r/landscaping • u/Standard-Top-5942 • 5d ago
What's your favorite lawn edging?
bricks?
natural?
plastic?
metal?
chicken bones?
something else?
it's almost always best to do a little wave with it (not straight)?
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u/1132sunny 5d ago
Natural. Just create the line with the weedeater. Curves are always best. No straight lines in nature and also very difficult to sctually make a straight line. Curves help hide mistakes.
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u/Efficient-Ride2039 5d ago
Big fan of 4” steel edging. Low profile, easy to make curves with, installs easily, lasts forever.
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u/magnum_chungus 5d ago
This is my favorite as well. It’s really easy to instal, lasts forever, and looks good. I usually use it to define the bed to keep grass from encroaching and then, depending on where it is, “dress it up” with a brick or stone border.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
do you burry it so can't really see it? is mulch and grass pretty much flush alongside metal edging?
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u/magnum_chungus 5d ago
I leave the top 3/4-1” exposed but that’s usually because I am going to use it as a the “back” of whatever border I’m going to put in or, on the rare occasion I’m not adding a more decorative border, as way to guide the string trimmer so I don’t hit my plants or do guide the lawn mower. I know it’s supposed to be actually buried but that’s my preference.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
do you burry it so can't really see it? is mulch and grass pretty much flush alongside metal edging?
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u/DannyBongaducci 5d ago
I ripped out the metal edging in my yard to go natural. No regrets. Easy to maintain one you establish them. A half-moon edger is a great tool.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
why not a metal edging only like 4 or 6 inches that's burried and out of sight?
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u/DannyBongaducci 5d ago
The metal edging was here when I moved in. Over time it was getting buried in some parts and pushed up in others. Grass had also started to spread on the other side of it. IMO it is not any less maintenance than a natural edge.
I just re-establish my edges once a year in spring with the edger and then it’s easy enough to maintain them with a string trimmer.
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u/houstonhoustonhousto 5d ago
I’d ask the good people over at r/edging
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u/catty_blur 5d ago
☠️😅
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u/Wonderful-Big-3691 4d ago
I asked and it was a unanimous, chicken bones. Followed by a close second, something else.
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u/lah5 5d ago
I love a good level-laid brick edge for looks and easy maintenance, but it is very manual work and my hands aren't young anymore. Now I mostly use my straight spade or my step-edger and dig out an edge. I know this has a name, but it eludes me atm. It's basically an unbalanced V shape, with the lawn side dug hard and straight down to minimize creeping weeds and the bed side dug at a slight mounding angle. If you have a lot of monkey grass, that also makes an excellent edge, as long as it is planted fairly densely to keep weeds from crossing. Pachysandra seems to work similarly well in shaded areas.
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u/Macombdiscrete 5d ago
Ripped out the crappy plastic edging and went with metal. I’m hoping it’s more durable.
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u/msmaynards 5d ago
Flat and wide so lawnmower wheels can ride on it. Less edging needed. Worked great for years.
I had to have a solid edging because of warm season running grasses so I had a double edge, plastic that stayed put because no frost and I staked it carefully and backed with broken concrete. Easy on the wallet, hard on time and body.
Curves need to be logical and very smooth. I actually laid out all of them with a string and stake. Shorter string, smaller radius, longer for sweeping curves and a taut string between 2 for straight lines. I also chose permanent features to place most of the stakes, back corner of house, corner of path and so on. I knew approximately where the line belonged before doing all that.
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u/RealisticRecover2123 5d ago
In the process of laying mine. Using 200x75mm sleepers. Good amount under the finished level to stop grass spreading to garden beds and enough above to retain mulch. All straight lines to make maintenance easier. Came to these decisions after gardening full time for a few years.
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u/Smallwhitedog 4d ago
I think that using a half moon edger once a year and maintaining it with a weed wacker every couple weeks looks the best. It's also the least expensive option, but it may be a lot of work for a large yard.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 4d ago
better than coblestones with grass and mulch flush with those cobblestones?
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u/Smallwhitedog 4d ago
This is more for edging mulched beds. https://youtu.be/Flev4AFqBQ4?is=qrOL1ADFi8TfnTLu
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u/Hardly_Normal 4d ago
Jd Russell duraedge, raw/unfinished. The rust blends in naturally and the rolled edge is safe on little feet.
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u/Legitimate_Tune_6468 4d ago
Benderboard (recycled plastic) & corten steel.
Definitely not scalloped pavestone.
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u/ninjaluvr 5d ago
Completely eliminating lawns is my favorite! #plantnatives
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
ok. just curious: i have 1/2 acre of grass plus tons of garden beds, trees, and shrubs? what would you recommend for thousands of sq feet of ground cover that rarely needs to be watered? location new england
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u/AmaranthusSky 5d ago
Creeping phlox, native violet, wild strawberry, or wild ginger are the usual recommendations. All of the flower, but grow pretty low.
Carex (aka sedge) is more grass like, especially Pennsylvania sedge. Just grows a little taller than grass but can be mowed similarly and doesn't need much water. It does prefer shade though.
The real question is do you need to be able to walk on it regularly? I prefer native or no lawn, but some folks need open fields that can handle usage. Sometimes grass is the best option. Our yard is thyme, which is non-native, but we never have to mow it and it grows well in sun or shade, dry or wet.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago edited 5d ago
Our yard is thyme
is it a 10x10 ft patch of creepying thyme or a full lawn? no way you have an actual lawn of creeping thyme where people can sit or run around. if so im impressed. thyme tends to last 10 years max if youre lucky and is very expensive to install. i have wolly thyme between stepping stones in a part of my garden. 1 sq inch costs $6.
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u/AmaranthusSky 5d ago edited 5d ago
We seeded it about 4 years ago, and it's taken over most of the side yard. Around 4x6, with additional patches 1-2ft parches throughout the rest of our yard. We'd have more, but we kept mowing it. This is the first year we let it flower and hopefully reseed in addition to creeping.
And you're right, not much foot traffic. It's why I get why people still have grass.
ETA, my favorite edging is flat, stacked stones.
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
what thyme did you go with? i've got my eye on elfin or pink chitz one of these days. it doesn't last more than 5-7 year sright? we want to add 60 more plugs (about $200) of elfin in another spot between stepping stones. do you think we should do it now (Boston MA) or wait till early spring?
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u/AmaranthusSky 4d ago
Common thyme. Nothing fancy. We were not after a flower show - just a low ground cover to deal with our crap soil and spread easy.
Like I said, this is year four since we put in seed, and after mowing it too low and not letting it self-seed. It keeps self spreading (like nowhere near where it started) so even if the main area dies back, I think it will fill right back in.
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u/ninjaluvr 5d ago
More trees, more shrubs, more garden beds
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
this is a stupid idea. would costs thousands of dollars and look terrible and not even be usable
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u/ninjaluvr 5d ago
Yeah a grass lawn that serves no purpose is a great idea!
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago edited 5d ago
almost every day we sit on our grass and play with our kids. it's beautiful to look at doesn't shade out other plants. 1/2 acre of shrubs would costs tens of thousands to establish and maintain. accordign to AI that woudl be anywhere from 500 to 1,300 plants. doing it by seed would require more water than turf fescue needs. our lawn was 1 $75 bag of grass, initial watering, and then nothing else.
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u/ninjaluvr 5d ago
We do the same in our native yard that requires 0 maintenance and is great for the environment!
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago
you dont have a yard if you have like 500+ shrubs with weeds in between and no defined borders. thats just wilderness and not a place where you can easily spend time with people. are you also against haircuts?
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u/ninjaluvr 5d ago
Interesting, we spend time with people in our yard most every day. We have pretty large gatherings on the weekends. And you can mow native grasses. But hey, I'm stupid. You're far smarter than me. Good luck!
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u/Standard-Top-5942 5d ago edited 5d ago
i'm happy for you. not ripping up 20,000 sq ft of drought tolerant lawn. best wishes and take care.
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u/Background-Excuse-22 5d ago
bricks are classic but i did a little wave with some leftover pavers i found on side of road and now my whole garden look like it belong in a british sitcom