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brick edge

17 years ago

I've had a lot of bricks that I've placed at the edge of the garden. Every year I move them out another foot and enlarge the garden area.

Last year, I decided I had enough work with the space I have (whew!) and I decided the bricks needed to be placed permanently.

So....last fall I started digging, placing the bricks flat, side by side. They didn't really look great. It's very hard to get them perfect. So I stopped, leaving them looking messy all winter. Now that the soil is soft, I went out again. This time I decided to put them in on an angle with the pointy corner sticking up. But, after I'd done about 15 bricks, I could see that they were higher on one end than on the other, even though I thought the angles were straight, and I was putting the second brick exactly against the first brick at the halfway point.

What am I doing wrong? Is there some secret?

Or do I even want to do this? Should I just get one of those plastic things that makes an edge. Now I'm thinking that this ric-rac brick idea might just be a little tacky. Sigh!

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks!

OH, and I have a raspberry patch at the end of the back lot just a few feet from the edge of the flower garden. How do I edge that?

Thanks again?

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Comments (4)

vetivert8
17 years ago
FWIW the rick-rack edging is fine anywhere I'm not likely to trip or kneel on it while I'm working. Maybe at the top of a wall (lol).

If you were using the bricks as a mowing strip before, and you're fairly sure that the shape of the garden is what you want, you could, perhaps, install concrete mowing strips.

I look at them and think, 'How tidy!' but I'm not sure how I'd accommodate the big dumpings of compost that I add, and that change the height of the bed. With the loose bricks I use I can add another course and keep the soil in place.

If you weren't as exuberant with the compost - just the usual bucketload for a new plant - then a permanent edge might work well for you.

However, if you have a fairly freewheeling style - the bricks do have the benefit of making it very easy to change direction, or track a burrowing weed to its end; something much harder to do when the bounds are fixed.

Sometimes laying them on a bed of sand over a well-compacted soil, tamping them down, watering lightly to let them settle, etc, can give you a beautiful edge - until you dig a little close and disrupt the underlying soil. At which point you can end up with a subsidence.

If I didn't have better things to do I could consider having a traditional grass edge and cut it neatly when I trim the lawn. Yeah, right!
entling
17 years ago
You could try using a level while you work, or you could adapt a method from hedge trimming: tie string to two sticks or stakes and push them into the ground, one at each end of the brick run. Make sure the string is taut and level. Then set each brick so that the top of it just touches the string. That should provide a uniform height regardless of any minor variations in grade.
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If it were me, I'd adjust the grade of the landscape bed (within 3' of its edge) so that it was flush with the surrounding grade. It should not have been raised up above the surrounding grade. The edging you've chosen will not look like a professional solution. It is definitely in the homeowner-installed category. Mortar would not be necessary. Presumably, you'd be sinking it 50% of its height. It would be fine to set it on a 3-4" layer of tamped paver base (or any crushed material that packs tight and doesn't have pieces over 1/2" dia., as then it would be more difficult to work with.) Mortar is not necessary and would probably backfire when any changes were desired. It would probably not hold better than sinking the edging sufficiently.
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Plastic edging isn't as pretty as your brick pavers but since you have a sloping site I'd recommend it. I also have sloping beds and I edged them with sections of plastic edging to make individual round beds for my plants. It keeps the grass out, prevents the runoff issue and helps keep the plants and soil in place. Also, when you have these little planting circles, mine are about 3' in diameter you can add a nice bark mulch that will prevent your soil from baking into earthenware. I think the biggest drawback to the stringers is that I'd almost bet that the wood has some kind of chemical in it that you wouldn't want near your veggies. If it doesn't, it won't last more than two seasons. At least with the plastic edging, you can reuse it many times, ditto for the brick pavers. If you really just like those bricks, and who wouldn't, set them on diagonal around the outside of the plastic edging. You only have to dig down a couple of inches and you can make a continuous circle of them that looks prettier than the plastic edging. Cheryl
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Littlebug- This is my first home and my first go at this. :) They were mature transplants last year that'll likely get divided next year so moving them down a bit will likely happen at that time. There is also a mature maple 13'~ from the bed so roots have been an issue with both plant and edging options. The mulch does a good job of keeping the water in even when the canopy is full. I'll attach a photo of last year in their fullness.
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Sorry I’m no help. Fake brick tile next to your real brick sounds dreadful. I hate wall to wall carpet inside and doubly outside. I would tile that whole area with ‘slate’ and get a rug to define the sitting area. No idea why that would need to get power washed since it’s covered.
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vicki_vale
17 years ago
Yes, definitely get some stakes and string to set up a perfectly horizontal guideline before you start. A straight block of wood and a rubber mallet will also help to tap them across the tops into place... Good luck!
ChiGardener
17 years ago
level the ground/trench first with some sand or pea gravel. if you're laying the bricks at an angle horizotally u might want to make a V or slanted-back trench.

good luck

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