Summary

  • Edging creates an underground barrier that stops weeds and grass from spreading into garden beds, reducing the need for constant weeding.
  • Vinyl, wood, and stone are popular materials for garden edging, each offering different aesthetic options to enhance your landscape.
  • Creeping phlox is a natural alternative to traditional edging materials and helps prevent weed growth with dense foliage and beautiful blooms.

Weeds are a pesky nuisance in backyards. Lawn weeds and landscape grass can spread into garden beds, competing with your favorite plants, flowers, or vegetables for water, nutrients, and sunshine. Install edging to set up a barrier that deters weeds from crossing your lawn and creeping into other areas of your garden.

As well as preventing weeds, edging also creates beautiful borders to accentuate the aesthetic of your landscape. Discover five elegant garden edging ideas to keep weeds out, so you can reduce garden maintenance like weeding, and upgrade the look of your yard at the same time!

How Does Edging Prevent Weeds?

Without edging, weeds and grass creep into garden beds. For instance, in just one year grass can spread 3 to 4 inches into your garden if you don't prevent it! Edging creates an underground barrier that stops roots from spreading from your lawn into your garden. For weed prevention, it's best to place edging 6 inches deep.

Many kinds of grasses and weeds have the highest concentration of roots in the first 6 inches. For instance, 'Olympic' tall fescue grass is most dense in the top 6 inches beneath the soil, dandelion weeds have root systems that average 6 to 18 inches, and common chickweed has roots that are 1 to 9 inches long. Setting your edging 6 inches deep makes it more challenging for roots to spread.

There are many types of weeds and edging may not be the most effective way to prevent the variety in your garden. Always research the weeds specifically in your yard before tackling prevention.

1. Install Vinyl Edging

Vinyl is a budget-friendly garden edging material made with plastic. It's flexible, so you can conveniently curve it to trace the exterior of your gardens. Look for edging that's at least 6 inches wide, so you have adequate material to bury. Start by measuring the full length of your garden. Next, cut the edging to the correct length with sharp scissors or pruning shears

Using a garden shovel, dig a trench that is 6 inches deep to reduce the spread of roots. Put your vinyl edging in the trench, then backfill it with soil for support. You should still see about ½ inch of the edging above the ground. Secure the edging in place by inserting 8-inch plastic stakes into the pre-made holes in the edging. Place the stakes every 4 feet, or the distance your package recommends.

If you are connecting multiple sections of edging, look for a groove at the end, where you can slide the next portion of edging into place like a puzzle piece.

2. Get Creative With Wood Edging

Wood edging creates a classic and natural aesthetic for your garden border! While it's tempting to skip digging and rest the wood on the ground, it's worthwhile to dig a 6-inch trench first. If you lay the wood on the surface, roots can still travel into your garden bed.

Begin by making a 6-inch deep trench along the exterior of your garden. Adjust the width of the trench, so that it is approximately 2 inches wider than your timber. Then, level the soil with a tamper and lay down 1 to 2 inches of gravel or sand to even out the trench's base. Finally, rest the wood on top of the gravel or sand, and backfill it with soil to stabilize it.

When picking out wood, keep in mind that treated wood typically contains chemicals. If you are planting a vegetable garden look for untreated wood to avoid chemicals leaching into the soil.

Take your edging project to the next level, and turn your border into a raised garden bed by adding to the height until it is 10 inches. Keep in mind that you will need additional wood and materials like stakes to secure the extra timbers if you want to build a raised bed.

3. Style It With Stone

Similar to wood, stone needs a depth of 6 inches to prevent weeds. Start by making a trench that is 6 inches deep and wide enough to accommodate the size of your edging stones. Then, grab a tamper to compact the earth and create a level base. Fill the base of the trench with 1 to 3 inches of leveling sand (depending on package instructions) to create an even surface for your stones, and set the stones in place with a rubber mallet.

Stone comes in a wide range of styles! Use stone bricks for a contemporary garden design that complements rectangular garden beds, pick natural, round stones for an organic aesthetic, or choose classic scallop edges for graceful curving gardens.

4. Place Pretty Pebbles

Design a pretty border of pebbles that surrounds your garden, highlights your style, and stops pesky weeds in their tracks. Remove the soil 3 to 5 inches deep along the length of your garden bed, or up to 6 inches to block roots. Then cut weed or landscape fabric to the shape of your trench. Line the base with the fabric to further suppress weeds. Then, fill the entire length with pretty pebbles so that it beautifully outlines your garden!

Mix ½ inch of coffee grounds with 2 to 4 inches of wood mulch chips, and cover the soil in your garden bed to further reduce weeds. Placing up to 4 inches of mulch reduces sunlight to stop weed germination, while used coffee grounds (pH of 6.5 to 6.8) moderately acidify the soil to create an unfavorable environment.

5. Cultivate Creeping Phlox

Vinyl, wood, and stone materials aren't the only way to edge your garden and repel weeds. Cultivate creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) for green edging and beautiful blooms. Creeping phlox is an excellent choice for zones 3 to 9, thrives in full sunlight, and is a perennial that crowds out competitive weeds. It is most effective once it starts growing thick foliage. To stop weeds from taking over while it is establishing, layer 3 inches of shredded bark mulch on the soil.

Creeping phlox impedes weed growth with its dense foliage that obstructs the sun and inhibits weeds from germinating in the soil. It can spread as wide as 2 to 3 feet and stays low to the ground at a height of just 4 to 6 inches.

Take weed prevention to the next level and combine two types of edging! First, create a weed-blocking border with vinyl edging. Then, plant creeping phlox alongside it to create a weed barrier with beautiful blooms.

Stop Weeds in Their Tracks

Tired of spending your time in the garden pulling weeds? Stop troublesome weeds in their tracks by installing a beautiful border with garden edging. Pick vinyl, wood, or stone edging materials to accent and frame your garden. Then, bury it 6 inches deep to stop the roots from climbing into your garden bed underground. Alternatively, blend two types of edging like vinyl and creeping phlox, for a dense and elegant border of blooms that inhibits weed seeds from germinating.

What are your favorite types of edging to deter weeds from your garden? Share your tips in the comments below!