General Discussion & Chat: Edging to go around the landscaping, 2 by mwhit

mwhit wrote:
I've used several kinds of plastic edger over the years and always end up hating it and yanking it out! It works its way up out of the ground and gets chewed by the mower and looks like crap!
The mechanical edgers I've used have a vertical blade which can be tilted to one side. It cuts a slice along the edge on a straight line which really makes a neat border, but you do have to use a shovel to lift the wedges of turf out. They also do a good job of cleaning up the edges of the sidewalks when grass creeps over them -again you need to remove the chunks of grass but gives you a nice manicured look. You only have to do it a couple times a year here in Ohio.
Another approach is using landscape timbers or treated 2X4's to edge the beds and these let you raise the beds a few inches. They usually last 10-15 years but they do break down eventually.
I've also edged beds with brick buried level to the ground so you can mow over it -slows the grass down but still needs 'weeded" when the grass encroaches too far. I've used medium sized field stone too but need to use Round-Up (carefully) a few times a year along both sides of the stones to discourage grass and weeds since I can only mow so close-a weed whacker can also trim around the stone pretty well.
Pic #1Railroad Ties, #2 Fieldstone, #3 Brick (used on edge here rather than flat.
Good Luck on your landscaping job, MWhit