Natural stone is one of many types of landscaping blocks available.
Landscaping blocks are a simple way to dramatically change the landscape around a house. Retaining walls, patios and pavement edgers are three of the most common ways to use landscaping blocks, but their uses are limitless. You can find landscaping blocks in as many materials, and styles as you can ways to use them.
Brick
Brick is a traditional material often used to build walls, patios and sidewalks. Because brick is readily available, it often costs less than other similar products. It’s even possible to find old bricks for free at construction sites. You can remove the old mortar before reusing bricks in landscaping projects, but it isn't essential; any mortar that remains on them just adds to their uniqueness. Brick is normally set with mortar, but sand compacted between the bricks is enough to set the bricks in place when they’re set as sidewalk and patio pavers. Red brick is the traditional color, but many other colors are available to complement any exterior landscape design.
Stone
Natural or manufactured stone landscaping blocks make good retaining walls. The thin blocks stack together with a thin layer of mortar to create one-of-a-kind walls. The mortar often isn’t visible, giving the stone landscaping blocks a traditional dry stack look. Natural stone products cost more, but they offer a wider variety of colors and textures within the stones. Manufactured stones are lighter, which makes them easier to work with. Manufactured stone products have finished edges on three sides, which makes building corners easier for the do-it-yourselfer. This product also has available wall cap stones to set on the top of the wall to give it a finished look.
Concrete
Concrete landscaping blocks are no longer the rectangular gray blocks of the past. Available in shades to coordinate with any landscape and house color, concrete landscaping blocks come in varying degrees of face texture roughness. Often concrete landscaping blocks come with connecting features, such as the rounded edges of bullet edgers, that make putting the concrete block project together easier. Wall blocks often have lips on the back side to help secure the blocks in place in a retaining wall, as well as openings inside the block to insert rebar for additional stability. The low cost of concrete makes it an affordable option for retaining walls, patio pavers and edgers for garden walkways.
