Before edging your garden bed, ensure you have the right materials and carefully plan how to create the edge. Garden edging is a great way to make your flower bed pop with its various styles, shapes, and designs. It’s also an effective way to keep unruly plants in check.
Garden beds are the focal points of any landscaping project, and proper edging can enhance their overall appearance while providing a clear boundary. Edging not only adds a polished look but also helps in preventing grass and weeds from encroaching into your garden. Line the edge of the bed with bricks, tight against the grass line, close to one another but not quite touching, leaving a gap for the sand.
There are several ways to edge a garden bed, including using bricks or stones, spacing them evenly along the edge of the bed, and ensuring that the top of each one is even with the soil surface. Bed edging adds a clear sign to the observer that the gardener cares about the details. The first step is to cut the edge, which can be done using a garden hose to mark desired lines.
To prepare a garden bed, first put a rough edge on with a spade to define the garden. Cut the outline of the edge along your flower bed, using either a shovel or an edge hog tool. The simplest option is to create a natural edge with an unlined trench. After cutting the edge, top the garden bed with mulch.
Edging can be done in various ways, such as burying frames made of plastic or metal or building a brushwood fence. By following these steps, you can create perfect edges for your garden beds and borders, keeping everything looking neat and clean.
📹 CLEAN EDGES using ONE simple tool / Edge Beds like a PRO
Natural edges are the the best way to separate the lawn from mulch beds and look absolutely fantastic when done correctly!
How do you edge a garden without an edger?
In order to create curved cuts, it is necessary to set the tool at a distance of two inches from the desired pathway or edging. The user should then stand on the tool in order to create the desired grass texture.
Do garden beds need to be lined?
Liners are essential for preventing burrowing pests like voles, moles, gophers, groundhogs, and groundhogs. They suppress weeds under raised beds, but only necessary for beds under 6 inches. Liners also prevent toxins from absorbing from contaminated soil and can be used to regulate soil temperature. They can extend the growing season by a week or two when used with treated or reclaimed wood. They also prevent soil from washing away from the bottom when raised beds or on patios or decks.
How do I keep my garden edges?
Maintaining a lawn edge involves six simple steps: redefine edges with a half-moon edging tool, work around the lawn, insert the blade downwards to cut away slivers of grass, create a drop, trim edges regularly, hold edging shears upright for the best cut, work along the edge, and rake up cut grass. Well-maintained edges look neat and prevent grass from encroaching into borders. Cut lawn edges, like those at RHS Garden Hyde Hall, help define borders. Redefining edges annually makes trimming easier and edging shears with long or telescopic handles are useful for tall gardeners.
Do I need to edge my garden?
Garden edging is a crucial component of garden design, providing clear lines and edges that enhance the appearance and ease of maintenance. It helps preserve soil structure, which is crucial for healthy plant growth. If soil structure is compromised, plants’ roots struggle to obtain necessary nutrients, leading to stunted growth and plant-related diseases. Metal garden edging helps retain soil particles by creating a barrier that prevents erosion, preventing soil compacting and preventing weeds from damaging flower beds and paths.
Edging also lowers garden maintenance costs. Professional landscape care can be expensive, but metal garden edging can create a professional-looking landscape without straining your budget. It creates precise lines, eliminates costly mowing and trimming, and reduces weed growth. Additionally, metal garden edging is non-toxic, easy to clean, and offers exceptional weather resistance.
In summary, garden edging is essential for maintaining a clean, organized, and visually appealing landscape. It helps preserve soil structure, reduces maintenance costs, and ensures a professional-looking landscape without straining your budget.
What can I use if I don’t have an edger?
String trimmers are capable of trimming or redefining edges on hardened surfaces, preexisting landscape beds, and around tree rings. To edge a lawn with an edger, it is essential to select a sharp blade, activate the device, and guide it along the edges of the lawn. It is also crucial to maintain a consistent pace, adhere to the natural contours of the landscape, and ensure a precise edge. Finally, it is important to remove any debris that may have been created during the process. This method ensures a clean and even cut in the lawn.
What material is used for edging?
Stone is an ancient material used for building garden structures, making it a suitable choice for garden beds. Large cut stones can be used without mortar, but it can be heavy and may cause back pain. Timber is a great material for garden edging, especially with railway sleepers, which are long-lasting, easy to install, and can be easily replaced if damaged. If railway sleepers are unavailable, treated pine planks can be used as an inexpensive alternative.
If you’re unsure about installing treated pine, you can use the Bricks+Agent platform to find a qualified tradesman. Timber garden edging ideas can also be found on various home and garden websites. Both stone and timber are suitable for different garden structures and can be found online for inspiration.
What is the easiest edging to install?
Plastic edging is a cost-effective and easy-to-install option, available in no-dig panels or long rolls. Its top typically sticks out of the ground, making it less subtle than metal. Plain black plastic edging is available at garden centers and home improvement stores, with regular and heavy-duty thicknesses. For durability, opt for thicker options. Rubber edging is similar in appearance and function to plastic edging. Both options are available in regular and heavy-duty thicknesses.
Should I line my garden bed with plastic?
Plastic sheets or tarps are commonly used as liners in raised garden beds to provide protection and insulation. However, they may not allow proper water drainage, leading to issues like root rot. To avoid this, use plastic as a liner on the inner sides of the bed, but use a more permeable material like landscape fabric or wire mesh for the bottom. For herb or vegetable gardens, ensure the specific type of plastic used is food-grade.
To line a garden bed, choose the perfect spot and line the bottom with your chosen material. If using mesh wire or landscape fabric, secure it with landscape staples and ensure it fits against the bed’s walls. If using landscape fabric, create a tight barrier against weeds by folding the excess material upward on the inside walls. Once the liner is set up, add soil and plants to the bed.
What is the best edging material for flower beds?
Rubber Rubber is a popular choice for lawn edging, suitable for use in conjunction with fences and flower beds, and can also be employed in the context of decorative landscaping borders.
What can I use as garden edging?
Garden edging ideas include brick, timber, railway sleepers, neat lawn, and gravel edging. These traditional and modern options can enhance the overall look of your garden. Edging rolls are an easy way to add edging to your garden, with pre-connected wooden pieces that make installation easy. They are versatile and can be customized with paint for a personal touch. Brick edging is a classic style that still looks great today. Timber edging is another option, while railway sleepers are a neat and decorative option.
Gravel edging is another option for defining flower bed borders, separating lawns from the garden, or adding a decorative touch to outdoor spaces. These edging ideas can be used to define flower beds, maintain lawn separation, or add a decorative touch to your outdoor space.
What should I line my garden bed with?
Wide-mesh hardware cloth, stainless steel mesh, landscape fabric, burlap sack, or newspaper/cardboard can be used to line the bottom of raised garden beds. These materials keep weeds and burrowing animals out, but allow earthworms to pass through. Earthworms are nature’s gardeners, aerating and enriching soil for plants. Staple the cloth to the bed frame during construction and ensure it remains in place for years to come. This durable material is designed to prevent burrowing animals from affecting the bed frame’s functionality.
📹 How I edge my garden beds | The Impatient Gardener
Here’s how I edge my garden beds. Some affiliate links may appear. I may make a small commission if you purchase through …
I wish I could put my grass clods in the compost. We have Bermuda grass. When I made a new extension to my garden this fall I put all of the sod in a place that wants to wash away in heavy rain along with some dirt that came out with it. Your soil is so easy to dig in. I know you’ve worked hard to get it that way and you wish you had less sand. I have SO many tree roots and rocks to dig out. Great looking edging. I never got mine done when I added to that bed. I’ll pay for that next Spring when I need to do it. Got some bricks from the house that was being torn down next door along with dozens of plants. But then came the flu, a death in the family and Christmas sooo…
Gotta be honest – I thought “a 9 minute article on edging”? But what great info!!!. I usually end up with stuff in my hair somehow… but I’ve got some pruners like yours that my Dad (long gone now) had. In fact I have a hole punch I need to get repaired somehow. I digress…. Yes, doing the edges is bar none the best thing you can do. Absolutely. Thanks – great info! 😁
I always loved getting on the ground to plant, even weed, because i coud get my hands in the soil and also the smell of the soil was like the best thing in the world..now im 78 and my body with a bad back doesnt allow getting down (its really the getting back up thats not possible!) Is out of the question..but i still do planting in raised beds and tubs thankfully..thank u for all ur wonderful and informative articles..ur voice is very calming and ur laid back manner is appreciated..
Thanks for Erin for doing this article. The good news…manually I do it the same way. The bad news is now I’m going to spring for the edger attachment for my Honda Rototiller. I was hoping you had a better way but think it will be worth the investment in the long run. Love your down to earth..not perfect..real time style that coms across so genuine in your articles.
Nothing better than a cleanly edged bed! For lifting the cut-edged sod (refuse,) I use a garden fork. Once on the fork, you can bang the sod on the ground to rid it of excess soil before composting. A question: when cutting the lawn & especially the newly made edge, how do you keep your lawn mower wheels from dropping into the bed when you mow? Do you mulch to a height so the mower stays level?
Love the look of edging and I’ve been edging for years usually all on the ground with only a hand edger and pair of scissors 🤪 but with my aging years approaching I need a good start like the edger you showed today👏 but I’ll have to admit getting on the ground with my hands in the soil is so relaxing and satisfying for me (it just distributes the neighbors seeing a older women crawling on the ground 🤣) Happy Mothers Day
You ask for article suggestions, so here is one. I realize yours’ is a gardening website, but I would love a quick aside on your beautiful Newfies. I grew up with St. Bernards, which is another unconventional breed choice. I’d love to know what got you into the breed, why two, where you got them, their individual temperaments, how you keep them cool in the summer and anything else you’d love to fill us in on!
Erin, you forgot to mention one of the prime features of shaping your edging like this: besides creating a dry, dirt ‘face’ to the root area and stopping the roots from crossing-over into the beds – when the lawn mower wheels slip over & into the created ‘trough’, the blades ‘scalp’ the outermost edge of the grass and this also prevents the grass from infiltrating into the beds.
Erin, could you do a article on your indoor started dahlias before spring planting? I’m in my first season with dahlias, inspired by your previous articles. Where do you store them right now, before planting? Are they all in your temporary greenhouse? With the cold temps are they growing? I overbought and have 5 rubbermaid tubs in my living room with over 30 tubers potted up. I am watering them and pinching them back as they grow. When should they go in the ground? Is there any easier way to start indoors. Space is a problem.
Thanks, I’m getting too old for shovels, thank you very much. I have hand edged my beds until last year when I got too ill to do it. This year they look awful! If I can ever get over this mess I’ve picked up this year, I will see about one of those clipper thingies you used. Once I’ve edged that will be so much better than the husband’s current method which is plastic edging. It pops out and warps all the time. I can’t use shovels of any kind because of neuropathy in my feet, so sitting down is always nice too. (Grin) Your demos are always welcome. Stay safe.
Oh Erin this article is right on time for me. This is the edging concept that I like instead of pavers. I can’t wait to do this just waiting on some decent consistent weather here in zone 6. We broke a record low a few days ago in the 20’s in freaking May. Still have some low 30 temps coming up. Sorry for the rant😊 Happy gardening!!!
Loved your edging…at 73 years of age and still very passionate about my “yard” I have a couple of tips that keeping a home that was built in 1900 that today fits into the typical “farm house” style was in the day just the most comfortable home in the southern states…high ceilings, big windows and wrap-around porch. A must for me, being that I am a small woman was to find tools that help me do my work and does not poop me out too quickly. Funny thing, the thing I do the most and had never given much thought to is weeds…I have lots of weeds and getting in there among the young seedlings and tender things that come up in the spring is important to deal with as later in the summer, its just almost impossible, as the heat and humidity severely limits the length one can work outside before heat strokes! I find having a kids plastic snow sled is absolutely essential for me…the one for 3 kids…it has a long rope to pull it by and is the perfect thing for having at your side as you pull grass and weeds…the shoulder is saved from upward movements and it can hold 3 times the amount of a bucket or wheel barrow. I keep it in my shed and load all the tools and fertilizer I will be using, pull to my work area and it usually gets piled high in about 3 hours time, then its ready for another round in the afternoon…then l load it up and take all the tools back when l am done. Its great for moving straw bales or bags of mulch, compost, etc. and lastly, if you don’t live in Florida, your grandkids can use if in the snow!
Really enjoying your approach to gardening and your website has been very helpful to me. I’m a midwest gardener zone 4b so short season. I have doing the same kind of edging last couple years but your tips on the tools have been really helpful. Please keep taking us on your gardening journey this year, I look forward to it!
Thank you for the article! I have article idea, maybe a little random: all about geraniums. It seems like there are so many different kinds of geraniums, how do we know which are for outside or inside, how to keep them looking happy and flowering inside and outside, etc. I am growing some white geraniums from seed and I am looking forward to them, thinking they will go outside in containers then back inside for the winter?
Great article and explanation! I feel exactly the same about the satisfaction we get with newly edged beds, and it gives us time to meditate and think with our hands in the dirt! Love your articles! I’m so frustrated with our cold weather in Northwest Indiana! I just want to get out and be in the garden, so I’m doing it vicariously through your articles! 😊
Such a crisp, finished look. Good advice and nice to see some tool recommendations. AND nice to see you in short sleeves – guessing you are having some good spring weather. By the way, that bed seems to be at the bottom of a slight slope and benefits from water coming downhill. A hardscape edge would prevent it from getting extra rainwater. Good choice to keep it naturally edged.
You DID answer my questions on edging! Thanks Erin! I’ve been hankerin for one of them edgers… looks like Ryobi now makes a battery edger – but will it be strong enough? Hmmmmmmm I’m gonna check it out. I’ve been pretty impressed with the lithium battery systems – we have a battery chain saw that works pretty good. Thanks again Jennie
I have never edged a garden bed. Would you like to come across the big pond and show me how to do it ? Could you bring your tools with to please. Thanks Erin, I do realize I’m going to have to do it, but oh my good lord it’s going to be hard, and if I do manage to get down to the ground I may never get back up. Since I have no edging tools and I’m on a limited,very limited budget what would be the best tool to purchase? While I don’t mind paying for something that I will get a lot of use from, like for the rest of my life, I would like to know before I make the purchase that I will be able to use it for the rest of my life. So any suggestions for a one time purchase? Or like I said before, you could just come across the big pond and show me how, ( do it) for me. I enjoy your articles Erin, thank you and keep them coming ? Oh I have a question, when can I put my leggy dahlias outside? I started them inside and they are supper leggy, how cold is too cold for them to go outside? If I covered them at night would that help? They need to be out of my house and I probably set them back more than I would have just planting them in the ground. Thoughts? Thank you 💚🙃
Thank you for this. Two questions. One, I have a manual rotary edger. Is it worthless? And two, I would like to widen my flower bed, but I have sprinklers for lawn that put out a whole lot more water than the sprinklers for the flowers. I don’t want to have to reconfigure my sprinklers this season. Could I simply curve the flower bed into the lawn car in between the sprinklers? Thanks and I love your down-to-earth approach. You’ve now outpaced garden answer as my favorite garden Youtuber! 🙂
Very informative, thank you! I learned a lot about edging (that angle thing was totally new to me!) and the different tools you can use. I think I can do this and actually feel like I know what I’m doing now; time to buy tools! This is something I really need to tackle this year. We’ve got that terrible grass that relentlessly invades into everything… unfortunately it was here when we moved in. :/
Love your articles Erin! Wondering if you have any suggestions, or can point me to a site, on organic eradication of fire ants. Several years ago, before I planted vegetables, I had the garden sprayed with harsh chemicals that did reduce the numbers of ants significantly. I now garden in Big Bag Beds and raised planters and pots so as not to have direct contact with that soil, but the ants have found their way into my Big Bag Beds. I do not want to have the harsh chemicals sprayed again, if it can be helped. The ants don’t seem to harm the garden, but they do harm the gardener and take the enjoyment out of living in that space.
Just what I was looking for Question, I have a strip of gravel that is the result of having a French Drain installed a few years ago. I find it very difficult to try and edge it to keep the grass, weeds, etc. out of the gravel, any tips on how to keep the green stuff out of my gravel? The gravel runs along a sidewalk so it is one side that needs “beautifying”. I’ve tried my own ideas but they don’t work, ever. Thank you