How to Make Raised Beds With Rocks

Lay out the location of the raised bed. Using your foot, mark lines on the ground that delineate the perimeter of the raised bed. Dig a trench to serve as a foundation for the stacked-stone garden bed. Use a shovel to create a trench roughly equivalent to the width of your stones and 1 foot below the surface level of the surrounding soil. Fill the trench with crushed gravel. Spread and level the gravel using a bow rake.

Lay the first course of rocks across the trench. Lay rocks one by one over the crushed gravel foundation. Tap rocks into place with your fist. Attempt to keep the top of the first course of rocks level by selecting rocks of similar height. Continue to lay and tap rocks into place until they cover the perimeter of the raised bed.

Lay a second course of rocks atop the first course. Select rocks so that they sit and fit as tightly as possible upon the rock beneath. Place stones so that the seams between rocks in the first course do not align with the seams between rocks in the second course. Fill large gaps with gravel or small stones. Continue to stack stones to desired height, but not to exceed 3 feet.

Fill the inside of the raised bed with a 2- to 3-inch layer of crushed gravel. The gravel serves as a drainage medium. Cover the inside of the raised bed with landscape fabric to prevent excessive erosion and weed invasion. Ensure that the landscape fabric covers both the bottom and sides of the raised bed.

Fill the raised bed with garden soil. Gently distribute and compact the soil using a shovel and rake.