How to Make Lawn Edging

Updated/Fact-Chacked on June 26, 2023 by Gareth James

Every lawn owner understands that lawns need maintenance. You have to irrigate, aerate, seed, mow, fertilise, dethatch, and more. However, many people forget to take care of lawn edges, which end up looking ragged and overgrown.

If you’re dissatisfied with your lawn’s untidy edges, and you want it to look like something off Pinterest, your lawn needs edging, and we’ll teach you how to do it.

What You Need:

• Half-moon edger
• Spade
• Guide (hose for a curve or plank for a straight line)
• Long-handled edging shears
• Leaf blower
• Lawnmower

6 Steps to Edge Your Lawn:

Step One: Mow the Lawn

It takes no scientist to know that your lawn needs to be freshly cut before you take care of the edges. Plus, you don’t need to do it any differently than usual. Mowing gives you a clear idea about what you need to do next.

Step Two: Cut the Outline

Get your half-moon edger and cut the outline where you want your lawn to end. If you want a curved edge, you can use your garden hose or rope as a guide. For a perfectly straight line, use a wood plank as a guide.

Step Three: Remove the Turf

Next, if the line looks good to you, go over it again with a spade, but make it deeper this time. Now, you’ll have a lot of loosened turf that you need to remove to see how things look. 

Also, you can use the removed turf in composting. So, your lawn will look nicer, and you’ll help save the planet.

Step Four: Make It Perfect

You don’t just remove the turf and call it a day, right? You need to get to sharp, clean edges, and they don’t happen magically. 

So, you’ll use sharp, long-handled edging shears along the line that you made. Remember to hold it vertically, not horizontally, otherwise, you’ll render all of your hard work useless.

Step Five: The Cleanup

Now, you’ll have an abundance of cut grass blades and dirt that you need to take care of. So, get your leaf blower and go crazy. Try not to blow it to your neighbour’s lawn.

You can leave at that, or you can go the extra mile and clean the area around the lawn, as well.

Step Six: Install Physical Edging (Optional)

If you don’t want to have to repeat the above steps regularly, consider installing physical lawn edging. The most affordable material is plastic, while the sturdiest material is metal. 

If you don’t think it’s worth having professionals install it for you, there are many DIY ideas that you can apply or be inspired by. Since lawn edging is also decorative, you pick whatever fits your lawn and taste.

Final Thoughts

While lawn edging isn’t on every lawn owner’s mind, it makes all the difference in the world between a nice-looking lawn and an ugly one. If you follow our steps, you’ll have picture-perfect edges in no time.

Mary

Mary shares a passion for gardening with her husband John, though she is more focused on growing veg on their allotment at St. Margaret’s Allotments, Durham. Mary also works in the lawn care industry and manages the lawns for the Durham University campus.