The first step to build a garden edge is to define the borders. If you have a preexisting flower bed, then you already have a border marked. However if you are starting a new bed, you will need to mark the border. If you want curved borders, you can use a garden hose to mark the border. For straight borders, pieces of wood can be used. Once you have placed the hose or wood, you should step back and take a look from as many angles as possible to make sure you like it. You may have to use your imagination for this. Once you've got the temporary border decided, you can use chalk or spray paint to mark the grass.

Once the grass has been marked, you can proceed to the next step. In this step you need to have the garden edging stones already on hand. You will line your edging stones up with the chalk or paint line that you did in the previous step. The purpose of this step is to know the exact width of your garden edge.

Now its time to actually dig the trench for your edging stones. With the stones still in place, use a garden spade or lawn edger to mark a line on each side of the stones. This is as simple as stabbing the spade in the ground a few inches, then pulling it out and going down the line. Once you have both sides marked, you will remove the stones. Now you will dig the trench. How deep you dig depends on how tall your stones are, whether the manufacturer recommends lining the bottom of the trench with sand, and if you want the stones to be even with the ground but a common depth is 4" to 5". The easiest way to do this is with a trowel and rubber mallet, using them similarly to a hammer and chisel to scoop out the soil. Then you will line the trench with sand, if the manufacturer suggests it.

After digging the trench and lining it with sand, you will place your garden edging stones. It is very easy, all you have to do is place the stones in the trench on top of the sand base. Many edging stones interlock to help keep them stable and prevent any grass roots from getting through. Make sure your stones interlock in the trench.