should always be a walk leading more or less directly to the main entrance of the house; and where a drive must also be provided to the front door and to reach the stable, if space is limited, the two may be combined for more or less of the distance by making that part along the side of the drive intended for the footpath (see Fig. 50) with a little liner gravel or by paving or concreting it.

FIG. 50.           FIG. 51.
FIG 50—Combined Walk And Drive. FIG. 51—Semicircular Walk Or Drive.

Where the grounds are small and a "turn around" is needed, this plan is often followed, thus preserving more of the lawn for ornamentation and reducing the cost of construction and care.

Direction of Walks and Drives.

The direction of the walk leading from the house to the street should conform to the needs of the occupants. Thus, if the direction of travel is equally to the right and left from the street entrance, the walk should run nearly in a direct line from the main entrance of the house to the street, as in the dotted line Fig. 51, or in a semicircular direction, as in the same figure; but if the direction of travel is largely to the right or left, then the drive or walk can be directed to the right or left at the entrance, as desired.

Width of Walks and Drives.

The width of the walks and drives must vary with the amount of usage.    If there is much passing to and from the house, the walk may be made from 5 to 6 feet wide, so that two or three persons may walk abreast or pass each other readily; but if two persons would not be likely to meet frequently, a width of from 3 to 5 feet would be sufficient. For a drive where only cue team would pass over the road at a time 8 to 10 feet is sufficient width; but if two teams must frequently pass over it at once, ] 5 to 18 feet will be none too great a width. The walks and drives, however, ought not to be wider than are absolutely needed, for the wider they are the more they detract from the ornamental features of the place and the greater will be the cost of construction and maintenance.

Obtaining the Curves.

Too much care cannot be exercised in laying out and forming the curves of walks and drives, for when completed with a proper foundation it is difficult to make a change of location or direction except at large expense.

Most inexperienced persons find some difficulty in obtaining graceful and proper curves, but to the professional landscape-gardner it is a simple matter.

The point of start and termination must be decided upon and also the prominent features that may be brought to view along its course. The walk should be made to pass if possible where pleasing features will be seen, and not where those of an unpleasant character will be brought to view.

Many means are employed to obtain the desired curve. If an engineer is ernployed, this is quickly and very accurately done with surveying-instruments; but for all ordinary work it can be done with sufficient accuracy by the eye, setting up small stakes at regular intervals, as in Fig. 52, and sighting along until the line is covered (the more abrupt the curve the closer the stakes must be set), then viewing the stakes backward and forward once or twice, changing here and there until a satisfactory curve is obtained. The desired width at all points is then obtained by measuring the same distance from each of the stakes to the opposite side of the walk. On large grounds a carriage driven rapidly  and   skillfully   over  the   surface  will  make  very regular and graceful curves. The bicycle also may be brought into use for this work, or a stiff rope or rubber hose laid on the ground and moved until the desired curve is obtained, the mark to be made by pressing it into the soft soil with the feet, or if in grass the curve made in the above way may be located by setting up small stakes at frequent intervals along the line of rope or hose. After the curve is laid out permanent stakes should always be set firmly enough so that they may not be moved until the work of grading, filling, trimming, and smoothing off is completed.

FIG. 52.—Method Of Obtaining Curve.

Construction of Drives and Walks.

A good walk or drive cannot be made on a poor foundation, any more than a bridge or a house. A foundation must be provided that will not allow of settling unevenly by the action of frost. Standing water under the walk will also cause uneven settling, and one of the first steps to take in providing for the foundation is the removal of any surplus water. If not naturally under drained, a tile or stone drain should be laid not less than 3½ feet below the surface, and if the land is very wet and the walk wide a line of tile on each side, Fig. 53, may be necessary.  On a side hill a deep-laid drain on the upper side, Fig. 54, a little distance from the walk will often be more effective than if laid directly under it. If the whole lawn is well under drained, no other drainage need be provided except that obtained in construction.

FIG. 53.—Section Op Walk Or Drive Showing Location Of Tile.

  FIG. 54.—Section Of Walk Or Drive On Side Hill.

To provide a walk that shall be dry at all times and especially after very heavy rains, the material of which it is made should be of a very porous character. This condition is best obtained by excavating the whole space to be covered from one to two feet deep and filling in first with boulders and rocks, then with smaller stones and coarse gravel, and finally with gravel from which most of the sand or loam has been screened.

The rocks and boulders should be first packed as closely as possible, then the small stones filled in about them, and then the coarse gravel packed and tamped down thoroughly. If a heavy roller is obtainable and can be used at the different stages of construction, this will be the best means of compacting each layer, but if not, a heavy iron or wood tamper, used skillfully, will do good work.

A walk constructed as above described will remain firm and dry for a great many years, and will require little labor to keep it in a neat condition and free from weeds. The surface of such a walk may be made nearly flat, while if good material is not available and a good foundation is not provided it must be made crowning in the middle, and the poorer the material the more crowning it must be and then not be wholly satisfactory. The materials of which the walk is constructed should not be filled above the level of the lawn on a sloping surface unless found necessary, as the surface-water during heavy showers would accumulate, washing out the gravel. Should such a form be necessary, this danger should he provided against by making a gutter along the upper side of the walk, with catch-basins into drain tile or a tile culvert to carry the water under the walk. This gutter may be made as a part of the walk with paving-stones or asphalt, Fig. 54, or a very good one can often be made in the turf without disfiguring the lawn (see Fig. 53).      

Care should be taken that no basins be formed by the walks or drives as they pass through the valleys or turn along the face of a slope, and if such become a necessity culverts of stone or tile should be put under them so that the water may pass to the other side before there is much accumulation.

The edges of the walks and drives will need more or less attention at all times to keep the grass from growing in and forming irregular borders, and trimming is best done with the " edging knife." The surface also will need an occasional raking or smoothing over, and once in two or three years a dressing of screened fine gravel or sand will greatly improve the surface and keep it filled up to the level of the lawn.

If the workmen employed cannot cut the edges to true carves by the eye, the garden-line should be stretched and stakes set at frequent intervals along the curve until a complete and perfect curve is outlined.

All weeds should be removed before they become so fully rooted as to require the hoe or hook to remove them.

On the drives all loose stones or those projecting above the surface should be removed at once, for, besides the discomfort they cause the traveler, they are seriously injurious to both the carriage and the road.

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