I love the variety of effects you created! Especially the lichen and moss on one and "Buddha on bricks" in another.
>> ... it has always been what is cheapest, longest lived and available at the time.
That's my philosophy exactly. If some railroad ties showed up, I would grab at them.
I need to go back over my beds and refresh all the tilt angles, then use my "aligning tools" (a mallet and a short length of 2x4). I use those to nudge each paving stone into better alignment with its neighbors. They look sloppy now, though they "do the job" very well.
I've never known why some stones develop a dark coating and others stay red. Some day I'm going to swap out the discolored stones and sand them or clean them up. Another 'some day" project is to find attractive lichens and moss, grind them up with buttermilk and yogurt, then paint the paving stones to create instant antiquity.
Well, my "garden procrastination disorder" is so advanced that "2-3 years" is what I think of as "instant".
