What to Plant By a Walkway

Scents

• Add plants that hang over the path so that when passersby brush against the plant it releases its scent. Lavender (Lavandula spp.) is a visually attractive plant as well as one that produces a pleasing scent. Other plants that will yield a pleasing scent are lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and bee balm (Monarda didyma). Many of the scented plants also perform double duty as edibles, an additional treat, particularly if your walkway leads to your kitchen or barbecue area.

Visual Interest

• Create a theme for your walkway. Planning the experience will create a more cohesive experience for your guests. For example, use color as your theme and line your walkway with variations of that color, along with a few specimens of a complementary color. Alternatively, play up the type of plant and create a walkway of tropical plants or plants inspired by the high desert. Lead your visitors on a journey where they transition through various altitudes. Plant mountain flowers at the top of the path, meadow flowers toward the middle and beach grasses near the end of the path.

Night Interest

• Add moonflowers (Ipomoea alba) near your walkway. Moonflowers bloom during the evenings in the summer and fall and produce very large white flowers. The flowers reflect any ambient light, providing the illusion of a brighter night. Moonflowers also deliver a strong scent. Flowers that bloom at night typically release a stronger scent to help attract pollinators, but it is also a beneficial feature for people. Other fragrant night bloomers to consider are common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), which produces large, pink flowers, and the tobacco plant (Nicotiana), which produces white, pink and crimson flowers, among other colors.

Safety

• Choose plants without thorns or prickly branches whenever possible. Roses such as the Cecile Brunner and the yellow Lady Banks are almost thornless. If you want to use a plant that may scratch someone, set that plant back a reasonable distance from the walkway. Perhaps add a low-growing specimen in front of the potentially problematic plant to discourage visitors from getting too close. It is reasonable to expect some plants to encroach onto the walkway area, so prune back low-hanging branches to avoid head injuries. Avoid planting trees that may drop an abundance of leaves onto the walkway during the fall.