When you want plants and flowers to grow in your garden, you need to provide them with structure. Brick flower bed borders create a neatly defined shape which allows water, fertilizer and other nutrients to be distributed evenly throughout the soil. If you need the stability of bricks but don’t want people tripping over them all day long, try making brick flower bed borders instead of conventional ones.
Build a flower bed border with bricks. Brick makes a strong, easy-to-mow border. It’s also excellent for creating paths or walkways in your garden. You can create an interesting design by placing bricks on their sides or even as arches or curves. Use mortar to secure the bricks together and fill in any gaps with sand before planting flowers or shrubs nearby.
If you’re tired of watching your kids, cats and dogs trample through your garden and flower beds like they own the place, it might be time to install a sturdy brick border. Yes, we know it sounds like work: all that digging! All those bricks! But once it’s done, you’ll have a beautiful way to separate the lawn from the flower bed while keeping all those freeloaders out. Here are the steps you need to take to install a brick border around your flower bed, both on sloped and level ground.
Mark the outline of the flower bed.
- Dig out the flower bed area. The brick flower bed is going to be about four feet long and three feet wide, so mark off those dimensions with a garden hose or rope. Then use a shovel to dig the trench that will hold your new border. You only need to dig down two or three inches in most areas of your flower bed, but make sure it’s level across the bottom!
- Dig out some space for drainage within your trench if necessary (you may do this if you live in an area where heavy rains can cause flooding). If you’re concerned about this, check with local landscaping companies for advice on whether or not you should install proper drainage pipes before beginning construction of the border itself
Dig a trench inside the marked line.
The first step is to dig a trench. This will be the foundation for your flower bed border, so make sure it’s as level and wide as possible. A shovel is most effective for this task, but you can also use a spade the latter will require more effort but does come with the added benefit of being able to level out the bottom of your trench. Once you’ve dug out all the dirt you can by hand, it’s time to use a tamper (or backhoe) on top of that material in order to compact it into place and create an even surface upon which to lay brick pavers.
Level the bottom of the trench with a spade.
Use a spade to level the bottom of your trench. A spade has a flat blade and is used to dig and move dirt. Use it to level the bottom of your trench by digging out any large rocks or roots that may be stopping you from getting an even base.
Compact the bottom of the trench with a tamper.
After you have added all of the bricks, you should use a tamper to compact them into place. A tamper is a large wooden or metal tool that you can use to push down on parts of your wall that are not yet level with each other. This will help keep everything properly aligned as you build up layers above it. You may need to add more sand before putting any additional layers on top of these bricks; go ahead and do so if necessary.
Lay the first row of bricks across one edge of the trench.
Lay the first row of bricks across one edge of the trench. Use a level to ensure they are straight, and then use a brick trowel to spread mortar between the bricks. Tap each into place with a brick hammer, and cut any extra pieces with a brick saw if needed.
Cut bricks to fit by marking them with a pencil and then sawing through them with a wet saw.
- Use a pencil to mark where you want to cut the brick.
- Cut bricks to fit the space by marking them with a pencil and then sawing through them with a wet saw.
Lay the second row of bricks, staggering them so they don’t fall in line with the first row.
Lay the second row of bricks, staggering them so they don’t fall in line with the first row. Use a bricklayer’s bricklaying trowel to lay the bricks, applying mortar directly from the bucket onto each brick as you go.
Lay sand in between the bricks and shake it down until it is level with their tops.
- Sand is a good choice for filling the space between the bricks because it’s easy to spread, compact and clean up.
- You’ll need to buy sand at your local hardware store or nursery. It’s also easy to store if you don’t use all of it right away just leave it in a bag until you’re ready for more work.
Mist the sand with water from a spray bottle to help it set.
Now that the sand is in place, mist it with water from a spray bottle. The sand should be damp but not wet when you’re done misting.
Mist the sand from a distance of about 12 inches away from the border to make sure you don’t get any of it on your hands or clothes.
Building a brick border is an easy way to make your flower bed look great.
Building a brick border is an easy way to make your flower bed look great. Here’s how:
- Choose bricks that are the right size for your flower bed. The easiest way to do this is by measuring the width of your flower bed and then dividing by 8 (you’ll need 8 bricks per linear foot). If you aren’t sure what size brick would fit, just ask at a local hardware store. They should be able to tell you exactly what size brick will work best for your project.
- Start by laying out four end bricks on either side of where each brick will go in order to create two rows of three bricks total (these should be placed with their long edges facing up). Next use mortar between each row until everything begins looking like one long wall! You’ll want about 2 inches between each row so simply add more mortar as needed until it looks good enough before continuing onto step 3 below; remember that after laying down all those pieces too close together their tops might not line up properly later on down when they’re covered in dirt so keep this in mind before making any adjustments now would mean less work later down the road when we’re trying some repointing necessary repairs sometime soon after construction has been completed successfully without any problems whatsoever – being careful not
Final words
There you have it! A simple, easy way to build a brick flower bed border that will last for years. You can be sure that your flowers and other plants are safe from the ravages of unwanted grass or weeds. This is a great project for those who love gardening but don’t want to spend their entire weekends tending it since bricks won’t need much maintenance other than occasional weeding around them.
