How to Landscape With Rocks Along Your Lawn Edges

A rock border for your lawn is a simple landscape feature that requires minimal preparation work as well as minimal maintenance. Rock-edge borders provide a naturalistic appeal that clearly defines your lawn's boundaries while lending visual interest that remains in place all year long. You can choose a host of plants and shrubs to rise above and beyond your rock edging, to creep between the rocks and to add color and texture to an otherwise all-green expanse. An underlayment of newspaper or mulch will help deter weeds.

Garden spade
Newspapers or mulch
Garden hose

Instructions

- 1
  Define your preferred border along your lawn line. Use a garden spade to mark the location where you'll install your rocks. Incorporate a few curves in your rock-edge design to provide a more natural, flowing appearance.
- 2
  Remove grass and sod from an area about 6 to 8 inches deep along your border. Push the spade edge under the sod or grass to remove most of the greenery while leaving most of the soil intact.
- 3
  Lay a 3-inch strip of newspapers or mulch along the border. This will allow you to fight weed development without using chemicals.
- 4
  Place your rocks atop the newspaper or mulch underlayment. Vary their shapes and sizes to present a natural look. Leave 3-inch to 4-inch gaps about every 5 feet to allow creeping plantings to fill in the spaces.
- 5
  Water the rock-edge landscaping well when you've finished laying rocks. This will allow the rocks to settle into place.

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