How to Install Stone Garden Edging
- 1). Select your stones based on what materials and colors you like. Survey neighbors' gardens. Visit home garden shows. Go on a tour of homes in your city. You can find many varieties at a stone quarry or landscape stone store.
- 2). Spread out your tarp in front of the garden and place your spade, hose or rope, stones, and other tools and materials on the tarp.
- 3). Set up your stone border. Set a few stones at the beginning of the garden's edge. Stretch out a long rope in front of the stone and all the way down the border. Using a long rope leaves room for you to add additional stones and helps guide your border around the garden. (See the photo example on the Reader's Digest page in the references.)
- 4). Trace a border around the stones with the square spade. Make the border about half an inch to an inch away from the stone. Dig a shallow trench.
- 5). Cut a strip of landscape fabric--used to prevent weeds--to fit the bottom of the trench. Line the trench with 1 to 2 inches of sand. Smooth it out with a trowel or with your hands.
- 6). Lay your stones on top of the sand bed. Set the stones tightly together so the tops and front edges are even and about 1/2 inch above the soil. Finally, fill any gaps between the stones with extra sand. The stones need time to settle. Eventually, they should sit closer to the ground's surface.
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