How to Install Interlocking Edger for a Garden

Edging a garden keeps the garden from invading the lawn and the lawn from invading the garden. Edging also adds to the visual appeal of your landscaping. Edging pavers are available in a wealth of materials and styles: natural stone, brick and precast concrete. Natural stone is a costly choice and the most difficult to install because stone edgers vary slightly in shape and size. Brick and precast concrete edging is easier to install, especially if you have selected edging that interlocks one piece with the next. This edging is impossible to install incorrectly, and the interlocking aspect helps keep the edging in place.

Wooden stakes
Rubber mallet
String
Garden hoses
Measuring tape
Landscaper's spray paint
Small shovel or trowel
2-by-4 inch lumber, 3-foot piece
Landscaping fabric
Scissors
¾-inch crushed gravel
Coarse sand

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the path of your edging by marking it with wooden stakes pounded into the ground and connected by string. Use garden hoses attached together to lay out curves. Be careful to design gentle curves, as most edging pavers cannot accommodate sharp curves.
- 2
  Mark the path of the edging with landscaper's paint and remove the stakes and garden hoses. Measure the length of the path with a measuring tape in inches. Divide that measurement by the length of the pavers you intend to use (taking into account the overlap of the interlocking ends of the pavers). The result is the number of pavers you will need.
- 3
  Dig a trench along the path that is 1 inch wider than your pavers and one half to three quarters the height of your pavers plus 4 inches. Dig the trench with a small shovel or trowel, making the sides of the trench as vertical as you can. Tamp down the sides and bottom of the trench using a piece of 2-by-4 inch lumber.
- 4
  Cut strips of landscaping fabric wide enough to cover the sides and bottom of the trench in one piece. Lay the landscaping fabric in the trench. Overlap the strips by at least 3 inches.
- 5
  Pour 2 inches of crushed gravel into the bottom of the trench. Cover with 2 inches of coarse sand and tamp the sand using the 2-by-4 inch board.
- 6
  Set the pavers into the trench, interlocking them as you go. Keep the pavers vertical in the trench. Use the 2-by-4 inch board to press the pavers against the back edge of the trench to keep them even. Backfill the front of the trench with crushed gravel.

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