Tammy Algood of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service explains how to make a garden walkway with steppingstones. You can create steppingstones from common objects found around your home -- and homemade ones will be much less expensive than those for sale at garden centers. To make your own steppingstones, you'll need a ready-made mold. Molds are reusable, so you can make many stones from a single one. They're available from mail-order garden-supply catalogs. Alternatively, you can use a plastic plant saucer or create your own mold from a low cardboard box. If you use a cardboard box, reinforce the corners with sturdy tape first. To fill your mold, you can buy mortar mix, which is lighter than concrete mix, at a hardware store. Mix the mortar with water until it has the consistency of a milkshake. If you add too much water or mortar, keep adding the other ingredient until you get the right consistency. Make sure you have everything you need at hand before you begin: the mortar will set up quickly. Once you've prepared the mortar, use a scoop to pour it into the mold. Smooth the surface with your hand or a trowel (figure A). Once the surface is even, press marbles, broken pottery, plastic decals, mosaic tiles or other small and colorful decorative pieces into the wet mortar. Or use thick leaves to make natural-looking steppingstones. Your stones will set up within a few hours, but it's best to allow them to set overnight. Steppingstones will easily pop out of their molds after they've dried.
GUESTS :
Tammy Algood
UT Agricultural Extension Service
5201 Marchant Drive
Nashville, TN 37211-5201
Phone: 615-834-5162
Fax: 615-832-0043
Email: Talgood1@utk.edu
Website: http://www.utextension.utk.edu
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