A woman installing 2x4 lumber with 2xEDGE Robins Egg Blue lumber staples.

Stained Wood Garden Edging: A 2x4 Installation Start to Finish

PUBLISHED . > UPDATED .

BY Lisa Brooks.

7 min read.

A 2xEDGE 📐 PROJECT

Project Specs

Project type Garden bed edging around a shed-to-studio conversion
Lumber size 2x4
Lumber type Pressure treated pine
Finish Dark walnut water-based deck stain, same stain used on the adjacent deck
2xEDGE Staple color Robins Egg Blue
Lumber length 10-foot 2x4s
Tools 16-ounce rubber mallet; compound miter saw (could also use a hand saw or circular saw); tape measure; speed square; paint brush
Edging install time About 10 minutes
Total project time About 2.5 hours including buying lumber, staining, cutting, and mulching
Difficulty Easy


The entryway of an artist's studio in a forest with an entryway garden edged with 2x4 lumber stained a dark walnut installed with Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples. The front door is painted to match the edging staples.
Dark walnut stained 2x4 pressure treated lumber with Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples installed around the entryway garden of an artist studio, as featured on BobVila.com

The Project

With our shed-to-studio conversion complete, I built a small deck in front of the patio door and stained it a dark walnut color. It's a rich, warm brown that makes the pressure treated lumber used for the deck look deliberate rather than utilitarian.

When it came time to edge the garden beds along the north and south sides of the studio the decision was easy: use the same dark walnut stain on the edging lumber to tie the whole area together.

The result is stained 2x4 garden edging that looks like it was designed as part of the outdoor space rather than installed as an afterthought.

I chose Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples for this project because the vivid blue against the dark stain adds a high-contrast accent. The blue was inspiring, so much so that I took a staple to my local paint store and had them color match a satin finish exterior paint to use on the front door.

The video above shows the full installation in real time including the staining process. The actual edging install took about 10 minutes.

Project Steps

Step 1: Buy lumber and mulch

I made a trip to the home improvement store closest to me to grab 10-foot pressure treated 2x4s and bags of cedar chip and shredded hardwood mulch. These items are pretty much always available at big box and hardware stores.

Pressure treated 2x4 lumber strapped to the roof of an orange car in a Lowe's parking lot - a straightforward way to get long lengths of lumber home without a truck.
10-foot pressure treated 2x4s strapped to the roof of my car. No truck or delivery fees required. Not sure how to get lumber home? We've got that covered.

Step 2: Stain the lumber

I applied the same dark walnut water-based deck stain to the lumber that I used on the adjacent small deck. I stained the 2x4s before installation which allowed me to coat all four sides cleanly - easier than staining after installation. Once stained, I let the boards dry overnight.

Someone brushing dark walnut deck stain onto a pressure treated 2x4 in preparation to use the lumber as landscape edging.
The same dark walnut stain used on the deck goes onto the 2x4s before installation. Staining before installing means full coverage on all four sides plus the ends and is much easier than trying to stain lumber that's already stapled to the ground.

Step 3: Measure and cut

I created two entryway garden beds on the south side of the studio and another garden bed on the north side. My plan included a number of angle cuts. I used a compound miter saw which let me make clean cuts quickly. You could also use a circular saw or manual saw just as effectively.

Front door entry step and 2x4 edging stained a dark walnut and installed with Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples to contain cedar chip and shredded mulch on entryway garden beds.
2x lumber can be cut with manual tools like a hand saw or power tools like a circular saw. For this project I used a compound miter saw which let me make clean, repeatable cuts quickly.

Step 4: Install with 2xEDGE Staples

With the lumber stained and cut to size, the actual edging install was fast and easy to do. I placed the stained 2x4s on edge along the bed outline and then placed the staples, one at a time, over the lumber and tapped them into place with a 16-ounce rubber mallet.

I used two staples per 10-foot board, one near each end, spaced evenly. No trench digging, no drilling, no screws. The entire installation took about 10 minutes.

A woman installing a Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staple with a rubber mallet.
A Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staple going in over the stained 2x4. The brilliant saturated blue against the dark stain is exactly the contrast the design called for. Installation is one motion - place the staple, tap with a rubber mallet, done.

Step 5: Spread mulch

Because the studio is located in a forest, the beds get some, but not much, full sun. Mostly I'm dealing with dappled light. Therefore, the plan was to lean into ferns and other shade tolerant plants.

I filled the beds with the shredded hardwood mulch to just below the top of the lumber. The mulch will help retain moisture and will add nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.

I spread the cedar chips outside of the edged beds to create a path around the studio that keeps feet out of mud when it rains. The chips will also help keep the studio walls and deck clean. A bonus: the contrasting colors of the mulch add visual interest.

A person dumping shredded mulch from a bag into an entryway garden bed edged with 2x4 lumber stained a dark walnut installed with Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples.
The soil around the studio hadn't been planted in before and was pretty depleted. Adding shredded cedar mulch will amend the soil; topping it up every year or two will create richer, more plant-friendly soil over time.

Project Notes

Staining pressure treated lumber

Pressure treated lumber takes stain well. Water or oil-based exterior deck stain penetrates the wood and adds a rich tone while providing additional moisture protection. Allow the stain to dry fully before installation. Staining all sides and the ends before installing offers the best protection.

Woman applying dark walnut deck stain to the end of a pressure treated 2x4 lumber board with a sponge applicator. Previously stained edging boards and the artist studio deck are visible in the background.
Staining the end grain before installation. End grain absorbs more moisture than the face or edge of a board so coating it thoroughly is worth the extra minute.

The color story

The Robins Egg Blue staple color came first. Once I saw how the vivid blue looked against the dark walnut stain I wanted to carry that color into the rest of the space. So, I took a staple to my local Sherwin-Williams and had them custom mix an exterior door and trim paint to match it exactly.

The dark walnut stain anchors everything. The Robins Egg Blue connects the staples to the door. The dark gray/brown siding sits between the two and lets both colors read clearly. It's a three-color palette that came together because of a landscape staple.

Open can of Sherwin-Williams exterior door and trim paint custom mixed to match the Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staple color, sitting in front of the freshly painted artist studio door.
The Sherwin-Williams exterior door and trim paint color matched to the Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staple exactly. The staple went to the paint store as the color sample. What came back is what you see on the door.

Installing lumber above grade

The lumber edging is installed on edge above grade so that no part of the lumber is buried in soil. Combined with no screw, rebar, or nail holes, this is the installation approach that gives 2x4 edging the longest useful life. (See Why above-grade installation matters for how long the lumber lasts.)

A person using a 16 ounce rubber mallet to install a Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staple over 2x4 lumber stained a dark walnut to be used as garden edging.
Using pressure treated 2x lumber or naturally rot resistant cedar or redwood lumber gives your wood edging a good chance at longevity. Using a water-based or oil-based exterior stain not only adds to your design possibilities, it can also add longevity. (See Best Wood for Garden Edging: What Actually Lasts.)

Project time

The project specs show 2.5 hours total but only 10 minutes of that was the edging installation. The rest of the time was pent on a trip to the store, staining and drying time, measuring and cutting lumber, and mulching. The edging itself, from placing the first board to tapping in the last staple, was a 10-minute job.

An artist studio entryway before and after. Before: the front door is white and there are no garden beds. After: the front door is Robins Egg Blue to match Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples and 2x4 edging stained a dark walnut contains a planted and mulched entryway garden.
Adding garden edging, mulch and plants would have improved the studio entryway no matter what. The coordinated dark walnut stained deck and wood edging, and the matching color of the door and staples, take these improvements to a new level.

The Finish Line

The stained edging ties the deck, the studio, and the garden bed together in a way that pre-stained or natural lumber wouldn't. Dark walnut stain on pressure treated 2x4 is one of the better combinations available; it looks expensive (it isn't) and it holds up. The Robins Egg Blue 2xEDGE Staples make the hardware a feature rather than something to minimize.

After the edging and mulching were done in went the plants. Once established they'll fill the bed and the dark edging will frame them nicely.

An artist studio situated in a forest with wood edging stained dark walnut to contain garden beds. Contrasting cedar mulches - chipped and shredded - add drama and complete the garden design.
Adding garden edging, mulch and plants would have improved the studio entryway no matter what. The coordinated dark walnut wood edging and matching color of the door and staples takes these improvements to the next level.

Ready to Build Your Own Stained Wood Edging?

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Photo Credit📸

Photos included in this article were taken by 2xEDGE and are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

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