Use edging to separate, contain yard elements

By G. Owen Yost

.Fundamentally, edging separates one element in your landscape from another. It cleanly separates the lawn from a flowerbed, a rock garden from some ground cover, or a lawn from your driveway. Besides playing a functional role, landscape edging can be a strong design element, sort of like chrome trim on a car. But it should NEVER serve as a small retaining wall - the soil heights on each side of the edging, when edging is put in properly, should be identical. (It's not designed to retain anything, or be a "mini-dam"!)

Before you choose an edging material, first ask if you really need edging at all. If you want to keep your lawn from encroaching on a concrete driveway or walkway, you certainly don't need to add edging. The concrete itself is stronger and more stable that any edging you could buy! (If dirt accumulates on the concrete, your problem is poor drainage - not a lack of edging.)

Lots of people like the appearance of NO artificial edging. They merely dig grass runners (or whatever) out of the beds regularly. You can't beat the materials cost, and changing the shape of a flowerbed is hardly any problem. Personally, I like the appearance of a "carved edge" - a carefully cut lawn on one side of an invisible line, and taller, natural growth on the other side. (Of course, it means cutting your lawn to exactly the same boundaries every time.) But if you simply can't live without artificial edging, there's a lot to choose from:

* Metal: Metal edging normally comes in 12-foot lengths, painted dark green or black. Heavy metal stakes pounded into the ground at intervals hold it in place. The edging's thickness is measured by gauge - avoid thin, flimsy kinds, which can act like a knife blade and look cheap. The heavier gauges will easily bend into graceful curves, and are actually easier to work with than the flimsy kind.

* Concrete: Concrete edging is usually poured on site (like a sidewalk), and comes in several shapes. However, it's normally a long band, about 6 inches across, which usually looks sort of like a curb. It looks dramatic and bold, and requires almost no maintenance. But you'd better be happy with where it's put - moving it just isn't practical.

* Wood: There is a wide variety of wooden edging, but the most common is timbers or railroad ties. These are inexpensive, but preserving chemicals found in some wooden items can pollute the nearby soil, and pose a danger to pets and children. If your design requires a long, straight length of edging, wood can be a good choice. But curves are almost impossible, and wood tends to rot over time.

* Plastic: I've listed this one in hopes that nobody will ever feel the need for plastic or rubber, edging. The initial price is low because it's simple to manufacture and ship. But it looks cheap, it doesn't last, and it's very difficult to install right. Of course, there may be a new product I'm just not aware of, but I wouldn't recommend it to my readers until I've given it a real-life trial.

* Brick: I like the way a row of bricks look - and I'm including concrete pavers. Usually, they're laid side-by-side on a thin slurry of wet concrete, but they can be laid directly onto undisturbed soil where grass has been eradicated. The top surface of the bricks or pavers should be no more than half an inch higher than the adjacent soil surface. This way, your lawn mower can run along the top of the edging - eliminating the need for hand-trimming.

* Stone: With stone, you can get very creative. The look is unique, and bound to be different from anybody else in your block. One of my favorites is rough cobblestones laid end-to-end. Another is a row of randomly shaped stones of the same hue. There are hundreds of other possibilities - I suggest you visit a stone sales yard, see what's available and let your imagination run wild.

I've explained the basics, but there are new and innovative products coming to market all the time. Clearly, you have many, many choices in the category of landscape edging. Shop around and use your imagination! Then make your choice thoughtfully; you'll live with it for a long time.

Owen Yost is an area landscape architect specializing in designing low-maintenance landscapes while incorporating native plants with hardscape. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Keep Denton Beautiful and the Native Plant Society of Texas. His Denton office is at 4516 Coyote Point; call 940-382-2099 or 940-383-9655 or e-mail him at Yost87@charter.net