I want to put roll edging in my yard to create clean breaks between the grassy areas and the planting beds. My yard does not have a uniform slope however. It has multiple grade breaks in all directions. Is there a roll edging product that can be flexed in the skinny direction (up-down?), as well as being flexible in the wide dimension (back and forth).
1
-
1A landscape architect specified aluminum edging in 8 foot lengths for a site that was not level. Turned a job that should have taken an hour into all day. Oh the fun you'll have....– kevinskio ♦Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 12:38
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
I cannot recommend strongly enough that you NOT use roll edging. You will never be able to get a good look with it because it "memorizes" its original rolled up shape and kinks badly (even on curves), you can never get straight lines (due to kinking), it has horrible (or non-existent) stakes, and many brands are at most 3" thick when they should be at least 4" thick to prevent grass incursion into your planting beds. Stick edging is also FAR easier to work with than roll edging.
Professional landscapers use stick edging, not rolled.
If you go to a garden center instead of a box store, you can buy 20' long sticks of plastic edging that come with four STEEL stakes and a (usually pretty wimpy) connector. The connector works fine unless you're trying to create 10' circumference circles, which won't be a concern with your project. Box stores do not usually carry this product.
Also - never just butt two pieces of edging up against each other to connect them (whether rolled or stick). There is a simple trick that requires a little work but ensures that the edging will never separate or frost heave (send me a comment if you want more details).
In answer to your question though - no, I've never seen any edging (plastic or metal) that flexes vertically (would love to be proven wrong here). The only way you can account for changes in terrain like you describe is with bricks, stone, or bulletnose pavers. If you go with bulletnose pavers, do not get any less than 4" thick - I've seen some as poor as 2" (but they were only a buck! Woo Hoo! More weeds!).
-
-
1If you go with bricks (I assume you'll install them vertically), you might want to consider this little trick. First, buy some chimney flashing at the hardware store - get 4" height if you can, or 6 or 8" if can't get 4". It usually comes in 50 or 100 foot rolls. After installation of a long stretch of border, do not immediately backfill but instead install the flashing on the garden side of the bricks (trim 6 or 8" flashing to approx 4" in height). Overlap at least 6" horizontally when adding more flashing. This will keep the grass from getting between the bricks and into your garden.– JurpCommented Mar 16, 2019 at 0:15
-
@jurp_ great answer. I was just about to invest in some roll edging for my lawn. Thankfully, you came along. I wanted to ask, incase if those plastic sticks aren't available in a specific region, can you use tiles for the same purpose? Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 20:46
-
Hi @Hamid - Yes, tiles would be fine, assuming they're installed about 10cm below ground level; the only concern would be grass roots getting between the tiles and into the garden bed. If that might be a problem, then you could try the trick I mention in my previous comment. I use aluminium flashing because it's inexpensive, easy to cut, and doesn't rust. Any other similar material would work as well.– JurpCommented Mar 16, 2019 at 21:25