Natural Rock Border

Chickens love finding bugs tucked up next to the rock!

My favorite cheapest way to add borders in my garden is with rock!!

I've gotten all my rock free, although it helps to live in a place where this stuff is anywhere anyone digs!

It works best when I dig a very small trench first, about 1-2" deep depending on how deep the sod or soil is in that area. For existing sod, I dig more to be sure the bottom of the rock is at or below the roots to keep it from sending easy runners under the rock.

I then place each rock along the row individually, turning it until I get a good "lock" or "fit" into the rock next to it. I test it to see if I can easily stand on it without it trying to flip over or shift under my foot. In most places, it's secure enough to run my garden cart over without shifting.

Both pictures here show how I've added the border before digging out the weeds. I've found a complete border helps give me motivation and inspiration for the rest of the work.

A couple of TIPS:

• Lift with the legs!! 
• Make the curves large enough for an easy mow with the turning radius of your lawnmower. 
• Using different sizes looks more natural. Lay a few big ones down at intervals. I'll lay a boulder into the border every 15' or so that someone can sit on. It makes for a nice "spot". 
• When unloading your rock, spread it out along the potential path to avoid much walking back and forth to get rocks.
• Rock is never as big as you think it is, especially after loading a truck-full. Initially I was trying to use 5" rocks for this and after laying sod and mulch the rocks almost disappeared. 8-12" rock is much nicer and will be more visible in the end. 

8-12" rock - This garden trolley in the picture is a 3' cart and
the big blow-up tires makes easier work of carting rock around.