How to Install Stone Landscape Edging

To install stone landscape edging, mark the bed line, dig a flat-bottomed trench about 4 to 6 inches deeper than the base you want under the stone, compact 2 to 4 inches of crushed gravel base, then set each stone or block on a thin bed of sand, tapping it level and tight against its neighbor before backfilling both sides. The base is what separates edging that stays crisp for a decade from edging that heaves, tilts and disappears into the lawn in two seasons. This guide covers natural fieldstone, flagstone and cut stone as well as concrete and stone-look edging blocks, with the trench depths and techniques for each.

Part of our Lawn Care guide →

In this guide

1. Choose Your Edging Stone
2. Tools and Materials
3. Step-by-Step: Installing Stone Edging
4. Techniques for Specific Stone Types
5. Keeping Grass and Weeds Out
6. Common Mistakes
7. Maintenance
8. Frequently Asked Questions

Choose Your Edging Stone

Your choice of stone determines the trench shape and how much fitting work you will do. Here are the common options.

Stone type	Look	Install notes
Fieldstone or river rock	Natural, informal, irregular	Every stone is different; dig the trench to fit each one; best for cottage and woodland beds
Flagstone set on edge	Thin, jagged natural outline	Narrow trench; bury about half the height; overlap or butt pieces
Cut stone or cobbles (granite setts)	Crisp, formal, durable	Uniform size; easy to keep straight; heavy, so plan for handling
Tumbled or wall stone	Rustic but regular	Can be laid flat as a mowing strip or stacked one or two courses
Concrete edging blocks (stone look)	Uniform, scalloped or straight	Easiest DIY option; interlocking or butted; cut with a masonry blade

If you are still deciding between stone and other materials, our overview of lawn edging ideas compares looks, and the landscaping and hardscaping hub has guides for related projects. For metal, plastic and other flexible edgings, follow our general guide on how to install landscape edging instead, since the method is quite different.

How Much Stone to Buy

Measure the bed perimeter with a tape or by laying a garden hose along the line and measuring the hose. For uniform blocks, divide the length in inches by the block length and add 5 to 10 percent for cuts and breakage. Natural stone is sold by weight, so tell the stone yard your linear footage, stone height and whether you want a single row or a double row. They can estimate tonnage. It is better to have a few extra pieces to choose from, because fitting irregular stones is much easier with options.

Tools and Materials

• Garden hose, rope or marking paint for the layout; stakes and mason’s string for straight lines
• Flat spade or half-moon edger; trenching shovel
• Tamper (hand tamper is fine for edging) and a 2- to 4-foot level
• Rubber mallet; a dead-blow hammer helps with heavy stones
• Crushed gravel base (often sold as paver base or 3/4-inch minus) and coarse concrete sand
• Optional: landscape fabric strip, polymeric sand or mortar for cut stone, a masonry chisel or angle grinder with a diamond blade
• Work gloves, safety glasses and hearing protection for cutting; steel-toe boots are worth it when moving heavy stone

Call 811 a few business days before you dig to have buried utility lines marked. Edging trenches are shallow, but irrigation lines and low-voltage lighting cables are often buried right along bed edges, so probe gently near sprinkler heads.

Step-by-Step: Installing Stone Edging

1. Mark the Line

Lay out curves with a garden hose and adjust until the shape looks right from the house and the street. Generous, sweeping curves are easier to mow along and look more natural than tight wiggles. For straight runs, set stakes at each end and stretch mason’s string. Mark the line with spray paint or by cutting through the turf with a spade.

2. Dig the Trench

Cut along the line with a flat spade or half-moon edger and remove sod on the bed side. Dig a trench a few inches wider than the stone. Depth depends on the stone and your base:

• Flat-laid stone or blocks (mowing strip): stone thickness plus 2 to 3 inches of base, with the top finishing level with or slightly above the lawn.
• Upright stone or edging blocks: one-third to one-half of the stone height buried, plus 2 to 4 inches of base below.
• Clay soil or cold climates: lean toward the deeper end of the base range for drainage and frost resistance.

Keep the trench bottom flat and firm. Do not loosen the soil beneath it, and if you over-dig, fill and tamp rather than leaving loose soil.

3. Build the Base

Spread crushed gravel in 2-inch layers, dampen lightly and tamp firmly. Gravel with fines locks together and drains, giving you a stable platform that resists settling. On top, spread about 1/2 to 1 inch of coarse sand. The sand lets you adjust each stone’s height by small amounts. In very sandy, well-drained soil with small stones, some installers skip the gravel and use a compacted sand base, but the gravel base is the safer default.

4. Set the First Stone

Start at a fixed point, such as a corner, a walkway or the end of a straight run. Set the stone on the sand and tap it down with the mallet until it is at the right height and level side to side. For uniform blocks, stretch a string at the finished height along the whole run as a guide. For a lawn-side edge, the top should sit about 1/2 inch above the turf so mower wheels can run along it without scalping.

5. Continue the Run

Set each new stone tight against the last. With uniform blocks, check level across two or three stones at once and follow the string. With natural stones, alternate larger and smaller pieces, rotate each until its best face points out and its edges fit snugly, and add or scrape sand underneath to match heights. Let the top line flow rather than chasing perfect level on irregular stone, but avoid sudden steps. On curves, blocks with tapered or interlocking ends follow the line with small, even gaps; with straight-ended blocks, keep the outer joints tight and let the inner gaps open slightly.

6. Make Cuts if Needed

To shorten a block, score it on all sides with a masonry chisel and split it with a sharp hammer blow, or cut it with an angle grinder fitted with a diamond blade. Wear safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask or respirator, and wet the cut to reduce silica dust. Natural flagstone can often be shaped by chipping the edge with a brick hammer.

7. Backfill and Compact

Fill both sides of the stones with the soil you removed, packing it firmly with the end of a 2×4 or a narrow tamper. Packing the bed side is just as important as the lawn side; that is what stops stones from leaning out over time. Sweep sand or fine soil into the gaps between stones. For formal cut stone, you can fill joints with polymeric sand, or for a permanent border set the stones in a mortar bed on top of the gravel base.

8. Finish the Bed

Water the backfill to settle it, then top up any low spots. Replace or repair turf along the lawn side, and spread mulch on the bed side, keeping it slightly below the top of the stone so it does not wash over.

Techniques for Specific Stone Types

Stacked or Double-Row Edging

For a low border of two courses, set the first row on the base as above, then lay the second course offset so each stone bridges a joint below. Keep stacks to about a foot or less without a footing; anything taller starts to act as a retaining wall and needs a deeper base and setback for each course.

Flat Stone Mowing Strip

A mowing strip is a row of flat stones or pavers set flush with the lawn. The mower wheel runs on the stone so you never need to string-trim the edge. Set the stones on a base just like a paver walkway, flush with the soil grade on the lawn side. You can combine a mowing strip with an upright stone or block border behind it for a two-tier look. If you are working with pavers rather than natural stone, see our guide on how to install paver edging for restraint options.

Interlocking Concrete Edging Blocks

Scalloped or interlocking blocks are the fastest stone-look option. Because they are uniform, string lines and a level do most of the work. Bury them deep enough that they do not rock, typically about one-third of their height, and stagger the ends on curves. Avoid setting them on loose soil alone; even a 2-inch gravel layer makes a big difference.

Keeping Grass and Weeds Out

Stone edging defines a bed visually, but grass with runners such as Bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine will grow through gaps and under stones. If your lawn is one of these, install a strip of plastic or metal root barrier 4 to 6 inches deep along the inside of the trench before setting stones, or use a wider mowing strip so runners are easy to spot and cut. Cool-season bunch grasses like tall fescue are less of a problem. Weeds that sprout in joints can be pulled or prevented by filling joints with polymeric sand on formal installations.

Common Mistakes

• Setting stones directly on soil: leads to sinking and tilting, especially in wet or clay soils.
• Burying too little of the stone: tall stones with shallow footing get knocked over by mowers, foot traffic and frost.
• Edge too high above the lawn: you will need to string-trim every week. Keep it close to grade on the lawn side.
• Too many tight curves: hard to mow and harder to fit with stone.
• Skipping the backfill compaction: loose backfill is the most common reason edging leans outward within a year.

Maintenance

Each spring, walk the edge and reset any stones that frost has lifted by pulling them, adding a little sand and tapping them back down. Refresh joint sand on formal edging every few years. Trim grass that creeps over the stone with a string trimmer or hand shears, and keep mulch levels below the stone tops.