laying stepping stones

starving_artist

I have read you need to put down a weed membrane and cover with a layer of sand in which you embed the stones.  However I want to have grasses or moss around each stone so can I just level the ground and put the stones on top of the soil?

twopenny

You can but the activity will move the stones out of level after a while so you will need to redo it periodically.
If there are only a few and not heavy traffic over them it may be worth it.
If you have a lot of people there the slabs will move and tip from the start 

starving_artist

Thanks for the reply twopenny.  If I want to grow groundcover/grass around the stones rather than surround with gravel what would be the best way to bed them down?

theoretica

I dug down just where I wanted to put my stepping stones, put a bed of gravel and sand on top and then bedded the stone in with earth around them.  You mention grass - if you might ever mow over the area maybe think about setting the stones down so the top is flush with the ground- but this makes it easier for plants to cover them.

starving_artist

theoretica said:

I dug down just where I wanted to put my stepping stones, put a bed of gravel and sand on top and then bedded the stone in with earth around them.  You mention grass - if you might ever mow over the area maybe think about setting the stones down so the top is flush with the ground- but this makes it easier for plants to cover them.

Sounds like a plan.  Thanks Theoretica.

Clowance

We have just relaid our stepping stones, they had been down for 20 years in a lawn and some had become invisible as grass had grown over them to a depth of 2cm or so. I agree that if you just lay them on earth you will have to redo occasionally.