Gravel and grass border ideas ?

[summit151]

Hello so I am just in the process of installing some grass on my acreage and I am wondering what would be the best thing to use a border ? I would like to be able to drive the lawn mower over it or have a entrance point some were as it does go onto the back lawn area. How well does that plastic lawn edger work ? n

 

[EddieWalker]

I installed the plastic edging on a house I used to have decades ago and didn't care for it. It worked like it supposed to, but I still used a weed eater to clean it up.

The best that I've found is pouring concrete in a small ditch with a piece of rebar in it. But it's also the most work.

I was at a friends house yesterday and they had treated 2x6's flat on the ground with long nails holding it in place on the dirt. I didn't think it would last, but they said it's been there for well over a decade, and in my opinion, I thought it was only in there about a year.

Currently at my house, we are laying thin cedar logs on the ground and using them as a divider between flower beds and the grass. I spray round up along the grass side of the logs so I can mow close to the logs and have it look nice, but not have to use the weed eater.

 

[summit151]

I installed the plastic edging on a house I used to have decades ago and didn't care for it. It worked like it supposed to, but I still used a weed eater to clean it up.

The best that I've found is pouring concrete in a small ditch with a piece of rebar in it. But it's also the most work.

I was at a friends house yesterday and they had treated 2x6's flat on the ground with long nails holding it in place on the dirt. I didn't think it would last, but they said it's been there for well over a decade, and in my opinion, I thought it was only in there about a year.

Currently at my house, we are laying thin cedar logs on the ground and using them as a divider between flower beds and the grass. I spray round up along the grass side of the logs so I can mow close to the logs and have it look nice, but not have to use the weed eater.

Thanks for the input. Do you have any pictures of the logs? I alive also thought about laying 6x6 wood but I didn’t know if it would last and be a pain to drive over and walk over.

 

[Industrial Toys]

That's been the bane of my existence here for decades. Snow removal of course is probably the number one issue. If it's too high it poses a hazard to navigation and too low, it won't do any good as a barrier.

Plus, a barrier is always the place the weeds will grow. An old GF of mine once thought it would be a great idea to ring everything with the billion stones lying around here. All she did was create a nightmare for weed whipping, grass cutting and snow removal.

 

[EddieWalker]

This shows it pretty good.

 

[ededic]

I always cut an edge with a shovel straight down on the lawn edge and angled up on the bed edge. Then feathered chips into the trench. The trench was 4-6” deep so the chips never got sucked up into the mower but dead grass and leaves do.

Have to redo every 2-3 years due to growth but it sure looks nice when done.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Think of grass as a good looking weed. It will grow everywhere for the most part, and drive you crazy controllng it. The only control i know of that effectively works is a trench, at least 6" deep, and one that is maintained as a trench. Otherwise you use labor to control your grass.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My issue is more on traveled areas. The grass naturally migrates onto the gravel and the gravel through traffic, snow blowing/plowing and torrential rain migrates onto the grass.

 

[newbury]

I've a path through a 5' wide gate to the backyard. It's a high density path, thus was always getting muddy as the grass got worn down. About a decade or to ago I took some 5/8 PT decking, nailed it to a few PT 2x6's to make a "pallet" the width of the gate and about 5' or 6' long. Laid it down and expected to replace it in a few years. Still there.
I left gaps between tho boards like on normal shipping pallets, about an inch wide. Grass grows up between the cracks, gets mowed down.
Works well.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I saw some plastic crate type material which is used by the military and in agricultural applications. It allows support without sinking into mud. I was going to use it where there is heavy traffic on grass areas and on inclined gravel roads to stop washout. I'm not sure the gravel won't get washed out of the square sections by eddie currents. Unfortunately, the product has disappeared from my local farming magazine.

But it still doesn't solve the grass/gravel delineation issue.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

As a couple of other posters said, do a "dug edge." Scrape your gravel back from the edge for about a foot, then dig a trench about 6" wide and deep. Smooth out the dirt on the gravel side so it slopes evenly down into the trench. Then gently pull the gravel down over that. You should have a nice neat edge you can mow without touching the gravel. I use this for all my beds. Below is a picture that shows what it looks like after a year, when a lot of the mulch has fallen back into the trench. Still looks very neat, and all I have to do is once a year, throw some of the mulch that has fallen into the trench, back into the bed.



I do NOT have to edge this. I just mow around it.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Thanks for the input. Do you have any pictures of the logs? I alive also thought about laying 6x6 wood but I didn稚 know if it would last and be a pain to drive over and walk over.

Remember that what they call cedar in Texas isn't really cedar (it's juniper). Just FYI. :drink:

 

[kevinwak]

I would love to do a concrete curb between my gravel and lawn but will never have the money or time to do it myself. There is a house on the way in to town that did this and it looks amazing.
I personally use roundup a couple times a year to maintain a crisp edge on the gravel driveway and keep the grass off.

I have one area with a 6X6 sink flush with the gravel and lawn to divide. I run the mower tires on this. Been there four years now and no sign of rot. Just standard spruce from my dad’s sawmill.

 

[EddieWalker]

Remember that what they call cedar in Texas isn't really cedar (it's juniper). Just FYI. :drink:

True. But if you call it by it's true name, nobody knows what you are talking about.

 

[mikester]

I used plastic edging and dug down on the garden side and keep it filled with at least 4" of mulch. The edging is installed based on the turn radius of the mower - no edge trimming required. Just mow and go.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

True. But if you call it by it's true name, nobody knows what you are talking about.

I completely agree. No criticism intended. :thumbsup:

I grew up in Texas and reading books in grade school this caused me some confusion. Imagine reading about loggers in forests of 100ft mountain junipers! :shocked: Those would be some huge bushes. Lol

 

[PILOON]

In my case I used 4 x 4 cedar and 12" spikes (nails) to retain the cedar.
So far that has worked for me.

 

[summit151]

I used plastic edging and dug down on the garden side and keep it filled with at least 4" of mulch. The edging is installed based on the turn radius of the mower - no edge trimming required. Just mow and go.

Do you have any pictures of this?

 

[4570Man]

The nicest borders I’ve seen are poured concrete. The brick borders aren’t bad either but to do a good job is probably more expensive than concrete. The plastic ones work but tend to get chewed up by mowers. I’ve seen no border at all with just a dirt ditch to separate it. By far the worst border that it seems like everyone around here uses is just a row of softball sized rocks. I personally don’t have anything landscaping. It’s hard to beat the maintenance level of that.