• Enhance a backyard garden with an inexpensive walkway.garden image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
  
  A beautiful and simple walkway plays a central part in the enjoyment of a backyard. It divides the yard into areas, directs traffic and controls access around gardens. The walkway design should complement the style of the home, the garden and other structures, like a pool or gazebo. Low-cost design ideas help this do-it-yourself project fit into any budget.
  
  

Lights And Decorations

• Line up inexpensive garden stakes and solar lights to create a pathway, alternating them as you go. Stakes come in many colors and shapes. Solar lights absorb sunlight in the day to charge their batteries for nighttime use. Both items easily stick into the ground, allowing you to adapt to changes in the landscape. Just pull up the stakes and rearrange them in another area.
  
  

Mulch And Wood Chips

• Wood chips make a natural pathway.pine bark mulch image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com
  
  Mulch and wood chips aren't just for covering garden soil to retain moisture. You can use them to create an inexpensive and natural backyard path. Designing the shape and width of your path is as easy as using a rope or hose to experiment with curves and angles. Digging a shallow trench between your pathway edges, then installing edging and laying newspaper on the ground will help keep the mulch or wood chips in place and the weeds out. You may have to refresh the mulch or wood chips with a new layer each year.
  
  

Gravel

• Gravel comes in a variety of shapes and colors.Different colored gravel image by Tjobbe from Fotolia.com
  
  Gravel pathways are similar to ones made of mulch, but they require a little more work. Rock yards sell gravel in a variety of sizes and colors. Another option is asking someone at a construction site if they have any leftover gravel you can take. Designing and laying a gravel pathway is similar to a mulch walkway. Instead of laying newspapers between the edging, just fill the space with gravel and sand, stomping on it to compress the mixture.
  
  

Homemade Stones

• Personalize a walkway with handmade stones. You can buy reusable molds in various shapes and sizes at craft stores and home improvement centers, along with concrete mix. You can choose individual molds or molds that are divided into several segments. The concrete mixture is prepared and poured into the molds, which are allowed to thoroughly dry. Then you lay the man-made stones in place along your pathway area, edging them with soil or mulch if desired. Add some backyard flair by painting designs on each stone.
  
  

Natural Stones

• Natural stones laid in grass make a simple pathway.Weg aus Steinplatten image by stil&foto from Fotolia.com
  
  Leftover natural stones from construction sites (be sure to ask before taking them), or from excavations in your own yard make an impressive walkway. Select stones with flat surfaces and lay them 4 to 6 inches apart in your designated pathway area. Contour the ground under each stone so it lays flat and provides a firm walking surface. Border each with mulch or soil if desired.