Common Landscape Questions.... Edging

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Edging 

What is a good kind of landscape edging? 

If you could invent the perfect landscape edging you would probably never have to work again.

Natural Edging: This is where the edge between the turf and planting bed is cut down 3-4” and then tapered back into the planting area.  This creates a pocket to hold the mulch in the bed.

Works great but needs to be maintained by trimming with a string trimmer and really should be re-cut with a shovel when ever mulch is added to maintain the “pocket” as well as keeping a clean edge and neat transition between the turf and planting bed.

Plastic edging: This is commonly the 4” black plastic edge with the ¾” black tube showing between the turf and planting bed.. It has a nice clean look when installed properly but, as is common with most edging, it will tend to “frost heave” during the freeze-thaw cycles (common in the Kansas weathers), then get hit by the mowers.  If it does frost heave, you are stuck with pulling up all the edging and re-digging it. If you don’t, it will become mower bait.

Most of the problems with plastic edging are due to installation problems and purchasing the wrong product.  Don’t purchase plastic edging that has been rolled up so it is easier to ship from China! You will never get it into the “sexy curves” you need to make it look great; instead it will look wavy and really quite bad.  Installation is also a problem. The plastic tubing should be the only thing you see after installation. You should not see any of the ”vertical web” of the edging. You should be able to run the edge of the mower along it without risking damage to the edging. It is edging- not a mulch retainer!  The ability to retain the mulch should come from the “pocket” created… see Natural edging above.  The other key that seems to help with the “frost heave” is to drive the edging stakes (...yes you should have steel edging stakes… and no they probably did not come with that “roll of edging”) These stakes should not be driven vertically thru the lip at the bottom edge of the edging. We have found that if you drive these stakes into the vertical web of the edging and drive them horizontally it will help with the frost heave problem (noone will propbably tell you that in the directions but it is true).  Not sure how a piece of black plastic really fits into the “natural landscape” but some people like the look…

Steel edging:  Typically made of 1/8”-1/4” x4” strap iron; usually green with pre punched stake pocket. You can also get aluminum.  Has some of the same problems with “frost heave” but is generally easier to get back in the ground as you can pick muddy day and walk along and tap it back down with a sledge hammer or tamper.  It does make a nice clean edge, nice sexy curves, and you really don’t see it as it is only 1/8" to 1/4" thick. It does have a disadvantage over plastic is that it does not bend vertically very well, in fact it does not bend vertically at all!  So if you are trying to run it thru a uneven area it does not work very well for obvious reasons. It can be kind of dangerous in “kid” areas, as it does not have any give if anyone should fall on it. I have also heard of dogs cutting the web of their feet on it. I like it in many situations… but again, not a perfect solution for everywhere.

Stone edge: I love the way it looks, but it is more expensive, needs to be string trimmed and it also moves around with the frost. But since it is natural, it still looks good with very little adjustment. This type of edging has some advantages as it does have some ability to retain mulch depending upon how large the stone is. Takes more labor to install since it needs to be dug in, not just laid on top of the ground.  Key here is to spend the money on stone that is cut or split for edging.  Good long term choice, and good long term investment.  Consider it like buying a fine antique.. it is real and very old!

Brick edge: Good formal look, can be laid on edge in a saw-tooth pattern or laid flat so you can mow over the top. You will get grass coming up in the cracks, so you will be doing some string trimming or training your goat to only eat the grass in the cracks!  “Round Up” works well, unless you pick a windy day (then you will have bigger problems). Costs more that steel or plastic… another good choice in the right application.

Modular Block edging: There are several good choices this modular concrete edging; this means precast concrete that fits together. There are many retaining wall caps or smaller wall block that will work but some are  just really ugly. There are also some nice ones. I prefer the tumbled blocks or edging stones that look more natural and come in some nice colors. So I think they are a good choice for a lot of situations. Again you have to dig them in. Don’t just leave them on top of the ground! This is really a landscape taboo and annoys me.  Do it right- it takes some work or just call Lawrence Landscape. (Duh!)

Some other considerations" Don’t put the edging in higher than the siding on your house or you will create a dam or a “Damn” when you are sucking the water out of your carpets in the basements. 

(This was written by Glen Westervelt, co-President of Lawrence Landscape)

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