By Fancey Miller
So, you have built or inherited a garden. It teems with life: flora and fauna alike. The beds are made, and the pathway is planned or established. Yard accoutrements dot the landscape. Everything is perfect. Or is it? Does your garden have an edge?
For those new to the garden game, an edge does not apply in the fashion, the business end of a blade, or the jagged character sense. Here an edge refers to the border between parts of a garden. Edging serves three purposes in a garden: aesthetics, erosion prevention, and material retention.
Aesthetics can be underestimated. While there is a surface quality to them, there can be deeper roots. Well defined spaces can be calming and meditative. On the surface, neat gardens increase curb appeal and maintain property values. Edging keeps the plants out of the grass and the grass out of the plants.
Erosion is an issue hardly reserved to large scale areas such as lake sides, ocean front, mountains, and highways. Erosion exists even in the humble garden. Whenever it rains or during watering, unedged beds will lose soil. That nutrient rich soil will flow out into the grass and away from the plants that need it. Replacing the soil is a preventable expense. Excess soil in the lawn makes trimming unnecessarily messy.
This brings us invariably to retention of other
materials in the garden. Plant beds usually contain mulch to keep the weeds at bay. That mulch can also bleed out onto the lawn when it rains or during regular watering. The replacement of this mulch is another preventable expense.
Some gardens have pathways utilizing loose gravel, stones, or shells for example. Without an edge those loose materials get scattered around whenever the pathway is used. Aside from an unkempt look, these materials could become projectiles during yard maintenance. Edging corals unwieldy pathway materials.
When it comes to gardens, edging is important. It keeps everything tidy, minimizes erosion, and maximizes retention of various materials. There are many options for edging. Plastic or metal skirting, shovel cut, pavers, wood, rubber, and stones to name a few. Another option is to have a bespoke concrete curb poured. The curb can be poured in unique shapes. The concrete can have decorative applications such as stamping, stenciling, or staining. The choice is up to you. Your garden will have an edge all your own. Contact us today for a free consultation!
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