How to Edge a Flower Bed in 8 Simple Steps

To create those crisp edges that’ll make your neighbors give it a nod of appreciation, you need to plan how you want it to look. You can shape your edges to fit your home’s style and yard in a couple of ways. You can use straight edges for a simple yet clean look, especially if you want the focal point of your lawn to be on the flower bed. Or you can follow your flower bed's natural curved pattern to make those edges pop.

You’ll also take this time to decide what type of landscape edging material you’ll want to use. Plastic, stone, metal, brick, and concrete are some of the more popular edging materials. Here’s a quick breakdown of each:

• Plastic: Plastic edging material is easy to find at most home improvement stores and can make the transition from your flower bed to your lawn nearly invisible. Ensure you’re installing plastic edging that can take a few hits from your lawn equipment. 

• Stone: Stone edging is durable and can complement your flower bed with its natural, textured appearance. 

• Metal: Installing metal edgings like aluminum and steel can protect your garden from grass and give your flower bed a natural, borderless look. 

• Brick: For attractive, durable, and relatively inexpensive edging, consider brick. This option is stronger than plastic, but it costs less than stone.

• Concrete: Concrete edging, whether poured or pavers, is easy to maneuver around and protects your beds from weeds.

Now that you know how you want your edges to look, it's time to decide on the edging tool you’ll use to get the job done. Here are a few different tools you can use:

• Half-moon edging tool: A manual half-moon edger can give you straight edges that allow you to control your edges more. However, using them requires more effort. 

• Bed edger: A dedicated flower bed edger can help you make precise edges quickly. 

• String trimmer: String trimmers are a versatile tool that can be used for trimming and edging your grass for small and large flower beds. Typically, if you’re starting a new flower bed, a string trimmer works best when paired with a half-moon edger. 

• Electric lawn edger: While used primarily for boundaries around a property, it can give your flower beds clean lines with less effort than a manual tool.

• Hand shears: If you just need to touch up your garden (and snip away those wayward grass), hand shears are a perfect, no-power tool option. 

There’s no right or wrong tool you can use for this task. Your decision will depend on how much time, effort, and money you want to put into this project.

The great debate: Should you mow or edge first? The best practice is to mow your lawn first so you can see how short you’ll need to trim your edges later. Plus, it helps to prevent bare patches and lets your flower beds keep their freshly edged look.

Once you decide how your edges look and have a freshly mowed lawn, use string and stakes to help you outline where they’ll go. This can help you visualize how it’ll look, which makes it easy to make changes if it doesn’t fit your vision. Even if you have an existing flower bed, this step can help you see if you want to change where your edges are currently.

Start at the beginning of your outline and use a half-moon edger to cut along it by stepping on it until the lip touches the soil. Once you’ve finished, step inside your flower bed to create a second cut that will meet the first one, creating a V shape. Take the dirt you’ve removed and toss it into a wheelbarrow. 

You can also cut your shape with an electric circular-bladed edge cutter. This tool helps to cut clean lines along your border. However, an electric edger only cuts 1 1/2 inches deep, so you’ll have to dig down further with a half-moon edger to finish the process.

If this is your first time fleshing out your flower bed, use a rake to add 2 to 3 inches of fresh pine bark mulch to your flower bed to suppress weed growth and give nutrients to your soil. Then, dig a hole into the mulch to plant your flowers and shrubs, leaving enough space between your border and planted greens. And, of course, don’t forget to water them.

Generally, here are a few methods you can use to install your chosen edging material, if you’re using an):

• Trench edging: Grab a small shovel or garden trowel and dig out a shallow trench along the edging line. You’ll want to take the soil and mound it upward as you dig to create a downslope.

• Metal edging: A metal or aluminum edge goes right inside your edging border. Metal borders come in a long, lightweight, and firm strip.

• Plastic edging: Use hand shears to cut the edges of your plastic so they fit neatly into the space. Then, hammer in stakes with a rubber mallet and backfill dirt around your edging with a shovel.

• Brick edging: Line the edge of your trench with stone dust, line up your bricks in and above the trench, and mound them into place with a rubber mallet. Seal the bricks by adding water to the sand to create a heavy locking paste.

• Concrete edging: Fill your trench with a paver base and place your concrete pavers along the border. Add polymeric sand to the paver linings, hose them down with water, clear off the pavers, and set them into place.

• Stone edging: First, add a mound of fresh soil, stack your stones above your flower bed, and secure them in place with a landscape-block adhesive paste.

Now that your flower bed has beautiful edges, you’ll need to put in the extra work to ensure they’ll stay that way. Here are a few ways you can maintain its edge:

• Edge your flower bed at least once a year. However, you may want to edge it every week, depending on how fast your grass grows and how crisp you like your edges.

• Follow your edge’s path when you mow around it. 

• Trim your plants if they grow over your edge. 

• Remove cut grass from your flower bed to prevent weeds from taking root.