"Railroad", or more accurately, landscape ties make good bed edging or framing. There are several ways of connecting these. You can pre-drill them to take extra long nails or rebar used in concrete work) pounded through the holes and into the ground. You can pre-drill them to take extra long nails or rebar pounded through the holes and into the ground. Rebar is reinforcing steel used in concrete work. It comes in various diameters and lengths, has a rough finish and rusts nicely. These types of connectors are needed at corners and where two ties connect in a butt joint. Alternate your ends so that every other one is exposed on each side of a corner. If you really want to do it right, each corner can be notched out half its depth and then drilled and nailed.
If precision drilling is not your cup of tea, you can connect ties with stakes, pounded into the ground, and nailed to each tie on the inside face of the bed. Landscape ties are typically a nominal six inches square (15.24 cm) - actually five and a half inches (13.9 cm) in true dimensions.
Most DIY stores and garden centers also carry a smaller "landscape timber" (your local store may call it something else) that is typically about three by four inches (7.6 x 10 cm). These are less expensive than the larger ties, but it takes more of them to achieve any height. Connections for these are the same as for ties.
If you use ties or timbers, first level the area where you want to put them and then dig a shallow trench so that half the first tie is below grade. This will help stabilize things and prevent your nice mix from washing out from beneath the edging.
There are alternatives to treated lumber. A relatively new material is available in most places. Composit Plastic Lumber comes in various sizes and can be worked with normal woodworking tools. It is more expensive than treated lumber, but less expensive than cedar or redwood, the only two woods with a bit of natural rot resistance. It's primarily marketed for building decks, but should work as bed edging, too.
Logs are another alternative, for the more informal parts of the garden, or woodland gardens. If you happen to have some on hand from getting a tree cut down, they make a handy and inexpensive edging.
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