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Three simple, attractive, low-maintenance garden and lawn edging ideas to inspire.

The simplest and most subtle landscape borders that effectively separate your lawn from a garden are 4-in.deep strips of steel, aluminum or plastic. The metal lawn edging bends easily into smooth, graceful curves and stops the spread of grass roots. However, painted aluminum and steel offer the sleekest, most refined garden edging look because they almost disappear against the grass and garden bed. The plastic types of garden edging have a prominent black bulge along the top edge. All work best on fairly even terrain; if you have a lot of dips and rises, it’s easier to install a paver border.

Although aluminum and steel landscape edging cost about the same, we chose aluminum because it was much lighter. It weighs about 41 lbs. per 100 ft., while steel weighs about 225. With aluminum landscape edging, you get a professional look without the heavy lifting.

Plan to set the garden border

Plan to set the garden border with the top edge about 1/2 in. above the soil level to maintain the lawn/garden separation and keep roots from crossing over the top. This makes the garden border almost invisible and allows you to mow right over the top. However, be aware that the top of the thin lawn edging can hurt bare feet. After cutting it, make sure you round off any sharp edges with a file.

Follow the photos for the basic garden edging installation techniques. The key to setting this garden border is to cut a clean vertical edge along the grass with a square spade . Then you can lay the garden border tightly against the edge when you stake and backfill it. There’s no rule for shaping the edge. Simply follow the edges of your lawn, making smooth, gradual curves.To make smooth, sharp curves, bend the metal lawn edging around a circular form.

The thicker landscaping edgers better withstand those inevitable bumps and hard knocks that go with lawn mowing.

Consider concrete or brick pavers

If you’re having trouble deciding between various lawn edging ideas, consider concrete or brick pavers. They make a simple, handsome border and work well as lawn edging material too. They’re ideal when you want a wide border that keeps grass out of the garden, yet allows flowers and other plants to spill over without intruding onto the grass. You’re less likely to chop them up with the lawn mower.

The paver design shown here also provides a nice, flat surface for the lawn mower wheel to roll along and make a clean cut. You shouldn’t have to trim the edges after mowing. Concrete pavers (55¢ each) are designed for rugged outdoor use. Brick pavers ($1 each) are too, but don’t confuse them with regular bricks, which are typically softer and more likely to break down. Set the pavers in a bed of sand for easier positioning and leveling.

The sand bed that you lay over landscape fabric keeps most grass types from sending roots under the lawn edging and getting into your garden. Paver borders work well for straight, formal gardens but even better for informal yards with gradual curves and varying slopes. You can easily adjust them to follow the contours of an uneven yard. But they won’t fit as well on tighter curves unless you alter the design and are willing to cut them to fit with a diamond blade saw.

Use a garden hose to mark the shape and gradual curves

Use a garden hose to mark the shape and gradual curves of your lawn edging.  Don’t hesitate to trim the trench a bit here or there as you cut the edge to smooth curves or alter the garden bed shape. For straight borders, follow a tightly stretched string line. Follow the photos for installing the pavers. It’s important to set the front edge of the pavers about 1/2 in. above the soil in the lawn so the lawn mower can cut the grass cleanly. We also leveled our pavers from front to back to keep the row from dipping and rising, but it’s not necessary and on slopes might look better if set on an angle. Just make sure the top of each paver sits flush with its neighbor and that the front edges create a smooth line. You can go back later and whack them perfectly flush with a block of wood and a hammer or a rubber mallet. The pavers we set on edge are primarily decorative, but they also raise the garden bed slightly and help retain mulch. Set them higher or lower to fit the needs of your garden.

A stone wall does more than make a clean border along your lawn. It’s a handsome visual statement in itself, a great way to add depth and texture to a flat, featureless yard. It’s practical, too.

Be sure to explore the variety of stone materials

When looking at paver lawn edging ideas, be sure to explore the variety of stone materials, sizes and shapes to create your ideal landscape border! It also provides good drainage, making it a great solution for low-lying, soggy gardens. And it’s a good way to terrace a sloped yard and create nice, flat gardens.

To reduce maintenance we added a 4-in. deep trench that we lined with plastic edging and filled with mulch. The lawn edging keeps grass roots from creeping into the stone wall, and the mulch provides a mowing track for lawn mower wheels. With taller types of grass, you can mow right over the plastic border and cut the lawn edge cleanly. There’s no need to trim the grass.

Remember to wear safety googles

This project doesn’t require any special skills, just a strong back. For metal lawn edging you’ll need a hacksaw, and for stone lawn edging you’ll need a cold chisel. Remember to wear safety googles when installing your landscape edging! Figure the cost at about $10 per foot of wall. Design your raised bed to blend into the contours of your yard like a natural feature. You can handle slopes in one of two ways. Either let your wall follow the slope of the yard for an informal look, or level the stones as we did and step the wall up or down as the slope requires to maintain approximately the same height.

The exact size of stacking stone for walls varies considerably by region. Visit a local landscape supplier to check types. (Ours is Chilton limestone.) For lawn edging, limit the height of your wall to two courses so you won’t have stones falling out. Measure your wall length and make a sketch.

Have it delivered and dropped as close to the wall location as possible

The stone dealer will help you figure out the quantities of all the materials you need. The stone will probably be sold by the ton or pallet and it’s heavy. Have it delivered and dropped as close to the wall location as possible. And have gravel or sand delivered to use as a setting bed for the stone as well as topsoil to fill behind the wall. The stone or landscaping dealer will help you calculate how much of these you need.

Generally it’s best to keep the bottom row of stone an inch or so below the original soil level, but this will vary if you keep the stones level and the yard isn’t level (what yard is?). If you’re considering this lawn edging idea, just know that you may need to step the stones up or down, or use thinner or thicker stones depending on aesthetic and fit. There’s no rule here. Experiment when you lay the stones for the best appearance.

Lay the stones that have the most irregular faces in the first row so you can place the irregular face down in the gravel and level the top. Vary the sizes and colors for the best look. Chip off irregularities with the maul and chisel. Then add the second row. Make this row as stable as possible so the stones won’t rock and fall off. As a last resort, stabilize the stones by shoving stone chips into the gaps.

Lay landscape fabric against the back of the wall before backfilling to keep dirt from washing out through the stone. Then install the plastic edging in front. Add organic mulch to finish up the mowing edge.