How to give my garden a makeover?

NorIlyanaK

Hi. Im a DIY noob here. I'm looking to do edge planting to smoothen my lawn area and add aesthetics. The 1st picture attached is an inspiration that I'm looking at and 2nd  picture is how my lawn is at the moment. 

Questions. 

1. If I do choose to go with bricks edging, how do I stick the bricks together? 

2. How deep do I need to dig the grass and soil out? What type of base do I need to replace it with?

3. Do I need to add another layer of H4 timber on the edging that lines adjacent to the colorbond fence? 

Thanks in advance and really looking forward for your ideas and insight. 

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @NorIlyanaK. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about creating a garden bed.

Is that a retaining wall, and is your property higher than the neighbours'? If so, the back of the retaining wall will serve as the edge of your bed. There is no need for another H4 timber on the adjacent edging. The bed in the inspiration picture is flush with the surrounding ground, so I'd just mark out the width of your bed from the current timbers. 

For your lawn edging, I'd recommend using something like these Custom Concrete Products 900mm Straight Tapered Garden Edge. You could bury them under the ground so only the top edge is exposed and flush with the surrounding area. If you did want to use bricks, you'd need to lay them on a bed or mortar and also use it to join them together.

If the soil is reasonably rich in the area, you might not need to dig it out at all; simply remove the grass and weeds. If the soil is poor, you could dig down 50cm and replace it with a quality potting mix.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell