Laying a Brick Border for Landscaping

Landscaping Borders

• A wide choice of landscaping materials is available for garden use. Vinyl, aluminum, steel, stone or brick are common choices found in residential landscape designs. Stone and brick are the most expensive of these materials, but they have the advantage of lasting a long time, so ultimately they are worth the initial expense.

Using Brick for Landscaping

• Brick comes in many colors and textures, which makes landscaping designing with brick easy and creative. Brick borders can be installed as edging around garden beds, around trees, along pathways, along driveways and anywhere you wish to create separations between garden areas. Bricks are widely available at home improvement stores and garden stores.

Brick Borders

• Brick can be set in single lines to mark off areas of the garden, or it can be stacked to varying heights to create raised beds or short walls to accentuate different types of plants. Bricks can be laid either flat or set on end for different effects. Brick can also be mortared into place for a traditional look. Generally, the brick is laid into a trench that is dug into the soil 2 to 3 inches deeper and wider than the brick. A 2-inch layer of coarse sand is laid into the trench to give stability to the installed brick. The brick is then laid on top of the sand, and soil is filled in around the brick. The soil is then tamped down for stable positioning. Crushed stone can also be used for stabilizing the brick at the bottom of the trench, according to writer Jim Kohut at the Northscaping website. Brick-style pavers are also available, which give the same look of real brick at half the cost. Of course, the trench created for the positioning of the pavers would be shallower than it would be for full bricks.

Brick Border Maintenance

• Brick borders require almost no maintenance. However, they may become dirty due to gardening activities. Tree sap and other plant materials can also cling to the bricks, making them discolored or unsightly. Simply spray the brick with a garden hose to remove surface dirt. If plant fluids have stained the brick, wash them off with a solution of mild soap and water, and scrub the surface with a stiff-bristled brush. Rinse the brick thoroughly. Avoid using harsh detergents and cleaning solutions that contain solvents that can harm tender plants.