How Much Field Stone Do I Need for a Garden Edge?

Sources

• Field stone may be handpicked from your own property at minimum cost, but with a lot of labor and muscle. Local farmland may also contain field stone that farmers want to remove. Farmers may hire people to remove surface rocks from their fields that they later dump into waste piles. Field stone often is rounded and smooth after years of weathering and displays a wide array of colors. Landscape supply companies or stone yards acquire their field stone from various locations nationwide to sell as decorative stone. Field stone is typically sold by weight or volume when purchased in larger quantities, such as by the ton or cubic yard.

Determining Amount

• If you handpick rock from a field, you have greater control over the size and quality of stones. Measure the outline of the garden where you wish to lay field stone as a continuous edging. Use a tape measure or yardstick or place your foot front to back and walk the garden edge to gain an approximate idea of the length. Determine your aesthetic for the edging. A mix of rock sizes, shapes and colors looks informal, while an edge comprised of field stone of the same general size and shape looks more formal. Describe the desired field stone in terms of diameter and divide that measurement into the entire length of edge row. For example, if you find 6-inch diameter stone most attractive and you have 100 feet -- 1,200 inches -- of edging, you'll need roughly 200 stones.

Options

• You will need more stone if you choose to stack field stone in a multiple layer edging. Flat-edged field stone stacks much better and is more stable compared with rounded rocks. Stacked field stone should be laid with larger stones on the bottom layer with smaller stones on the upper levels. This method increases stability of the tiered edging. Often a single row on the ground makes an effective edge in a garden as long as the stones are not too small.

Conversion Troubles

• While you may know the length of the edge and what size field stone you like, purchasing the stone by weight -- usually cased in a wood or wire pallet cage -- makes deciding how much to buy complicated. Look at the pallet of stone to see if the size of the field stone suits your needs. Do a rough count of the number of stones stacked on the pallet. It's always better to have a few more stones than not enough when making edging rows in a garden.