DIY Cement Edging

Edging around flower beds or a garden in your yard provides a physical barrier between the bed and the lawn that surrounds it. This clear border between the two prevents the edge of the lawn from encroaching on the bed, while protecting the bed from damage by your lawnmower running over the bed. You can use edging material made from plastic or metal, but using cement blocks gives you attractive, long-lasting edging for your beds.

Cement edging stones
Spray paint
Shovel
Level
Rubber mallet
Wet saw
Safety goggles
Ear protection
Gloves
Tamp

Instructions

- 1
  Lay the edging stones around the ground around the bed's perimeter, positioning them in the location where you want to install them.
- 2
  Mark the location of the edging stones by spray painting a line on each side of the stones, about an inch away from them. Remove the stones once you have marked them.
- 3
  Dig a small trench between the spray-painted lines that is about half the height of the stones.
- 4
  Lay the first stone into the trench. Check it for level going both east-west and north-south. Tap down on the stone lightly with a rubber mallet if you need to level it out.
- 5
  Lay the second stone into the trench next to the first stone. Place the level on top of both stones, and tap down on the second stone with the mallet if it's higher than the first stone. If it's lower than the first stone, lift it up and place some dirt underneath it.
- 6
  Continue laying stones inside the trench until it is complete. If the bed has right-angled corners, position the stones by placing a framing square behind the stones in the corner. If there are curves in the bed, you can either use pre-cut curved stones, or cut the stones you have to fit with a wet saw.
- 7
  Fill the gaps around the stones with dirt. Add water to make the dirt moist, and tamp it down to lock the stones into position.

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