Five Aspects of Great Garden Edging
.The look of your garden.
There's little point in putting a cheap plastic edging up if you're more interested in creating a formal garden. The cheap stuff will disintegrate in the sun and cold rather quickly.
Frankly, the heavier the better. It's a lot of work to get one of these edges in properly and it goes much more easily if you have good edging material that doesn't kink or twist on you.
Do remember to include the cost of the stakes you'll need with the edging. Some kits come with it - some don't and you have to pay extra to get them. And you do want them, without stakes the edging will move around with the frost or foot traffic.
The function
If the look is supposed to be hidden, then a regular edging is going to work the best but if you're looking for a "high-end" decorative look, you're better off exploring the use of paving stones as edgers. Forming a small "wall" (only one story tall and ending at ground level) but built in a proper way using a good foundation and weed fabric so the pavers don't move and the weeds don't wriggle between them.
The Warning
I note that creating garden edging that is raised above the level of the lawn means hand trimming grass. It will be impossible to get the mower deck right beside the edging. Raised or slightly raised gardens create more maintenance work than those at ground level
So do look for something that "disappears" along the edge of the garden
The Rustic Look
If you're more interested in a "rustic" look - a country garden look, then you might consider something like this
Ultimate in Edging
The ulitimate in edging is aluminum and this is a lifetime comittment (although quite a bit more expensive).
Edging Tools
The other alternative to garden edging is to keep the lawn trimmed and edged yourself with an edging tool. I have my grandfather's and this kind of tool will last for years with a minimum of care.
There is nothing like a freshly edged lawn and garden to sparkle up the house and boldly proclaim that a gardener lives here.
The tool is essentially a sharpened half-moon on the end of a handle and it is used in a rocking-cutting motion to slice a very thin bit of grass and soil away from the edge of the garden.
Once you get the hang of it, it's a simple and easy way to create a classic, very traditional garden look.
Sources Resource for This Article
Eddging tool.
Aluminum edging
"Disappearing" Edging
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