Define your garden with edging
When planning a new perennial bed or vegetable patch, one of the first things to decide is how to define the perimeter of your space. What makes that area “the garden”? You could just start planting, defining it by the plants you place or the soil you have tilled. But you may want a separation that clearly shows where the garden starts and ends.
Why give your garden beds an edge?
Giving your garden an edge, whether it is implied visually or with a physical barrier, accomplishes many things. For instance, edging can:
- Give garden beds a finished look.
- Deter lawn grasses from invading.
- Hold mulch, soil and path materials, such as gravel, in place.
- Separate the path from the garden.
Choosing the best edging material
Some materials and techniques work better than others. It all depends on your garden style, budget, construction ability (or lack thereof), available time for maintenance and personal preferences. We asked four landscape professionals from across the United States to share their favorite edging materials and tips for installation and maintenance. Read on to see what they had to say.
Go-to garden edging techniques from the pros
Natural stone garden edging
Keegan Lare, Ted Lare Design Build, Inc. | Cumming, IA
Keegan loves the look and durability of natural stone edging. He rarely installs steel edging because it tends to heave in the Midwestern winter freeze/thaw cycles and must be pounded back into the ground each spring.
How to install & maintain natural stone garden edging
Edging made of stone, blocks or pavers might be best installed by a professional, but handy gardeners can do it, too. Keegan recommends stones that are 6 to 8 inches tall and wide to prevent grass roots from growing under or over.
Installation tip
Set them into a 2-inch-deep base of a ⅜-inch aggregate, such as gravel (don’t use sand only — the stone will be more likely to settle or sink) at just above ground level so you can run a mower over the top for easy maintenance.
Cut garden edge
Tera Boeauf, Tera’s Gardens, LTD | Basalt, CO
When it comes to edging, Tera prefers to cut in an edge instead of installing one. She notes that metal and plastic edging can be painful on knees, feet and paws if you step wrong as you are working. Another bonus to the cut edge? You’re not locked in to a certain shape — you can change the dimensions of your garden at any time. She believes installing a physical edge is pointless as a weed barrier around plants, and in the long run creates more work.
Installation and maintenance tips for a cut garden bed edge
Using a half-moon edging tool, Tera cuts straight down 3 to 4 inches into the soil, leaving a vertical edge on the lawn side and a shallow trench that slopes back into the bed. She does this in the spring, and again if needed throughout the rest of the growing season. Since there is nothing for grass to grow under, over or in between, maintenance is simple — just mow right up to the edge.
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Steel garden edging
Janie McCabe, M.J. McCabe Garden Design | Northford, CT
For customer installations, Janie prefers steel edging because it makes sharp, straight lines for formal beds but can also bend to create flowing curves and organic shapes.
Installation & maintenance tips for steel edging
Janie uses 4-inch-wide steel edging that is 3⁄16 or ½ inch thick in 10- or 16-foot lengths, anchored to the ground with steel stakes about every 6 feet. She positions it in the ground 3 inches deep, leaving the top inch exposed.
This makes a crisp edge that keeps most lawn grass roots from encroaching into the bed from below or creeping over the top. Use 6-inch-wide edging to deter more aggressively rooted plants. It’s easy to mow close to the edging or tidy up with a string trimmer.
Welded steel garden edging
Lisa Bauer, Chartreuse Landscape Design | Seattle, WA
Lisa exclusively uses welded steel for its sharp look and durability. She likes how the metal edging creates strong geometric shapes in the landscape that are softened by billowing masses of plants. If you live in a wet region like the Pacific Northwest, she recommends avoiding wood as it will rot in time or may have chemicals if treated.
Installation & maintenance tips for welded steel edging
Welded steel is professionally installed, with angle-iron stakes welded to the edging on site. This way the stakes are positioned where needed to securely anchor curves or corners, and sometimes embedded in concrete. It is custom cut to fit so there are no seams.
Lisa says that the shorter the edging piece, the more likely it is to fall over, pop out and allow grass and weeds into a bed. She recommends that you use the longest panels you can find for best results.
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