The Best Ways to Use Paver Stones

Stepping stones help lead you to your garden's focal point.

Stepping stones help lead you to your garden's focal point.

Paver stones come in a seemingly endless variety of options, with many colors, sizes, shapes and materials to choose from. Before you pick the right paver stones for your yard, decide how you plan to use them. Stepping stones often lend themselves to round stones, while a patio tends to work best with square or rectangle ones so they can lay flush with each other. Lighter colors, such as white or beige, create eye-catching ares in your yard, while darker browns or grays blend in more smoothly with the grass. Pavers can serve several helpful functions in your backyard landscaping design.

Area Definition

If your fountain, pond or statue looks a little drab and lost in your yard, make it stand out by installing paver stones around the base. Pavers are different colors and textures than the grass and plants in your yard, so surrounding focal points with pavers can make them pop. You'll probably need more than one row of paver stones, depending on how large the stones are. There should be about 3 feet of paver stones in most cases, making the paved area large enough to stand and walk on comfortably. If you plan to put chairs around the area, make the paved area larger.


Pavers add more character to your yard than a plain concrete patio. If you already have a concrete patio, you can lay the pavers directly on top of it without the expense of pulling up the concrete. Paver stones give you the flexibility to add an interesting design to the patio or extend it by adding more stones when desired.


Walkways not only help you get from one area of your garden to another, but they also draw your eye to certain areas. A walkway can guide your vision down the path to a tropical koi pond, for example. Smaller paver stones give you more flexibility on the walkway's design. If you use pavers that are the size of standard bricks, you can choose from patterns such as straight lines, alternating joints or herringbone.

Stepping Stones

Stepping stones require larger pavers, but they are usually less expensive than creating a wide walkway out of pavers. The stones serve basically the same purpose as walkways: they get you where you're going and help guide your eye to focal points. Use stones at least 12 inches square or larger for stepping stones. Leave about 4 to 6 inches in between the stones then let the grass grow for an Old World look or surround the stones with pea gravel.

Landscape Edging

Paver stones make excellent edging for your flower beds. Using pavers in more than one area, such as your patio and edging, helps you tie your landscaping design together. Pavers give you the flexibility to dig a trench deep enough so that the stones lay flush with the ground, making mowing around the flower bed easier, or placing them higher than ground level for a more finished look.

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