Lawn edges

Please want some help ...I am going to remanufacture a new lawn area , but unfortunately it is in a bad ,messy condition although it used to have some lawn in the past....
So , i have to make all things from the beginning , and by the way i would like to make it right this time...so..my question is , how to make edge for lawn with some bed borders around ..as much easier as i can...
and also...i wonder how deep must i digg in order to avoid any invasion from roots from both sides?
Thanks vTr

There are products sold in the US specifically for lawn edging. Most are 4" high, and are sunk in the ground so they barely show. This works well to confine most types of lawn grasses commonly grown here. Bluegrass (Poa praetensis), Fescue (Festuca rubra, F. arundinacea) and Rye (Lolium perenne) and others.
I have no idea what specific products might be available in Greece, but simply installing some lumber, bricks or pouring a concrete band would do the job.
You can google some images using the term Mow Band.

If you use bricks or concrete that gives you something to run the lawn mower wheels on when you are at the edge of the bed.

The wood most commonly used around here is from redwood trees, but whatever you find to use make sure it is good for ground contact. Some wood rots all too fast when it is in the soil and as moist as a lawn needs to be.

If there are currently roots in the lawn from trees or shrubs that you want to keep you will have to assess how much damage it will do to those plants if you remove the roots. Removing an odd root here or there is not a problem, but if a large amount of the lawn has roots then removing those roots might do significant damage to the nearby plants. They may have been depending on the water from the old lawn, and have most of their roots in that space.

I understand well , whatever you wrote , but still i dont know what to do ...In the past i have used cobblestones (rockery flat stones) along the perimeter of lawn , over sand and gravel ..although i realise now that the roots from some shrubs and climber plants around the lawn has entered into lawn's area!...
-I have read enough in web , about lawn's edging ...but i am afraid i have to digg quite deep to stop roots from invating both sides...I think its a common problem ...i also afraid for the plants around the lawn , because i already cut somewhat strong roots just yesterday...
-by the way , i see many pics of lawn's area with one or more trees inside...what's happening in those cases? i mean with the roots of the tree / trees ? isnt that harmful for lawn and the opposite ( for the tree) ?
....in fact i also have a small tree in the center of the lawn!...so, i am thinking if it might be better NOT to do anything...just leave things as they are....what's your opinion? help!

Here in UK almost every garden has lawns, most have shrub or flower borders, and most will have a tree either in the centre of the lawn as a focal point or within the border along-side the lawn.
what we have to do here is select the right tree for the lawn, in other words, tree's that put roots DOWN rather than across the surface (SHALLOW) rooted trees, these are the type that cause most problems when in or close to lawns. HOWEVER, it would be many years before surface roots would be a problem as tree's need many years NORMALLY, to make sufficient roots to grow just under the soil. Most problems become a pest when the actual LAWN is stressed because after many years, it has to compete with the (NOW LARGE TREE) so by all accounts you can have both lawn and tree / shrubs.
Gardening is like decorating your inside of home, you need to be careful about choice, you need to prepare well and you need to touch the areas up from time to time to keep things looking good.
Just look around you at parks, play areas, anywhere there are public areas and are planted with tree's / shrubs / lawns, they all live happily side by side AND enhance each other very well IF you take care and time to do it properly from start.
Good luck
WeeNel..

my tree is a small Mandarin tree... mostly i worry about plants that i have around the lawn , as i have some shrubs and climbers..so, as you mentioned WeeNel , perhaps all those plants can live happily near lawn? ...so , just leave things as they are?

I would leave all alone till you find there is a problem beginning and you have positive signs that roots are penetrating the lawn, even then, you would want to find out what type of shrub is causing this root problem, either trim back the roots and sever through them, or remove the shrub IF that root severing method is not an option, it can take up to 10-15 years before any shrub will become a problem in the way you mention, as will tree's.

Most newly planted tree's and shrubs take the first couple of years to settle into the new environment, they need to spread their roots out or down to allow intake of liquid and nutrients for growth and stability for a nice healthy long life and flower / fruit production if that is the case. so as mentioned before, it will be quite a while before roots traveling into your lawn should be many years into the future. there is a general guide re tree's / shrubs hight and width is given on labels and is normally either the full matured hight and width OR as for after 10 years, but what is more important is that the roots will normally be as wide as the tree / shrub width as given for maturity or 10 years, so for future when your planting these type of plants, then try make sure you allow enough distances between shrubs tree's, or be prepared to dig up and move any shrubs planted too close together as this will show after about 6 years depending how much space is allowed.

Hope this can help give you some relief from worry about root traveling towards lawns and how to deal / prevent it happening in future.
Good luck and kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

It really helps the roots to grow down if you deep soak the new tree or shrub. Do not allow it simply to depend on the lawn water. The roots of all plants will only grow where there is water and oxygen. They do not go 'looking' for water. Put the water down deep and the roots will grow deep. Then allow the soil to dry between watering (appropriate to the plant species) so enough air enters the soil. This also encourages deep rooting. Roots won't grow where the oxygen level is too low. Water in the soil excludes air. Roots do not like this. Alternate the water and air by deep soaking, then not watering for a while.

Of course this varies with the species of plant. Some have a much greater tendency to make surface roots no matter how much you deep soak. Some plants need the soil to stay a lot wetter than others. Do not mix these plants. Select plants that are compatible, that have similar watering needs.

Select plants that are capable of growing deep roots, then make sure they do.

A barrier between lawn and planter areas can really help, but the most help is to deep soak the plants so they do not grow so many surface roots or grow so much into the lawn.

I remember for many years my father hand digging a line between lawn and planter area every year. Turning the soil around the shrubs and flowers. Cutting any roots from lawn or shrubs that tried to cross that line. All the water in that garden was applied by hand, too. No automatic sprinklers. Move the hose by hand, adjust the throw of the sprinkler and set a timer. Doing it this way the garden was not kept too wet all week long. It had a good chance to dry out between watering.

One of the constant problems that I face in the landscape business is poorly planted trees.
Trees in a lawn can grow well, when they are properly selected and cared for. But that seems rare around here. Many years ago people wanted fast growing trees. So they planted Siberian Elm, Modesto Ash, Silver Maple, Fruitless Mulberry and others. All these have a strong tendency to surface root, even if they are deep watered. And they were not deep watered. End result is a tree on a mound of roots that can be as much as 2' higher than the surrounding lawn, and the lawn just about impossible to keep going because of all the surface roots. The shade is a problem, too. Most lawn grasses grow best in full sun (around here, anyway).

The cobbles on gravel that you are describing sound like one good way of making an edge. Yes, roots can grow through the gravel base.

-Hello , to all friends and Thanks for all your answers !

-I come immediately to the point...i dont want to get you tired !

..just take a look at the following pics...just taken yesterday , when i decided to start digging...about 20 cm deep in the area where i used to have lawn..preparing the soil for the next new lawn...the area as i have written before is surrounded by climbers and shrubs with a small tree (mandarin tree) in the centre ...

...what i have discovered , you can see in the pics i enclose....ROOTS EVERYWHERE..smaller and bigger ones...and when i reached about 20 cm deep i found the old lawyer of soil , where quite few or no roots have established!....

...dont know what to do...may be forget the idea of new lawn in the same area? pls help

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1338704/

See the answer I just wrote in that thread.

I would ignore all those really fine roots and go ahead and plant the lawn.
Dig them, cut them, rototill them.

Correct the watering for the plants surrounding the lawn to encourage them to develop deeper roots.