How to Install Stone Garden Beds

Raised garden beds are an easy-to-maintain landscape feature that makes gardening more accessible. The plants in raised beds can be reached without excessive bending and stooping and the bed's edges helps to keep out grass and other weeds that spread through runners. Raised garden beds also are less prone to drainage problems and the soil warms sooner than soil in the ground. Stone is a durable, long-lasting and aesthetically pleasing material for garden beds.

• 1

  Mark the border of your garden bed using a garden hose. You can change the shape of the bed several times by moving the hose until you find a shape that is pleasing.

• 2

  Drive stakes into the ground at angles and curves in the bed to mark the border. Tie string to the stakes and stretch it between them to make a boundary marker that will not shift as you work around it the way a garden hose would.

• 3

  Remove any vegetation from inside the bed by covering the vegetation with newspapers to smother it. Cut down woody plants using branch loppers and dig out the root balls.

• 4

  Pick out stones for your raised bed at a quarry or stone dealer. You can choose and pay for each individual stone, or purchase a pallet for a larger discount. If you purchase a pallet, you will not be able to choose the stone.

• 5

  Measure the width of an average stone with a tape measure. Dig a foundation trench for your stone bed walls that is 2 inches wider than the stone. The foundation should be 6 inches deep to put the wall below the frost line and prevent frost heave from pushing the wall of the bed upward. Cut the sides of the trench by inserting a spade into the sides of the trench. Scoop out the soil with a shovel. Remove any roots with branch loppers. Ensure that the trench is level using a spirit level.

• 6

  Lay the stones in the trench so that each stone touches the stone next to it. Stagger each row of stones so that the seams between stones in each row do not touch. Make the base of the stone walls thicker than the top and angle the stones inward for stability.

• 7

  Mix a potting soil containing 1 part peat moss, 1 part compost and 1 part mulch. Fill the bed behind the stone wall with this potting soil.