Edging Your Lawn

Edging helps form distinct boundaries between a lawn, typically consisting of grass or another soft cover such as chamomile, and another ground surface feature such as a paved, concreted or asphalted area, or a granular material such as sand or gravel. Edging ensures your lawn is under control, and gives gardens a smart, kempt look.

But one must confess, the television show, Versaille, available on SBS On Demand, has this gardener scratching her head – how on earth did the gardeners of the 17th and 18th centuries manage to edge all that lawn? Well, it turns out that the very first lawn edgers were spades and hand shears. Thank goodness things have progressed since that time, as 800 acres of edge shearing or spading would not have been fun.

These days the gardener can select from lawn edgers that are either manual or motorised. Setting aside the manual variety (I’m sure the gardeners at Versailles would agree!), the motorised options are as follows:

• Adaptable string trimmer
• Single-wheel design
• Multi-wheel design

Adaptable string trimmers have been on the market in Australia since the late 1980s and consist of a whirling monofilament line instead of a blade, which protrudes from a rotating spindle at the end of a long shaft topped by a motor. The most vexing thing about these edgers is that filaments have a nasty habit of breaking off, which means gardeners must continue to purchase replacement filaments. Single wheel designs are lighter and more manoeuverable than multi wheel designs, which are built for heavy duty work. Another consideration is the choice between petrol driven, battery powered, and electrical edgers. The final choice will really depend on your individual circumstances and preferences, but don’t forget to do your homework. Talk to neighbours and retailers about their experiences and check out reviews on-line.

• Topics:

• My House My Home
• Gardening