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Garden edging creates a visual as well as physical barrier between the lawn and garden bed. Most edging extends slightly above and below the soil surface, helping to prevent grass and weeds from encroaching on the flowers or vegetables. These garden barriers also add color, charm, elegance, and/or symmetry to the house and yard.
Use edging to highlight gardens in front of or alongside the house, along the perimeter of the lawn, or to create stand-alone gardens. These natural or synthetic barriers can also be installed along the bottom of picket and chain link fencing to keep the neighbor's grasses from encroaching on a garden. Place edging in a circle around tree trunks to hold in dirt, mulch, and decorative plants. -
Garden edging can be as simple as digging a shallow V-shaped trench along the edges of the garden. Dense spreading flowers like impatients and flocks can be planted to form a living barrier between grass and the rest of the floral landscaping. Rows of pebbles, irregular stones or chunks of rock can be used to create an organic transition from garden to lawn.
Professional landscapers and large home stores carry a wide variety of garden edging styles and colors. Edging can be made of plastic, metal, wood, stone or brick. Flat plastic and metal edging offer a low profile, unobtrusive option for edging gardens. Natural stone or brick can be used to create low or high walls. Some faux brick edging is molded into an L-shape. The flat section inset allows the wheels of the lawn mower to travel easily over it. This L-shape edging can be made with natural stone and brick as well, and eliminates the need for edge trimming.
The easiest lawn edging options to install are short lengths in wood, plastic or metal that have built in stakes or molded teeth. These edge pieces can be quickly hammered in with a few light taps of a rubber mallet. They can be merely decorative with scrolled fencing designs or made of more solid material in wood or faux stone looks. -
Edging provides an enclosed space for the garden, holding in the dirt, fertilizer, and mulch and preventing erosion. It also helps keep the lawn from infiltrating garden beds, and saves the gardener time weeding and pulling out stray grass.
The edging makes it easier to mow the lawn along garden lines, and gives a neat, finished look to your landscaping. Using landscape edging to highlight your flowers, shrubs, and trees adds value to your home. -
Keep in mind that installing edging can be time-consuming and labor intensive. Stone and brick work must be inset straight and level. Consider hiring a professional landscaper to do more complex edging projects.
Choose designs that suit your home's style and coloring. Separate gardens that are in the same yard do not need to have identical edging, but should be in complementary materials and styles. Be sure to buy enough material so that you have uniform edging along a large garden. Select deeper, solid barrier designs for better grass and weed control. -
An extra barrier of landscape fabric can help with weed and grass encroachment. Use strips of fabric along the inside of brick or stone walls, then pack dirt against it to seal the cracks. When digging the trench for stone or brick edging, lay down landscape fabric, then sand or gravel, then the bricks. This keeps out the grass and makes it easier to level the edging.
Use a garden hose or spray paint to lay out the entire pattern before digging. Dig trenches for stone and bricks 2 inches wider than edging, to allow room for adjustments. After arranging edging, pack dirt firmly against edging to hold it in place. Too much loose dirt and the bricks will shift and tilt.
