~/ram/notes/concrete-garden-path/README.md

Floating Concrete Steps and Entry Pillars

I built this walkway with broad concrete slabs set among gray pebbles, along with the two light-colored entry pillars topped with succulent bowls that frame it. The path runs between the lawn and planting beds.

The finished entrance, with concrete steps, pebbles, and succulent planters on either side.
The finished entrance, with concrete steps, pebbles, and succulent planters on either side.

Forming and finishing

The work started with timber forms laid out over gravel. Each slab was poured and finished by hand, leaving gaps for the pebbles that would tie the path together.

Hand-finishing a freshly poured concrete slab inside its timber form.
Hand-finishing a freshly poured concrete slab inside its timber form.
The concrete slabs after the forms came off, before the pebble fill.
The concrete slabs after the forms came off, before the pebble fill.

The finished path

The pebble fill brings out the straight edges of the slabs, with softer textures around them. This view looks back toward the two planters at the sidewalk.

The completed walkway, with gray pebbles filling the gaps and bordering the concrete slabs.
The completed walkway, with gray pebbles filling the gaps and bordering the concrete slabs.