Define your garden with edging
When planning a new perennial bottom or vegetable patch , one of the first things to decide is how to define the margin of your space . What makes that area “ the garden ” ? You could just lead off planting , defining it by the plants you place or the stain you have till . But you may need a separation that clear shows where the garden starts and ends .
give your garden an edge , whether it is imply visually or with a physical barrier , carry through many things . For instance , abut can :
Choosing the best edging material
Some materials and techniques work better than others . It all depends on your garden stylus , budget , construction power ( or lack therefrom ) , available clock time for maintenance and personal taste . We asked four landscape professionals from across the United States to share their preferent edging material 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 loves the spirit and durability of born stone edging . He rarely instal brand edge because it tends to heave in the Midwestern winter halt / thaw bicycle 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 well establish by a professional , but handy gardeners can do it , too . Keegan recommends stones that are 6 to 8 inch magniloquent and wide to forestall grass roots from growing under or over .
fix them into a 2 - column inch - deep base of a ⅜-inch aggregate , such as gravel ( do n’t use moxie only — the stone will be more likely to root or slump ) at just above ground level so you may run a lawn mower over the top for prosperous maintenance .
Cut garden edge
When it fare to border , Tera choose to cut in an edge instead of installing one . She notes that metal and credit card edging can be painful on knees , feet and paws if you tread wrong as you are go . Another fillip to the cut edge?You’re not lock away in to a certain physical body — you may exchange the dimension of your garden at any fourth dimension . She believes install a forcible sharpness is pointless as a weed roadblock around plants , and in the long run create more work .
Using ahalf - lunar month abut tool , Tera cuts flat down 3 to 4 inches into the soil , leaving a perpendicular edge on the lawn side and a shallow oceanic abyss that slop back into the bed . She does this in the leaping , and again if needed throughout the balance of the rise season . Since there is nothing for pot to acquire under , over or in between , sustainment is simple-minded — just mow right up to the sharpness .
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Steel garden edging
For customer installing , Janie prefer brand edging because it make sharp , straight lines for formal beds but can also bend to create flowing curve and organic form .
Installation & maintenance tips for steel edging
Janie use 4 - inch - wide-cut blade edging that is 3⁄16 or ½ inch thick in 10- or 16 - foot lengths , drop anchor to the ground with steel stakes about every 6 feet . She positions it in the reason 3 inch deep , leaving the top inch exposed .
This stimulate a crisp border that keeps most lawn grass roots from encroaching into the bed from below or creeping over the top . apply 6 - column inch - wide edging to deter more aggressively rooted plants . It ’s easy to cut down nigh to the edging or tidy up up with a string trimmer .
Welded steel garden edging
Lisa only uses weld brand for its acuate expression and durability . She likes how the metal edging make strong geometric shapes in the landscape painting that are softened by heave masses of flora . If you live in a wet neighborhood like the Pacific Northwest , she recommends avoiding forest as it will moulder in clock time or may have chemicals if treated .
weld steel is professionally put in , with angle - iron stakes welded to the edging on site . This way the stakes are lay where needed to securely ground curves or corners , and sometimes plant in concrete . It is custom trim to agree so there are no seams .
Lisa says that the shorter the adjoin piece , the more probable it is to fall over , pop out and grant weed and weeds into a bed . She recommend that you use the tenacious panels you may find for practiced results .
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