To reduce the maintenance it takes to keep the edges of your garden beds looking crisp and neat, it is essential to install landscape edging.
Not only does landscape edging help you keep that crisp look, it also has several other benefits such as serving as a grass barrier, adding decoration, and of course reducing maintenance.
There are a variety of materials that can be used for landscape edging such as wood, plastic, aluminum, stone, brick, concrete, and metal.
Plastic is the most commonly used edging material because it is very inexpensive and easy to install. Metal, on the other hand, is most the most commonly recommended edging material by professional landscapers. Even though metal landscape edging can be a little more expensive, it lasts a life time, while also being relatively flexible and easy to install.
Benefits of Metal Landscape Edging
Metal landscape edging has a ton of benefits to offer. While it may be a little more pricey, its amazing benefits are sure to explain why it is totally worth it:
- It should only need to purchased and installed once, saving you money by not having to replace it in a few years.
- Metal is very sturdy and durable, yet still flexible.
- Minimal invasion of the earth due to its thin form or only having to use stakes, depending on your specific metal edging.
- It can withstand harsh weather conditions such as excessive rain, snow, sleet, and sun exposure.
- Metal landscape edging also withstand the force of weed eaters and trimmers.
- It is easily installed with a rubber mallet or hammer.
- Due to its minimal invasiveness, it is easily pulled up to create a new garden bed shape or simply be moved.
Metal Landscape Edging Purchase Options
When you are looking to purchase metal landscape edging, you will generally find two ways it can be purchased—stake-driven or in roll form.
- Stake Driven Landscape Edging
This metal edging option comes in a kit with individual pieces of metal edging, along with the stakes you will need to properly install the edging. Some kits will also provide vinyl caps to protect any foot traffic from injury themselves on the edging.
The individual pieces are typically staked directly onto the surface of the ground but can also be placed into a small trench. By digging a small trench, you provide more stability to the edging and increase the effectiveness of keeping grass roots out. While a 2-3-inch trench is not necessary, it is recommended.
This metal edging option will do a great job of keeping grass clippings out and keeping the mulch in your garden bed. It may not be the best option for preventing grass roots from invading, but it should last you quite some time with minimal maintenance.
- Metal Landscape Edging that Comes in Rolls
These rolls generally consist of about 20 feet of metal edging. Unlike the option above, this option does not require stakes. On the other hand, it is almost necessary to dig a small trench for installing this metal edging.
The purpose of the small trench is to ensure that the edging can be placed deep enough into the soil to barricade against grass roots and to ensure that is it stable enough to stay in place. The best metal landscape edging, like our Edge Right product, will also have a sharp edge that allows it to be driven into the ground as well, when placed in the trench.
Once you have the metal edging in place, you can use the dirt that was dug out to fill and pack in the remaining space around the edging to provide the stabilization mentioned earlier.