A Salvaged Brick Garden Border

On an early spring day walk in the woods with our dogs, we stumbled upon a few moss-covered bricks sticking out from the soil. I love anything covered in moss, so I immediately freed them from the dirt to take home with me, thinking they would be lovely accents somewhere in our garden. Then a few steps later, we came across scores of bricks, perhaps the remnants of an old building or just a dumping site from long-ago construction. There were hundreds of these beautifully aged bricks that had probably only seen the dappled light of day for decades!

The wheels in my head were spinning for how I could use them. I determined that there were enough to create a border along our butterfly gardens in our side yard. I had dug both of these gardens out by hand, one several years ago and the smaller one just last year. Each season, I need to redefine the eroded edge of the soil from the lawn. I thought the bricks would create a nice definition, and they provide instant patina and grace to this ever-evolving garden. I also love how they compliment the brick of our house. It took several trips to the woods with my sisters to haul enough bricks, and it felt like a treasure hunt! I kept the mossier bricks in the shadier parts of the garden, and even though they have dried out with the later summer heat, they will be revived with the spring rains next season.