The first consideration when planning a path is to think about what its intended use will be. Is it to provide a practical hard-wearing surface to run your wheelbarrow from the garden shed to the greenhouse? Or is it more of a decorative feature, guiding visitors from one area of the garden to another? The role that the path will play in your garden will undoubtedly affect your choice of materials. Whilst a series of wooden stepping stones may be suitable for strolling through the garden, they would not be terribly effective for wheeling a barrow across.

The choice of materials can also be used to set or enhance the garden style; a concrete path will provide the garden with a quite different feel to one made from bricks or gravel. You may also want to consider combining materials; a gravel path edged with bricks can look very effective.

You will need to make sure that your path will be wide enough for its intended use; those intended for gardening use should be wide enough to easily accommodate a wheelbarrow, whilst those to be used for strolling through the garden should have enough room for two people to walk side-by-side: about 1-1.2 m (3-4 ft). Stepping stones should be placed at intervals that will allow you to walk naturally, anything too close or too far apart will be awkward to use.