Granite bed surrounds - a do-it-yourself guide

Mark the border of the bed

First cut off the edge of the lawn and knock in some wooden slats along the border. A batter board is stretched around this as a guide. In the case of curved courses, it is advisable to make a mark with sand or lime.

Put the lawn edge in sand

For level lawns that are flush with the bed, it is sufficient to put the granite stones in a bed of sand. Proceed as follows:

Dig a trench at least as deep as a spatula along the line.
Fill this about halfway with construction sand and carefully compact the material.
Put stones close together in the sand bed and hit them with a rubber mallet.
Check with the spirit level that the edge is straight.
Then fill in soil on both sides and step firmly.

Concrete bed borders made of granite

This is the somewhat more complex, but more durable solution, especially with loose soils.

Here, too, first dig a trench that should be about 10-20 centimeters deeper than the stones are high.
Pour in a 5-10 centimeter high layer of gravel and compact it.
Put an equally thick layer of sand on top and compress it too.
Mix lean concrete from five parts gravel and one part cement.
Fill the trench in half with this material.
Insert the granite stones close together so that they protrude two to three centimeters above the edge of the floor.
Knock on with the rubber mallet, checking the height with the spirit level.
Then fill in front of and behind the granite stones with lean concrete.
Shape the material into a wedge shape with the trowel.
Let the concrete harden well.
Fill with topsoil.

Tips

If you want a flat mowing edge, the granite stones should be flush with the earth. However, this does not look so attractive because the stones are not at the level of the mowed lawn, but a little lower. Alternatively, you can pave a bed border, which is easy to drive on through several rows of stones and yet offers a visually very appealing solution.