Have you ever started what you think will be a tiny little home tweak, and then it becomes a whole big makeover? That’s the story of my DIY leaf stepping stones and side garden makeover. (And sometimes it feels like the story of my life.)

This whole garden makeover started because my next-door-neighbor’s fence fell down. When we bought our house, it came with chain-link fence on two sides. And the house on the sunny, South-facing side had its own wood fence right against our chain link fence. The worst part of it was that there was this terrible vine that grew between the fences, and there was no way to cut it down or dig it up. It’s called wild clematis (either Clematis virginiana or Clematis vitalba, I’m not sure), but it’s invasive in the PNW, and strangles everything it can reach. You can see it in its winter mostly-leafless state between the fences in this photo I took of a bird in our window bird-feeder:

(A lot of the “before pictures on this post weren’t taken with the intent of sharing them here, so please excuse the quality.)

When we bought our house, this side just had grass, which seemed like a waste for the sunniest part. So probably nine years ago now, I built three 4×8-foot raised garden beds. I didn’t take good “before” photos, but I dug this one out of my phone from the end of March when we got freak piles of hailstones.

Can you see the problems here? The beds are surrounded by grass and weeds, both of which constantly try to invade the beds themselves. Especially lemon balm, another plant that’s on my shit list.

Anyway, the owner of the house next door is a friend of ours, and when her old, falling-down fence was finally beyond repair, she had it replaced with a lovely new one. Which prompted us to ask ourselves why our chain-link fence was there at all. So we cut off the chain link, rolled it up and left it on the curb for metal scrappers, and pulled out the metal posts. Our epically-rainy spring made that part easier than we expected. I still can’t figure out why we didn’t think to do this years ago.

Next it was time to take on that damn vine. I cut out and dug up every bit I could. But there were still some thick, woody trunks that I couldn’t get out, and they kept sprouting. So for those I resorted to cut-stump and vine killer that my local garden store recommended. My yard is generally weed-and-insect-killer-free, but I had to make an exception for my vine-enemy.

After the fence and vines were gone, I dug out ALLLLL the grass and weeds, and expanded the beds to 6×8-feet. That eliminated the gap between the beds and the cement walk, but left me with the problem of what to do with the paths between and behind the beds. I wanted a weed-and-grass-free solution.

Here’s the whole side garden, and how convenient that there’s a giant rhubarb plant right there….

The ground around the beds is clay that dries rock-hard during the summer, so I’m glad I did the digging during our very rainy spring.

For the two paths between the beds, I decided to go with cement stepping stones, and for the back, DIY leaf stepping stones.

You can see that I started growing some groundcover behind the raised beds. Because of the hard clay soil, I added several bags of soil conditioner and topsoil. The plants closest to the beds are Irish moss (Sagina subulata), and closer to the fence I planted baby’s tears (Soleirolia soleirolii). There are a couple of Corsican mint plants (Mentha requienii), too, because they smell divine. I think the baby’s tears might be the winner–it’s really taking off even though I planted it weeks later than the others.

But back to the leaf stepping stones! I was inspired by a lot of DIY leaf stepping stones I saw on Pinterest, but Made By Barb had the best instructions. Though I didn’t follow them exactly, they were a good starting point. Here’s what you need to know if you want to make your own.

What do I need to make my own DIY leaf stepping stones?

• Big leaves with prominent veins -I used rhubarb leaves. If you have big hosta leaves, those would probably work, too.
• Concrete mix -I used Crack Resistant Quikrete. I’ve also seen people recommend Quikrete Sand Topping Mix, but that was never in stock at my local store when I tried to buy it.

• Gloves -You can get chemical burns if you don’t wear gloves, plus it’s really messy.
• Mask and goggles
• Mixing bucket or bin
• Mixing stick or shovel
• Water
• Plastic bags
• Piece of cardboard or plywood
• Masking tape (optional)

How to make DIY leaf stepping stones

Prepare your leaf by placing it vein-side-up (aka upside-down) on a piece of plywood or cardboard. Because I was making a lot of these, I ran out of big rhubarb leaves without holes, so I ended up patching up little insect holes with pieces of masking tape on the top. Tape impressions will show up if you do this on the underside of the leaf, where you’ll be putting the concrete, so make sure to do it on the top side of the leaf before you flip it over.

Mix up the concrete. I was able to make four or five leaves per 50lb bag, depending on how large and thick I made each leaf. I think I mixed about half a bag at a time, but the instructions on the bag are for the whole bag, so I estimated the amount of water. Add just a little bit at a time, until you can grab and form a smooth little ball in your hand. Too much water will weaken your mix, but it won’t hold together properly without enough.

Plop the mixed concrete onto the underside of the prepared leaf, and slap it in place with your gloved hands. Continue smacking down handfuls of concrete mix, patting and slapping to vibrate out bubbles in the mix. Cover the leaf about an inch-thick with mix, then add another one-half-to-one-inch, until your total thickness is between one and two inches. Try to sculpt and tidy up the edges with your hands.

Once you’re done shaping your leaves, cover them with cut up plastic bags or plastic wrap, and leave to cure. I gave mine 24 hours before flipping them over.

Flip over your stones, and peel off the leaves. You’ll probably be left with lots of leaf bits and veins stuck in the stones. You run the least risk of damaging your stones if you just let them dry up and pull them out when they’re ready. (But it’s hard to be patient.) Whatever you do, don’t step on your leaves yet! I broke one of mine by stepping on it the day after I poured it. Let them continue curing for at least a couple more days. Spray them with a hose occasionally to help them cure nice and strong.

When you’re ready to create your walking path, place the stone where you want it, then trace around it in the dirt with a garden trowel. Remove the stone, and dig out the area you traced. Replace the stone and test whether it sits level with the top of the dirt, without wobbling. Dig and adjust as necessary.

Ready for the before-and-afters of my garden path?

I can’t wait for the plants to grow in, and for the stones to develop their own patinas.

What a big improvement, right? I’m so glad my neighbor’s fence fell down 🙂

My only regret is that maybe I should have done something more fun with the square pavers. I could always add a stencil, like this one. What do you think, should I just leave well enough alone?