Lawn Edging Guide: 10 Top Tips

Are you finding that, once you’ve mowed your lawn, it still doesn’t look as neat as you’d want it to? It could be that you’ve forgotten about your lawn edges.

Lawn edging is a simple process that allows you to define a crisp edge between your lawn and adjoining areas of your garden.

By making the edges defined and neat, your whole lawn can instantly look tidier and healthier. You could hire a landscaper to do this for you or follow our top 10 tips below:

Not only is edging your lawn a task that can make your grass look manicured and professional, but it can also have positive effects on your garden’s health.

Without edging, your lawn can look messy, untidy and encroach on areas that you may want to keep grass growth away from like flower beds, vegetable gardens etc. If your overgrown grass invades these areas it can compete for nutrients and water, weakening your surrounding plants.

Overgrown grass is also an ideal habitat for weeds and pests to invade, making it harder to manage and maintain your lawn, especially when it comes to mowing.

Clean lawn edges help outline your garden borders and create a defined boundary between your lawn and other garden areas, meaning that mowing becomes more precise and efficient.

You may also want to edge your lawn as a personal preference. Lawn edging can look different for each gardener and landscaping to your personal taste is a sure way to put your own creative stamp onto a garden.

If mowing the lawn is like giving the garden a good haircut, then edging is the full facelift.
The Guardian

Spring is a usually a good time to edge your lawn as the mild climate and moderate rainfall make ideal conditions for fast grass growth. This means that your grass edges will be more prominent and could become overgrown. You will then need to trim your edges throughout summer as your grass continues to grow, with a final maintenance trim to be done in early autumn, ready for your lawn to go into winter dormancy.

You should wait until your soil is dry to edge your lawn so that the cutting doesn’t compact the soil. Wet, clay-like soil can be easily compressed and potentially damage your lawn's root growth. It can also produce uneven and messy results so it’s always best to wait until your lawn is dry and healthy enough to tolerate edging.

Edging over the spring and summer means that your lawn can stay tidy and well-defined year-round and, whist it may seem like a big maintenance task, you’ll only need to trim semi-regularly one you’ve initially defined the edges. Plus, it’s worth it for a garden that looks pristine and manicured.

Choosing the right lawn edging tool is important- you won’t get the best results if you’re trying to edge your lawn in a makeshift way.

For example, you should make sure that the tool you use to edge your lawn is sharp. A dull, blunt edging tool has the potential to damage your lawn and won’t give you the clean and crisp edges you need.

Half-moon edging tool: A half-moon lawn edging tool is the best one for the job as it’s specifically designed for the purpose of grass edging. Some people opt for edging their lawns with a readily available spade but their bulky size and blunt blade could mean that you’re getting rough edges and digging deeper than needed.

Spade: Though we recommend using a properly designed lawn edging tool, having a sturdy spade is still useful, particularly for removing stubborn debris like rocks or to help gather offcuts of turf, which can be composted later.

Gloves: A self-explanatory addition that will keep your hands clean and safe when handling grass and sharp tools.

String & Spikes: String can be used to outline the edging area, particularly in curved gardens, as a guide for cutting along the edge. If you don’t have any string available you can also use a hosepipe or any long, flexible object as an alternative. The spikes will hold the string in place, though if you're using an alternative object, you may prefer to weigh it down to help keep it stable.

Mallet: You may need a mallet to hammer in the spikes that keep your guide string in place or to help install any edging material you may want to implement. A mallet is safer than a standard hammer and can make installing your lawn edging easier.

Shears: You will need garden shears to trim your lawn edges for a manicured, neat look. For smaller areas, a standard pair of scissors will be fine, though it may be more time consuming! You may also want to invest in a strimmer for quick and easy trimming.

Edging material of your choice: You can opt for some additional material to help keep your edging tidy and control overgrowth. These are usually made from metal, wood, stone, brick or plastic.

The key to the perfect lawn edge is in the preparation. You should start by coming up with some lawn edging ideas and then making a design on how you want your edges to look, especially if you’re aiming for an entirely new landscaping look.

You should clear any debris from your lawn and mow it before you begin the edging process. Mowing the lawn to a consistent height will help make your garden borders more visible and gives you a clean and tidy lawn to work with. Only mow the lawn when it’s dry and make sure you set your mower blade height appropriately so that you don’t scalp the lawn.

Instead of attempting to just follow the existing outline of your lawn, it can help to mark your lawn with a guide. This will give you a line to follow and cut against for an easy, neat finish.

Straight edges give a formal, defined look. If you want a straight line, make your guide rope / string taught or use straight, hard material like wooden planks as a guide.

Curved edges give a natural but neat appearance and are great for breaking up blocky gardens. If you want a curved line, outline the guide rope / string in the shape you want, secure it and cut along it.

You should start at one edge of your garden and work along, like where your lawn meets a patio or fence.

Use your half-moon lawn edging tool to cut along the path of your guide, taking small steps with your tool and overlapping the edges to make a continuous line.

Use the spade as you go along to remove any excess turf or to tidy up the line. It’s a good idea to keep some of the excess turf just in case you need to fill or replace any areas later.

If you’re edging close to a flower / vegetable bed, be careful not to damage those areas with your edging tool.

If your lawn meets a path or patio, you can use a sharp knife or Stanley blade to cut the turf and pull pieces away so that it is neat and defined. If the grass is flush with the path, you can use your shears to trim it to be level and neat.

Once you have finished, there are several ways to dispose of your offcuts:

Keep some for tidying

You may have areas of ground that are uneven after edging. You can re-purpose your leftover turf to level out these areas. You can also use any soil waste to help level out areas that are bare or uneven.

Compost down

Grass clippings are easily composted down and are a great green material to add to your compost bin / pile. Green material (grass, food scraps, leaves) makes up around half of your compost mix alongside brown material (twigs, wood, cardboard).

Use as mulch

Grass clippings are high in nitrogen, so can provide a nutrient boost to struggling areas. You can apply a thin layer (making sure you’re not smothering the lawn) on garden areas that would benefit from moisture retainment and a steady release of nutrients over time.

It’s no secret that lawn edging needs regular maintenance to stop it from looking untidy and overgrown.

However, if you don’t want to constantly trim your lawn then a popular edging tactic is to use a material to enhance your outline and to stop your lawn from overgrowing.

If you add material that is flush with the lawn, your mower can even go right over it for easy maintenance.

Popular edging materials are wood, brick, plastic and stone which are usually available in your local garden centre, home improvement store or online.

Using different materials and textures appeals to gardeners who would like creative freedom when designing their own garden. The variety of material options allows for multiple lawn edging ideas and design possibilities, making it easy to customise your garden’s look.

Using edging material is a simple yet effective way to have a low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing garden.

We’d recommend trying to use a heat-resistant material and avoid metal lawn edging as this can potentially damage the lawn in the summer by absorbing the heat and drying out the grass edges. In worst cases, it can kill the edges of your grass and damage your lawn beyond repair.

Plastic lawn edging is typically one of the most affordable options, providing an easy and budget-friendly option for lawn edging.

Plastic is also super lightweight and durable, meaning it’s a great option for easy installation on curved lawn edges.

Simply install your plastic lawn edging by pushing it into the ground along the lawn edge. Its malleable nature means you can bend it by hand to the angle and curve that you need.

Once installed, it’s resistant to hardy weather conditions, rust and mould, making it a low-maintenance, long-lasting option for many gardens.

However, with it being the cheapest option, some people prefer to opt for a more high-grade, aesthetically pleasing material. Especially as plastic can sometimes be quite thin and not as sturdy against tough weather conditions.

The colour of plastic lawn edging (especially darker colours) may also fade over time when exposed to direct sunlight, making it less visually appealing.

For a more decorative look, you can add bricks or stones to your edging. Both bricks and stones can come in various colours, sizes and textures so there’s plenty of scope to mix and match design ideas. They’re an easy way to add dimension and intrigue to your garden and can be used for both straight and curved edges.

Stone edging can appear in various forms such as granite, sandstone and limestone, giving you plenty of design choice for your garden.

It’s a more natural addition than plastic or metal options and requires minimal upkeep once installed.

Brick is long lasting and highly durable to all different weather conditions. Brick can be a cooler alternative to stone as they don’t absorb heat as easily.

Brick edging provides you with a solid physical barrier and timeless look, producing a traditional garden aesthetic with pops of colour.

Bricks and stone edging can add a natural and classic feel to your lawn and are sturdy, durable options.

However, they may be more labour intensive to install due to the weight of the material and cost more than your budget-friendly options.

Wood edging, like brick and stone, has a natural and rustic appearance that complements a range of outdoor spaces.

Wood lawn edging has a softer feel to its edges than sharp, harsh stone and can be easily cut or trimmed to fit various styles and designs.

Wooden edging comes in various styles such as stakes or panelling and is a popular, sturdy and budget-friendly option for natural looking edging with a pop of texture.

However, wood does rot and may not last as long as you’d expect, especially in a rainy and humid British climate. Wood edging will need regular maintenance to check for rot or insect damage.

Wood is a durable, robust option but not as hard-wearing as stone or brick. To resolve this, you can purchase treated wood edging or apply a sealant to prevent it from rotting and extend its lifespan.

They key to thriving lawn edges is regular maintenance.

Though edging may be one of the most maintenance - intensive lawn care jobs, it’s worth it for the elevated look to brings to your garden. If your lawn edging material is flush with your lawn, your mower should be able to go right over them, making it easier for regular lawn maintenance.

Edging material will reduce the need for trimming overall, however, in the spring and summer when your grass is actively growing, you may need to trim regularly after mowing to keep the edges neat and uniform. In late autumn and winter, you may not need to trim the edges as much as your grass goes into winter dormancy.

You can trim the edges with your garden shears which should be easy to do as your edges have already been dug and defined.

Hold your edging shears upright to keep them in line with the edge and make your away along the straight or curved edge, trimming against the line as you go.

For an efficient and high-powered trim, you can use a strimmer but, due to the handheld nature of the tool, it's harder to get crisp and even results and may end up looking a little messy. Strimmers also require regular maintenance to keep them in good condition and effective for lawn edge trimming.

Once you’ve trimmed your edges, you can then dispose of your grass clippings on a compost heap or in your green waste bin.

Though it may seem like lawn edging requires lots of maintenance, it’s a quick and easy way to make your garden look elevated and professional, no matter the size or layout.

Not only does lawn edging give you a gorgeous looking lawn with clear and tidy borders, but it naturally discourages weed growth and keeps different areas of your garden separated so that different plants aren’t fighting for resources, so it has beneficial health effects for your garden too.