- 1). Choose a style of manufactured stone paving block that fits in with the style of your outdoor landscaping and/or the architectural style of the exterior of your home. Regular bricks are an option, although they require a double row so the transition from lawn to garden bed is wide enough to function as a mowing strip.
- 2). Remove the sod in a strip slightly wider than the width of the paving blocks, using a sod remover tool or a sharp knife. Begin measuring the width at the outside edge of the existing flower bed border.
- 3). Remove the soil beneath the area you removed the sod to a depth equal to the thickness of the paving blocks, plus 2 to 3 inches, to leave room for a sand base for the paving blocks to rest on.
- 4). Grade the bottom of the dug-out strip with the flat edge of a spade or other flat tool or object. The bottom of the strip doesn't have to be perfectly flat, but the flatter you can make it, the easier it will be to lay the paving blocks.
- 5). Place 2 inches of grit sand into the bottom of the dug-out strip. Use the flat edge of a spade to even out the surface of the sand, striving to create a level base on which to install the paving blocks.
- 6). Tamp down the graded grit sand, using a standard tamping tool or the flat side of a garden hoe. As much as possible, keep the sand level. Occasionally, place a paving block into the dug-out area, to determine the amount of grit sand needed to bring the top of the paving block exactly level with the roots of the grass growing in the area of the lawn.
- 7). Install the paving blocks in the prepared trench. If necessary, add or subtract grit sand to adjust the height of the top of the block so it rests no higher than the root zone of the existing lawn grass.
- 8). Fill in around the installed paving blocks with more sand, to further secure their placement in the ground and keep them from heaving out during winter freeze/thaw cycles. The level of the grit sand should be equal to the top of the blocks: Flush with the root zone of the lawn grass.
- 9). Mow the lawn following your regular route. When cutting near the flower garden bed, ensure that one wheel travels on top of the paving blocks, as close to the outer edge of the flower bed as you can get. The mower will cut the grass right up to the edge of the paving blocks, without the need to trim the area with a trimming tool. Because the tops of the paving blocks are set flush with the root zone of the lawn grasses, the paving blocks will not harm the lawn mower blade.
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