The Best DIY Garden Edging How To
- Allen Hardy
- Mar 16, 2016
- 4 min read
The arrival of spring brings plant growth! It's great to see your flowers bloom. It's not so great to know that you'll soon be cutting the grass again. Of course, you can make the task of cutting your lawn a little less tedious with the installation of attractive garden borders. I'll walk you through how to install metal and paver brick garden edging. Not only do these border look great, they require little to no maintenance and your lawnmower can ride right up to the edge so there's no need for additional edging/trimming.
Installing Metal Borders
The most subtle and simple form of edging is metal strip edging. These kinds of borders are 4-inch deep strips of steel, aluminum, or plastic. Each material bends easily into smooth, graceful curves and stops the spread of grass roots. However, painted aluminum and steel offer a more sleek and refined look. Aluminum and steel almost dissapear against the grass and garden bed. Furthermore, they don't have the prominent black bulge along the top edge like plastic does. All three of these materials work on fairly even terrain, but if you are located on land with a large number of dips and rises, then it's best to install a paver border instead.
As you can see from the image I chose to install aluminum, but aluminum and steel are roughly the same cost. I paid $45 per 24 ft. of aluminum at Home Depot.
Step 1
The first thing you need to do is cut a narrow, 4-inch deep trench with one vertical side along the lawn edge. You should shave the edges for a smooth curve and use a string line for straight edges.
Step 2
Snap together the 8-foot border sections and drop the edging into the trench, laying it against the vertical edge you created. You'll then want to cut the final section into the right length using a hacksaw.
Step 3
Once your edging is in place you can start to support it using stakes. Drive stakes to set the depth at roughly 1/2 inch above the soil level of the lawn. If your edging accidentally drops too low, you can pry it up using the tip of your shovel.
Step 4
Your edging is in place and has now been properly staked. All that's left to do is backfill the edging using soil from the garden.Make sure to compress the soil so that everything sits firmly and leave room for mulch as well. Once you're finished backfilling your edging has officially been properly installed.
Installing Paver Borders
Brick or concrete borders are a simple and handsome step up from aluminum or steel. While they may be more expensive to install, they look better, and require far less maintenance. The paver design pictured here also leaves a nice flat surface for the lawnmower to ride along so that there's no need for additional trimming. You can purchase concrete or brick pavers at roughly a $1 per piece. If you have the time/willpower you could save some money and make your own concrete garden pavers. Paver borders work well for informal yards with gradual curves and varying slopes. However, they don't fit as well on tighter curves unless you're willing to cut the bricks using a diamond blade saw.
Step 1
The first thing you'll need to do is layout the edge of the border using a garden hose. Create a rough outline of the brick pattern for spacing and run the hose along the pattern. Remember to make the curves gradual and smooth for best results.
Step 2
Next, you'll need to dig a 4-inch deep trench about an inch wider than the brick pattern. You'll want to use a square spade for this job. Rember as you cut the edges along the grass to smooth and square everything out.
Step 3
Take landscape fabric and cut it to fit the bottom and sides of the trench. After you've placed your fabric down, fill the trench with about 2 inches of sand. Use a block of wood to smooth and flatten the sand.
Step 4
For the final step, you can begin to lay the bricks out on the sand. Place the bricks tightly together so the tops and front edges are even and about 1/2 an inch above the soil. Sweep sand into the gaps of the bricks and pack soil against the backside. Once all of the bricks have been placed your new paver garden edge has successfully been installed!
That's All Folks
That's all I have for today. As the weather gets warmer this makes for a great spring outdoor DIY project. Your lawn will look better and you'll save a lot of maintenance time and hassle. If you have the time/budget I'd highly suggest giving one of these edging techniques a go. Make sure to check out the rest of The Home Improvement Guy Blog for more home improvement tips, tricks, and inspiration.
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