A rock flowerbed is inexpensive and low-maintenance landscaping that draws attention. Well-suited for slopes or areas of your yard that have rocky soil, it mingles rocks with flowers to create a beautiful, natural statement. After digging the flowerbed and filling it with rocks and flowers, complete the landscaping with a clearly-defined edge. A clean edge makes your rock flowerbed look neat and stylish, while still giving full attention to the blooming beauties and rocks within.
Move rocks and any flowers or plants that are close to the border of the flowerbed about one foot back to allow room for edging.
Lay a brightly-colored string, rope or garden hose on the ground to expand or redesign the flowerbed’s shape. Make the bed curved or straight, blending it with the rest of the landscaping on your property. Measure the circumference of your flowerbed before purchasing edging materials to estimate how much to buy.
Use an edging shovel to cut into the ground at a 90-degree angle the entire way around the flowerbed. Make a narrow trench if you plan to use edging materials. Use a garden or hand shovel to dig the trench about five inches deep and several inches wide, allowing extra width if you edge with flat rocks in brick-and-mortar fashion or pre-shaped concrete rocks. Temporarily move the shoveled dirt further back into the flowerbed or into a wheelbarrow. Remove any grass or weeds as you dig, especially if you are expanding the flowerbed and cutting directly into your lawn.
Prevent weeds from growing and rocks from sinking into the ground by laying down strips of landscaping fabric before edging. Conceal the fabric or gravel by carefully positioning rocks, dirt and flowers on it
Place plastic or metal edging into the narrow trench, allowing about 1 inch to show above the ground. Cut plastic edging into manageable strips using sharp scissors or pruning shears and join two plastic edging strips with a coupler. Join two metal edging pieces by sliding one into the other, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Alternatively, stack flat rocks in brick-and-mortar fashion or line concrete rocks in the trench.
Fill and pack dirt back towards the edge of the flowerbed, carefully positioning the plastic, metal, rock or concrete edging. Use a mallet to tap on the top of plastic or metal edging to drive it into the ground. Secure plastic or metal edging with stakes every three to five feet.
Bring the flowerbed rocks back down to the plastic, metal, rock or concrete edging. Plant flowers on the inside of the edge, if desired.
Choose short or mounding flowers and ground covers that grow less than one foot tall and are well-suited for rock flowerbeds, such as Yarrow (Achillea tomentosa), Crocus (Crocus chysanthus), Columbine (Aquilegia flabellate), Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), Rockcress (Arabis x sturii) and Primrose (Primula). Keep medium and tall flowers further inside the rock flowerbed.
Plant flowers in groupings along the edge. Arrange plants to create continuous bloom from season to season by mixing flowers that bloom at different times. Place ground covers closest to the edge.
Place flowerbed rocks around the flower edging or leave soil in between and in front of plants as they grow and eventually blend together as one continuous border.
Your Planting Articles
Things You Will Need
- String, rope or garden hose
- Edging shovel
- Garden or hand shovel
- Plastic, metal, rock or concrete edging materials
- Scissors or pruning shears
- Short and mounding flowers and plants
- Maintain the rock flowerbed from season to season by gently fluffing loose rocks and removing any grass or weeds that grow in or near it. Transplant flowers as necessary to prevent them from creeping into the lawn.
- Sunset: Use Landscape Fabric
- Sunset: 41 Gorgeous Garden Paths: Rock Border
- Fine Gardening: Perfect Edges for Your Beds and Borders
- Master Gardener Johnson County: Getting Edgy: All about Edging
- University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Landscaping with Flowers
- The New Sunset Western Garden Book; Kathleen Norris Brenzel, ed.
- George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images