DIY Brick Garden Edging

Apparently, I like structure, and this flower bed seemed to be spilling out onto the lawn. Lucky for me, old patio bricks were stacked onto a pallet in the backyard and were waiting to be used. The project of creating the brick garden edging took a weekend, but I wasn’t working full days. Here’s what you’ll need to complete the project.

Bricks (how many depends on how long of an edge you’re creating)

Flat Head Shovel or a  Square Garden Spade with a long handle

Sand

Level

Landscape fabric or newspaper (optional)

Garden Kneeler (for the the sake of your knees, ha!)

1. First, determine where you want the edging to go, and using the corner of your shovel, create a line along the outermost edge of where the bricks will be placed. We initially marked our line with the shovel, and then went back over the line with the weed eater to make it even more prominent. This will allow you to get a good idea of the shape of your edging before you start digging and laying down the brick.

2.Once your line is completed, use your flat shovel or garden spade and begin digging a trench from the line you created and in toward your bed or garden. I knew I’d be using a brick lengthwise and then another brick widthwise for our brick garden border, so I measured the brick length and width and used this measurement to know how far in to dig. Only dig a few feet of edge at a time. This will give you a chance to work with and place the bricks and determine if you like how the edging is laying.

3.Once you have dug the trench and it is the appropriate depth and width for the bricks, place a thin layer of sand in the bottom of the trench. (You could also add newspaper or landscape fabric beneath the sand to prevent weeds and grass from popping up.)Then begin laying your bricks. We chose to have an inner edge of bricks on their side with bricks running lengthwise coming off of those. You could choose to have a single row of bricks to make things more simple. Have a small garden spade handy to ensure small pockets of soil aren’t causing your bricks to be uneven. A level is also a great way to ensure your bricks are even. With yards and soil, unevenness is to be expected to a degree, but it helps to get as close as you can.

4.Once your entire edge has been laid, go back and tweak any bricks that aren’t in line with the others. Then you’ll take the leftover sand, and begin filling in the cracks between the bricks. This will help to smother out any weeds/grass that will try to creep up between them. A paver sand or regular sand can be used. Once the cracks are filled with sand, use a broom to sweep away the excess.

Then stand back and enjoy your new brick garden edging! We went on to create a brick path from the patio to our garden area as well. There are so many uses for leftover brick!