What Do You Use to Line Your Stone Flower Bed Built on Blacktop?

Landscaping Cloth

• Landscaping cloth is a common material used to keep soil from washing out in construction projects. Since your flowerbed is built on blacktop, there will be no worms entering the soil from the ground -- one of the reasons why gardeners don’t line ground-level gardens with fabrics. Lining the container with the landscaping cloth prevents water from draining out too quickly, taking valuable minerals with it.

Screen

• Screen material, whether metal or plastic, works in a similar way as the landscape cloth but with less water retention. Some plants require good drainage and do not tolerate soggy soil. This material is good for areas with frequent rainfall.

Sand

• Sand is a great filter for water. As water flows through the rock planter, it will pick up bits of soil and carry them away unless you stop them. Layering 3 to 4 inches of sand under the topsoil of your planter will keep the soil in your rock planter while allowing the water to drain away.

Newspaper

• Newspaper is an inexpensive liner for a stone flowerbed. If you line the flowerbed with the newspaper, bringing it up several inches along the sides, the paper will hold the soil in place. This is a good application for areas that get little rain, where the retention of water is necessary to avoid irrigating. Water will drain slowly until the newspaper decomposes, which usually occurs by the end of the growing season.