The millstone path is my favorite path at Paths of Hope. It carries visitors up the west side of the property, through the gate, and into the back gardens. The path then winds through the beds and eventually connects with the sidewalk at the garage service door on the east. The addition of this path, begun in 2003 and finished many seasons later, completed a full route around the property. Today my grandchildren amuse themselves hopping from stone to stone as though participating in a life-sized board game. They love discovering the paths, especially from the comfort of the pillow-filled wheelbarrow as Grandpa drives.
I cannot share with certainty where the idea for this path originated, but I believe Shawn found a picture in a garden magazine where someone had placed authentic millstones in the grass beside their patio. She loved the look and, as we are prone to do, we brainstormed to see if we could make similar stones using off-the-shelf supplies.
For those who would enjoy a video preview check here:
If concrete work gives you pause for fear of inhaling the dust, then skip this project and settle for ready-made concrete stones from your local home center. Those stones work fine and are offered in many colors and shapes.
Over the years it has become necessary to uproot a few of our stones to deal with roots or settling but that work is easy enough to do. The path came together in segments, and when we tired of the process, we stopped with plans to pick the work up later. Think interstate highway construction.
The secret to nice-looking millstones is properly mixed concrete. We aimed for peanut butter consistency which allowed for the quick removal of the form and the pouring of additional stones with little downtime. Sloppy concrete runs and with no form the shape can be quickly lost.
In summer 2022, decades later, and I needed to replace a couple of stones which I broke during the installation of a landscape drain as well as to create a few additional stones for a cross-connecting path. The process came back to us like riding a bicycle, and this time we have the technology to share the steps with you.
What do I need?
- A suitable form. I used a galvanized feed dish from a farm supply store, about 16 inches in diameter and four inches deep. I removed the bottom and used tin snips to create tabs that could be bent safely out of the way. Gently hammer the sharp edges flat. The concrete does not rise to this level during pouring so the goal was protection of hands and fingers.
- The “axle” hole. I used an eight-inch section of 1½ inch schedule 40 PVC pipe. Make the cuts straight as this pipe needs to stand on its own.
- The medium. A 50-pound bag of your favorite concrete mix per each pair of stones. With our form that results in stones that are nearly two inches thick which offers adequate load bearing in our wheelbarrow only garden. If you have a heavy tractor or mower you may need thicker stones.
How did we do it?
Prepare.
We chose the patio as our flat work surface. Spread plastic or on old shower curtain to keep the new concrete separate from the old otherwise cleanup can be a chore.
Mix.
Add water to the concrete mix slowly. I’ve not found a way to remove excess water if I add too much to concrete. The goal is peanut butter consistency where I can make a tool impression in the solution and have it hold.
I prefer a wheelbarrow, but I have used a dishpan as well as a five-gallon bucket for mixing concrete in a pinch. The wheelbarrow is easier and allows me to stand.
Concrete dust is not healthy to inhale so keep track of the wind direction.
It would be possible to “pour in place,” but we opted to manufacture the stones as close to one another in shape and thickness as possible hence our assemble area.
Pour.
While Shawn held the pipe in the center of the form I gently added concrete while tamping with a section of 2×2 to remove air pockets.
Rest a spell then remove form.
We waited a couple of minutes before removing the form. If the concrete is the correct mix the shape holds. If not, well better luck on the next one, and yes I boogered my first one years ago. Wisdom often comes to us through the mistakes we make.
Add the decorative lines.
Shawn’s artistic tendencies came through in this step, and she transformed these from concrete discs to authentic-looking millstones. She used a masonry trowel to add the lines.
Cover the stone or stones with plastic.
And hopefully keep the squirrels from digging them to pieces.
Wet the concrete each morning for about a week.
That slows the cure time and makes the concrete stronger or so I have been told.
Install and enjoy.
The stones were transported to the final location, the soil was scraped to remove any rocks or obvious roots, and the stone was leveled with soil backfilled as needed.
And that is how we came to create a millstone path in our garden.