How to Install a Layered Brick Garden Edge

Use a garden hose to define your trench. Place the hose where you want your edging to be. The hose is ideal because it can bend to conform to any curves you want in your edging.

Run the lawn edger along the lawn to slice the grass and make a nice clean edge. Cut at least 4 inches to 6 inches down.

Use a square nose shovel to pop out the dirt and make a nice flat bottom for your 6 inch deep trench. The trench should be 6 inches wide. This will leave a 2 inch gap for a gravel barrier between the grass and garden. Set aside the garden soil for back fill.

Lay the black landscape material down in the trench. Do not worry about excess sticking out above the edge of the trench. Throw some gravel into the trench to hold it down.

Fill your trench with 3/4 inch crushed gravel using a shovel and wheelbarrow. You need to fill it about 4 1/2 to 5 inches above the base of the trench. This will leave you about an inch of brick above grade. This is ideal so grass does not cover your brick and you can see the edging better.

Hammer in a landscape stake at one end of the trench not in the middle but off to the side. On the stake mark off a depth of 4 1/2 inches. Do this at the other end with another stake. String a piece of string between the two stakes and tie both ends off so that string is level with both marks on the stakes. Keep the line tight and use it as a guide.

Use a garden rake and your hands to move the gravel so that it conforms to the height of the string. Tap down the rock really well with the shovel.

Lay the brick in the trench making sure the brick are about 1 inch above the grade. Use a level to make sure the brick is sitting level.

Every 10 brick lay a long 2 x4 to check the level of the brick and to insure the brick is 1/2 inch to 1 inch above grade. Lay the level over the 2 x 4. Use a pail of gravel to remove gravel if high and shore up low spots if too low.

Fill in the gaps with gravel on both sides of the trench. This gravel will insure proper drainage. Use a razor to cut any landscape fabric sticking up out of the trench.

Now pour garden soil over the tops of the brick and gravel on either side to the depth of 1/4 inch and let the soil fill in the cracks. Gently sweep the tops of the brick clean. Wash the soil off the brick with a garden hose. The soil will fill in the gap between the brick and the grass.