Brick edging

Here we are using a brick-on-edge finish, but you may choose to lay them flat to have a wider edge to your path or a cutting edge to a lawn.

1 After laying your hardcore, set a line to the height you wish the top of your brick edging to sit. Mix 6:1 sharp sand and cement to make your mortar and use a brick trowel to spread enough to sit your first brick beneath the string line. Make a small impression – what I call a valley – in the mortar mix. I like the mix to be pliable but not too sloppy. You may have to experiment when you first start laying bricks. 2 Position your first brick on the valley and tamp down with the handle of the trowel, so that the top of the brick sits level with the string. It may take you a few goes to get the depth of the mortar correct. 3 Continue laying the rest of your bricks in the same way – butt-jointing the bricks with mortar beneath each one but not between them. You could mortar between them, but if you have never laid bricks before you will find this easier. 4 If you are laying grass or have a bed up to the brick edging, cut away some of the haunch (the part of the mortar holding your brick at the sides) on the outside to allow for plant roots. Give the mortar a couple of days to set, then spread out the gravel (see steps 6 and 7 overleaf).