Life on the edge

There are several products to help keep grass contained in the area it’s supposed to be, says Kya deLongchamps.

OUTSIDE of deliberately laidback meadowland, a lawn makes a scruffy picture with an unfinished shaggy edge. Most gardeners enjoy some crisp definition where the grass stops and paths, driveways, patios or borders begin.

Grass is a tenacious, cheeky little plant with shallow clinging roots. When you get fed up correcting its expansive nature with the edging tools or tearing it a haircut with your bare hands, there are some products to keep your lawn more determinedly in line.

You can use a wide variety of hard landscaping materials from bricks and stone setts, to honest concrete to edge the lawn, holding it away from nuisance surfaces like gravel.

The key thing is that the mower can pass over them without disturbing the edge or cracking longer lengths of kerbing. Curves, especially whiplash dramatic turns, are troublesome for both mowing and hard edging. Continuous concrete kerb should be set in mortar and flush to the grass for easy mower passes.

If you’re not very handy with a cement mixer and shovel, leave brick edging, stone or concrete kerbs to a professional familiar with creating a deep satisfying lawn where the product meets the grass.

Once it’s installed, fill stray divots at the edge of the kerbing with sustainable compost and seed them to match the lawn. If your budget is tight, go to your local precast concrete supplier for some ideas and investigate impressed concrete that can mimic planks of wood or natural stone edging.

Panel metal edging can be laid along the sides of the lawn to fit the depth of the turf and set in the ground on metal spikes. You make a shallow trench defining your new edge, set the panels in place, lock them in male and female grooves and tamp them in with a rubber hammer until they are level with the top of the cut lawn.

One option is Everedge, a flexible 1.6 gauge steel panel in 75mm to 125mm that locks together in sections. It is used in Bantry House’s magnificent gardens and is available from €8.50 per linear metre plus delivery, (www.everedge.com).

A more affordable and rather ingenious solution, Smartedge, is designed to be rooted in place by the lawn as it grows. Manufactured from heavy duty 2mm thick polypropylene, this edging is set on a series of A-frames on the back of the edging pointing back into the lawned area which allows the grass to grow through the sections and bind the Smartedge to the ground. Made in thick 2mm polypropylene it’s easy to handle but does take some preparation of the edge of your lawn for a good fit.

Both Everedge and Smartedge are designed to sit flush with the lawn so that you can skim your mower neatly over them once installed. Smartedge starts at €65 for 10m delivered. www.lawnedging.ie. Tel: [phone].

Deep edges can take a deep treatment and sleepers are a favourite material for marking out sunken paths and driveways passing through lawn. Traditional creosoted sleepers are now prohibited for sale as garden landscape materials because they contain carcinogens, but a number of noncreosoted varieties can still be bought for €20-€30.

Used sleepers are graded by condition, so if you don’t mind a more haggard face to your edging, choosing a lesser grade can save you serious money. Check the classifieds for prices on imported timber.

Sleepers are tough to cut and should be set in place with steel rod pegs to prevent them falling forward from the bank. Inexpensive wavy plastic edging is cheap and cheerful, but don’t expect it to stand up to the assault of mower blades or clumsy foot falls.

Left out for a few seasons it becomes brittle, degraded by light and frost. Plastic roll products, 1mm thick, from recycled plastic without the wave, offer greater durability and are widely available at most garden centres.

Log roll edging has a pleasing rustic feel for finishing off lawns, path edges and raised or flush plant beds but the articulated variety has a leery grin at the hinges that will do little to suppress weeds or to hold back grass growth.

Expect three to five years of use if treated with exterior timber preservative. Argos offer two large (30cm high) rolls, 200cm long for €31.49 and fixed log panels with sharpened posts for burying in the ground from €20.32 for two 100cm lengths.

KEEPING YOUR EDGE

You can keep the edge of your lawn handsomely chiselled with a few tools and tricks and no fixed edging if you prefer the look of that clean cut turf. First, invest in a good edging shears for trims after mowing.

These are engineered to be used side on without stressing your shoulders and arms. Go for a good set of blades as you’re half a height’s distance from the work and even still at an unusual angle.

Spear & Jackson offer a Razor Sharp Edging Shears for €28 (Argos). Your powered grass trimmer also makes an excellent edger and most models offer some degree of tilting head to put you at the right position to buzz off the growth.

Where the edge does start to become unruly and the supporting earth looks ragged, it will have to be cut in.

A half moon cutting tool is ideal for this task, rocking across a wider area at a shallower angle than a conventional spade which might slip and take out too much depth.

Look for comfortable non-slip turnover treads and expect to pay the same as a quality spade. Use a plank set on the ground to give yourself a line of heavy hosepipe for curves. Place the cut sod in a barrow for your compost heap.

Grass doesn’t have deep roots and a small depression dug in front of the edge will keep the grass in line for longer where it meets a border.