Curved Brick Garden Border

Sketch a plan of what you want your flowerbed to look like. Try to keep everything in the sketch to scale to ensure accurate measurements. To get a better picture of your plan, include a detailed landscaping layout of which plants will go where.

Use a garden hose to lay out a gently curved outline for your flowerbed, according to your sketched plan. Mark your line with spray paint, flour, or sand. If you are drawing the outline the day before you plan to install the border, use spray paint to ensure the line won't be disturbed by water or pets.

Following your line, dig a trench slightly deeper than the height of your bricks when they are lying flat (usually about 3-4 inches). Loosen soil, then make clean cuts, using a digging fork or a bed-edging tool (designed with a sharp, curved blade specifically for this task). Scoop out the excess soil and grass.

Install the outer layer of brick edging. Following the curved outline, dig a shallow trench so the flat-laid bricks will rest just above the existing soil. Position your bricks end to end, pushing them tightly together to discourage grass from growing in the cracks.

Add a vertical line of bricks inside the first row. As with the outer layer, push the bricks close together to prevent grass from growing between. Take a step back and look at the border a few times throughout the process to make sure the bricks are level—adjust trench depth as needed.

Plant landscaping plants inside the new border and add extra soil as needed. Layer mulch around plantings and fill up to the brick line. Adding mulch will help keep the dirt inside the border in the case of heavy rain.