Golf courses are using many of the same materials for their cart paths that are now being incorporated into residential use. One of our most popular materials is spardust grantite, a decomposed crushed grantite that works well in red or brown for backyard paths and golf courses. Golf courses are getting away from asphalt. His company also provides crushed stone and pea gravel for ground cover, when the homeowner wants to cover an area but does not necessarily want to walk over it. Some want the natural woodsy look, he said, and opt for freshly cut wood chips.
Some customers are very specific and ask for oak, hemlock or cedar chips for their walking paths.
At Lied's Nursery in Sussex, landscape architect Mike Manke explained that Lied's has provided all kinds of materials for paths for homes located in wooded areas, homes on lakes and just about everything in between. In the higher-end subdivisions in Brookfield and Mequon, he said, brick, stone or combinations of the two are popular and that what is used depends entirely on the setting. You can't just go use red bricks on every house you see. The material has to match, it has to be consistent with what's already there. And sometimes that means going with the reds or the earthtones when utilizing New York bluestone in greens or grays.