Paver garden border - weed lining?

[MamaHawk]

Hello all,

I have a south garden that I'm framing in with concrete pavers. For now, I've pretty much pulled them out of their old resting places and moved them over slightly to make the bed more uniform. I haven't leveled anything or ripped out anything, really; I just set them on the grass where they'll go and for now that's where they'll stay. Then I had to hoe out the new interior of the bed to get rid of all the grass that was now inside the bounds.

1: Should I worry too much about laying the pavers "right" or leveling them or such? They're where I need them to be for now and they're no longer submerged in earth, so... Also, it's just a single layer (not a wall), so I'm not worried about cementing them or them falling over.
2: Should I lay something against the interior wall of pavers to help keep the carelessly-removed/barely-removed grass out? I know landscape fabric breaks down over time, as does cardboard, and it'll be an ongoing battle in general, but since it's a brand new spot I figured I might as well check if there's anything I should/can do to help myself in the long run.

Thanks!

 

[Mr_Yan]

This is just a decorative edge border for a garden?

Do what you think looks good. What's the worst that will happen, you don't like it and change it next year?

I used 8"x16" pavers for an edge in a decorative front yard under azaleas a few years ago and sunk them to be level with the grass height. Then the lawn mower could ride right on the pavers and I didn't have to edge around that garden with a string trimmer. It worked. It was a look that gave most of an impression I cared about it. Once in it was easy to maintain.

 

[Donatello]

For the vegetable garden, I'm a strong advocate of the garden cloth to prevent weeds. You can burn a hole where ever you need to plant your veggie and it prevents the weeds from taking over. It's not that expensive. Cheaper than cardboard covered by 2" of garden mulch.
The cloth should last at least 2-3 seasons and after that you probably will want to plant a companion garden to help replenish the soil.

 

[PGB1]

For permanent lining against weeds, grass & such the very best success I've had is to go the a fabric store and purchase close-out fabric that is 100% rayon, polyester, nylon or some other not so earth friendly material. (Feel no guilt- Generally landscape fabric is also a petroleum based fabric.)
Use it like landscape fabric, only in color (or paisley, or butterflies, or....) & no tarry odor.

For temporary use, like gardens that get plants changed yearly, I do the same but with more friendly cotton, hemp or burlap. It's not as effective of a weed block, but lasts longer than cardboard.


I use a sheer fabric for lining gardens. It blocks weeds but does not interfere with water drainage.
I get a higher thread count fabric for the bottoms of pots to hold the fine soil in, but let water slowly drain.
(I also use criss-crossed strips of mesh drywall tape in the bottoms of pots. I prefer paper tape on drywall, so this is its new career.)

I bought 10 yards of 72" wide polyester sheer curtain fabric for 08 cents US per yard length last year. Some I bought 12 years ago is still strong & good. Weeds & grass have never gotten through it.

One caution is that if food will be growing near it, I get white fabric and machine wash it before using it. Over cautious? Perhaps.

About Your Brick:
I'd not worry too much about leveling a single row of brick. Each winter, mine got pushed up by ice and landed far from level with each other.

In another place, I put in 6" wide x 2" thick wall cap pieces on edge (sunk 4" & sticking up 2"). Last winter about half got pushed out of level.
Note that I never made a proper slag base or anything similar. They were simply laid in leveled dirt.

Happy Planting!
Paul

 

[Donatello]

For permanent lining against weeds, grass & such the very best success I've had is to go the a fabric store and purchase close-out fabric that is 100% rayon, polyester, nylon or some other not so earth friendly material. (Feel no guilt- Generally landscape fabric is also a petroleum based fabric.)
Use it like landscape fabric, only in color (or paisley, or butterflies, or....) & no tarry odor.

For temporary use, like gardens that get plants changed yearly, I do the same but with more friendly cotton, hemp or burlap. It's not as effective of a weed block, but lasts longer than cardboard.


I use a sheer fabric for lining gardens. It blocks weeds but does not interfere with water drainage.
I get a higher thread count fabric for the bottoms of pots to hold the fine soil in, but let water slowly drain.
(I also use criss-crossed strips of mesh drywall tape in the bottoms of pots. I prefer paper tape on drywall, so this is its new career.)

I bought 10 yards of 72" wide polyester sheer curtain fabric for 08 cents US per yard length last year. Some I bought 12 years ago is still strong & good. Weeds & grass have never gotten through it.

One caution is that if food will be growing near it, I get white fabric and machine wash it before using it. Over cautious? Perhaps.

About Your Brick:
I'd not worry too much about leveling a single row of brick. Each winter, mine got pushed up by ice and landed far from level with each other.

In another place, I put in 6" wide x 2" thick wall cap pieces on edge (sunk 4" & sticking up 2"). Last winter about half got pushed out of level.
Note that I never made a proper slag base or anything similar. They were simply laid in leveled dirt.

Happy Planting!
Paul

Great post and idea!

 

[MamaHawk]

Agreed, and also I love your signature XD Thanks!