Problem: It's difficult to mow close to your flowerbeds without cutting some of your flowers.
Solution: Install brick edging to mark a clear boundary between your lawn and your flowerbed. It will protect flowers from the mower and give your lawn and garden a neater, more finished look.
Materials:
paving bricks
wheelbarrow
edging tool
shovel
mattock or narrow gardening shovel
small garden trowel
mason's line or twine
stakes
2"x4" tamping block
measuring tape
hammer
gloves
Steps:
- Measure the length of your flowerbed to determine how many feet of edging you'll need.
- Measure the length and width of one of the bricks you've chosen, and determine how many bricks it will take to make one foot of edging. Then, multiply the number of bricks per foot by the length of your flowerbed edge for the total number of bricks you'll need. For example, if it takes three bricks to make one foot of edging and the edge of your flowerbed is 50 feet long, you'll need 150 bricks.
* If you plan to use a diagonal or sawtooth pattern, you should lay out a few bricks at the home improvement center to determine how many bricks per foot you'll need.
* Buy a few extra bricks so you'll be sure you have enough.
* Be sure your bricks are designed to withstand the elements.
- Create a trench for your bricks along the edge of your flowerbed. Start by driving the edging tool into the ground along the edge of your trench.
- Use a mattock to break up the soil; then dig the loose dirt out of your trench. Make the trench a little wider than the thickness of the bricks to give yourself some room to work. Make sure that the edge near the lawn is vertically straight and that the bottom is flat.
- Next, use a 2"x4" wood block to tamp down the soil in the base of the trench to create a stable, flat bottom.
* Be sure the trench is deep enough to hold your bricks upright. It should be about four or five inches deep for the sawtooth pattern; a little less for end-to-end edging. Practice with a few bricks, adding or removing dirt until you get them at the depth you want. Then measure that depth and use it as a guide for the rest of your trench.
- Hammer wooden stakes at each end of the trench and at each curve of your flowerbed. Then, run a mason's line from stake to stake to create a reference line at the height you want the tops of your bricks.
- Begin placing your bricks, adding or removing dirt to keep them even with the reference line. After you've placed a few, backfill the trench with dirt and tamp it to secure the bricks in place. When all the bricks are in position, water the area and tamp the soil again for added stability. Then, remove the stakes and mason's line and enjoy your flowerbed!
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