Last week while on a mission to find replacement solar path lights (found them) and ideas for a retaining wall for a fire pit (…yes, fire pit perhaps to be added to the 2009 project list, perhaps going on the 2010 list), Dave came across granite pavers that looked like a great match for our walking labyrinth.
After going back and forth on what materials to use for the labyrinth, we settled on a simple 2-foot-wide grass path (for now). Our delivery of 888 granite pavers arrived in good time, much to Brigette’s glee, and we set about constructing the labyrinth using Dave’s excellent math and geometry skills and Brigette’s enthusiasm. We chose to modify the original 11-circuit classical style Visby labyrinth in Sweden that we liked into a 7-circuit labyrinth near our blueberry bushes on the south lawn, using the granite pavers as path dividers.
[Read about the Visby labyrinth and more about our research at our walking labyrinth blog post from January.]
Here are a couple of photos of the installation process:
Using rope to keep an accurate radius
Assessing the paths at about the halfway point
A few days after we had finished setting the paths for the labyrinth, we took the innpugs, Csaba and Bugsy, on a hike up along Bernard Ridge, one of the laurel and rhododendron-covered ridges that runs above the Inn. Much to our amazement, we looked down at one point and saw our labyrinth! It was peeking out from beyond the trees that hadn’t leafed out yet. (Largely unobstructed views are one reason that early Spring is a great time to go hiking in the mountains):
Our next step is to look at landscaping options for the outer perimeter of the labyrinth. Some of our initial thoughts for a privacy hedge are Nandina Domestica, also known as heavenly bamboo (although it can be invasive in our area if not kept under control), viburnum (so many choices of viburnum to choose from, but we’re looking at a semi-evergreen group), forsythia and the mountain laurel and azaleas that are native to our area.
Stay tuned for more photos as we continue our work on the labyrinth. Several guests have already walked the labyrinth in the past week — we hope our future guests enjoy it, too. As the saying goes, “the best way to maintain a labyrinth is to walk it.”