[kds]

With the redefinition of my garden beds all around the house, I get to pick how I want to edge it. Right now the house has the red interlocking bricks, but over the years they've really settled.

The landscape architect currently has my plan down using 4x6" Iowa buff stone (I think it would look kind of like the border here). It looks nice but I'm not convinced it will really go with the house and it's probably not right for the neighborhood or economical.

Also under consideration: steel edging, wall block, or concrete curbing.

What kind of borders do you have? Did you install it yourself, hire it out, or did it come with the house? How expensive or hard was it relative to the other options? Do you wish you went another way?

 

[Ware]

I used steel edging because I have a lot of beds (linear feet) and it kept the cost down. If this was a forever home, I probably would have gone with the concrete curbing. That Iowa buff stone looks pretty good too - I would go with whichever one of those two would look best with the house if cost is not a concern.

 

[kds]

I'm leaning more towards the steel edging. I'm not sure how long I'll be here -- I hope it's a while -- but it does seem to be the most durable-and-economical solution so far, and the installation is easy to boot.

 

[Ware]

I'm satisfied with my steel edging. A couple pros for the steel is it's not a focal point and doesn't really add any depth to the bed. I like to install it when the ground is soft and hammer it down into the ground a bit so that it isn't as tall.

 

[gatormac2112]

I have one bed that has brick as an edge, it was there when we bought the house. I was thinking about doing my other beds with brick as well, haven't looked at cost yet. The concrete just looks so permanent, I'm not sure I like the idea of not being able to dig it up if I change my mind.

One question with reel low grass: what height should the border be in relation to the grass? Does it matter? Any pros or cons to higher or lower?

 

[gatormac2112]

Went ahead and bought 100 bricks for $24, put it down in a couple of hours. I think it'll look nice once I get the bed filled with mulch and the grass grows to the edge.

 

[Fishnugget]

 

[marshtj]

If you go the steel edging route, buy or borrow a manual edger from someone. It makes installation a breeze. I have probably 600 feet in my yard all installed using this tool. It makes hammering it into place simple and requires much less effort. I used a garden hose to mark my edges then followed it with this tool.

 

[kds]

Wew nice garden @Fishnugget!

If you go the steel edging route, buy or borrow a manual edger from someone. It makes installation a breeze. I have probably 600 feet in my yard all installed using this tool. It makes hammering it into place simple and requires much less effort. I used a garden hose to mark my edges then followed it with this tool.

I found this today when looking at various equipment rentals:

Not sure if I'm going to get to making new beds this year but if I have to cut through a significant amount of turf, that's what I'll be using. I think in the back I'm going to end up filling more than cutting.