We recycled a stack of bricks from a crumbling garden wall which we've earmarked for several garden projects. Around the end of March, we laid out 10 or so bricks to try out a perpendicular herringbone paving pattern on a path alongside the raised beds. Pottering about, we've become aware how immediately the resident critters make any and every nook and cranny their home so we have an all-out policy of never stepping on any logs or loose bricks in the garden. The paving project was stalled by other commitments and we had taken to leaping over the bricks whenever we've needed to access the far ends of the beds (as you do, right?). This weekend we started the paving project over.
First we trans-located the beasties to the permanent brick pile.
We lifted the bricks gently without dragging them. One by one, we exposed the critters and then placed a cocked, dark, damp muddy flowerpot immediately next to them. We busied ourselves levelling another path. We returned after a couple of minutes to find the critter had taken refuge in the pot. We used this method to carry them (making sure they couldn't leap out of the pot in transit) to the permanent brick pile we built as a wildlife habitat under the medlar tree.
Do make an effort not to touch amphibians as the acid, salts and chemical residues on our skin can damage their permeable skin. Picking up a fleeing amphibian can cause fatal stress and injuries.
We worked on the two inner paths - we levelled the ground and spread a 3cm layer of sand to help level the bricks, some of which were chipped or had lumps of concrete adhering to the backs of them. We'd not planned to pave the paths when we positioned the beds so we had to space the bricks to cover the area evenly.
We used a lump mallet and a bolster masonry chisel to remove old concrete and to halve bricks.
We infilled the gaps by sweeping in and compacting a mixture of clay soil and sand and then sowed creeping thyme and lawn camomile.
We didn't use an underlay of weed barrier fabric as we feel this is a "contaminant" even though inert. We're hoping the creeping thyme and lawn camomile will create an effective weed deterring blanket and that the mass of fine roots will bind the paving together. Fingers crossed.
We've got the outside two paths to pave yet.
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