Garden beds elevate the visual aesthetics of any home with colorful plants, but if you're looking to add more visual appeal to your landscape, think about adding brick edging.
This classic edge border brings several benefits to your yard other than its classic appeal. Not only does brick edging add extra protection to your lawn (if it lines up with your driveway), it also provides a noticeable barrier in your lawn so you don't mow the garden and helps suppress weeds.
The good news is that edging a garden with bricks is not a difficult process. As long as you have a free afternoon and the bricks at home, you can have a beautiful garden border assembled in a few hours.
Here are the 9 steps you need to edge your garden with bricks for a beautiful classic border.
Before You Get Started
- Start this project when the sun is supposed to shine for a few days in a row.
- Survey your garden to see where you want the edging to start and stop. This way, you know the corners and areas to mark off.
- Though we want to achieve a "brick" look, you should purchase clay pavers, which are often called severe-weather-rated bricks.
What You'll Need
Equipment / Tools
- Rubber mallet
- Garden shovel
- Tamper
- Cultivator (optional)
- Trowel
Materials
- Wooden stakes
- Twine
- Sand
- Cement
Instructions
How to Edge Your Garden With Bricks in 9 Steps
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Assemble a Mason's Line
After finding the perfect location to edge your garden, mark off the area with a Mason's line. This will provide a path for you to follow in the next few steps to correctly assemble your edge.
Line the Path With Bricks to Ensure You Have the Right Amount
Set several stakes in the yard with a rubber mallet at every corner of your garden edge location. Then, line your bricks along the path going from stake to stake in the path you want your bricks to follow.
When all of the bricks have been assembled in a line, use twine to tie around your stakes and stretch to the next until you reach every stake. This line is what you will use for reference when you dig your trench in the next step.
Once all of your stakes have been wrapped with twine, move your bricks out of the way and move to the next step.
Dig Your Trench
Taking a shovel, begin digging a trench along the Mason's line. Your trench should be at least 2-3 inches deep and flat on the bottom with the help of a tamper.
As you dig your trench, test the fit of your bricks by dropping a few in to ensure they fit snugly.
Prepare the Soil for a Garden Bed
If you haven't already prepared a garden bed, this step is for you. If you're not preparing a garden bed or have already done so, move on to the next step.
You will need to cultivate the soil from inside the edge line with a cultivator to prepare your garden for plants and flowers. As your cultivator begins to till the ground, add in your chosen soil and extra nutrients.
Fill the Trench With Base
Before assembling your bricks for the edge, you will need to fill the base with cement so the bricks with stick. Mix a ratio of 4:1 of sand and cement in a bucket to form a thick paste.
When the paste is mixed, use a trowel to spread the base along a small section of your trench.
Add the Bricks
Now you can begin setting your bricks. With the mortar paste in the trench, start laying down your bricks by one. Press them firmly into the base or use a rubber mallet to gently beat the brick down until it's flush with the ground.
If you run into any corners or curves in your edge, you may need to use a pickaxe to dig a curve and adjust your bricks the best way possible so you don't have to do extra work by cutting them.
Continue working in small sections by applying the paste and bricks until you finish the entire edge.
Backfill Both Sides
Once your edge is completely lined with bricks, backfill both sides with dug-up soil to add extra stability.
Push Soil to the Bricks
Now that the brick edging is in place, you can push the soil of your garden bed to the bricks and begin to plant!
Wash Off the Bricks
Your bricks will need to be left alone for a few days to set in the paste, but you can remove the excess dirt with your garden hose by spraying a gentle mist.
When the dirt has been removed and your garden plants have been planted, let your bricks continue to set in the paste for at least two to three days.
