Close to The Edge: How to Edge a Lawn


The quality and density of the grass that grows represent important lawn care features. However, another critical feature often goes unnoticed by even the most astute gardeners.

We’re talking about where your grass meets a driveway, pathway, or flower bed.

Because of foot traffic to locations such as a flower bed, the lawn tends to press down towards the object border. Pedestrian traffic along the edges of lawns that meet pathways and walkways experience the same phenomenon. Eventually the grass on the edge of your lawn deteriorates in quality or worse, dies.

Here is the most effective way to edge a lawn.

Install Edging Material

The most effective way to prevent a lawn edge from lowering or becoming disfigured because of constant foot traffic and vehicle wheel impact involves installing edging material. Wood, stone, metal, plastic, and concrete all perform admirably as edging materials. However, stone, plastic, and concrete never run the risk of rot or corrosion, which can diminish the edging performance of wood and metal for you if you live in a humid climate.

Steel provides homeowners with a pliable edging material that easily bends to conform to all types of lawn contours. Width size varies between 75 and 125 millimetres, with each piece of steel edging running about one metre to offer maximum design flexibility. Manufacturers offer a wide variety of colors to give homeowners more design options. Most homeowners opt for classic brown or green steel edging pieces.

Stringing It All Together

To create high-performance edging, you need to gather a rubber mallet, string line, spirit level, and flat head screwdriver. Make sure to trim the lawn along the edges to gain more access to the ground. The rubber mallet comes in handy for pounding the edging pieces into the ground, and the string line, spirit level, and flat head screwdriver ensure you create consistent edging material height. You can vary the size of each edging for design and logistical purposes.

The key to completing a successful edging project is to plan ahead. After you install the edging system, walk around the perimeter of the system to see if the grass needs to be built back up. You might have to add top dressing over grass seeds to get the job done properly. Because one side hangs over lawn edging, using a rotary lawnmower represents the best option for cutting grass along your newly created edging system.

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