How to Dig a Landscape Edge

Use a garden spade to dig a trench for your landscape edge.

A landscaping edge is a trench that borders a garden or a flower bed. This type of landscaping edge helps to keep mulch in your garden, and weeds and grass out. A landscaping edge can be mowed over easily. If grass creeps into the trench, it is easy to remove. Although a trench landscaping edge is less expensive than plastic or stone edging, it can be more difficult to maintain. Proper maintenance begins with correct installation.

Things You'll Need

• Garden hose
• Baking flour
• Spade
• Branch loppers

Instructions

1. Outline your landscaping edge with a garden hose. Leave the garden hose in place for a few days and observe it to determine if the garden bed is suitable for your landscape. Change the outline of the bed until you are satisfied with it.

2. Outline the border of your landscaping edge with baking flour. Baking flour is an environmentally friendly alternative to spray paint that will not leave chemicals in the ground that can harm the plants in your flower bed or garden.

3. Insert a spade vertically into the ground 6 inches outside of the edge of your bed. Allow the spade to cut into the soil to a depth of 6 inches.

4. Angle the spade at a 45 degree and make a second cut with the spade into the ground at the border of the flower bed. The trench should slope at a 45 degree angle from the edge of the garden bed down to the 6 inch deep cut that you made with your spade.

5. Cut all roots from the trench using branch loppers to make your trench uniform.

References

• "Lasagna Gardening;" Patricia Lanza; 1998
• Utah State University: Tips for Edging my Lawn
• Texas A&M University Extension: Building a Raised Bed Garden

Resources

• Our Garden Gang:Lasagna Gardening 101