RMA 235 - AK System
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How to Create the Perfect English Garden Bed Edge
Create a neat, elegant English-style lawn edge with our easy, cost-effective guide to enhance your garden's shape.
23.01.2025
Overview: English lawn edging
An English lawn edge is a borderless transition between the lawn and bed, where the bed is not enclosed.
It is best to create English-style lawn edging in spring, but it can be done all year round.
Step 1: Mark out lawn edge
Step 2: Create English-style lawn edge
Step 3: Remove protruding sections of grass
Step 4: Dig the edge of the bed or loosen the soil
- First cut you lawn edge, then mow the rest of the lawn
- Recut English-style lawn edging at least two to three times a year, or trim it using a grass trimmer
- Pay attention to safety requirements when trimming lawn edges with a brushcutter or grass trimmer
English-style lawn edge: Seamless transition in an elegant form
The English lawn edge forms a natural, borderless and obstacle-free
transition between bed and lawn by means of a sharp delineation where the turf is removed: in other words, a cleanly cut lawn edge without any kind of structural barrier.
For an English-style lawn edge you don’t actually edge the bed at all, but simply remove the turf cleanly. This creates a clear separation between lawn and bed. As the level of the soil in the bed will be slightly below that of the lawn, the edge will be further emphasised.
English-style lawn edging: Benefits and drawbacks
English lawn edges are free and easy to make, and offer a highly elegant and natural look. In addition, it’s a way of achieving a naturalistic lawn edge can take on any shape.
Drawback: It requires plenty of maintenance, as all edging must be done at intervals of a few weeks and lawns re-edged in spring if necessary.
Preparation and lawn edging tools
Creating an English lawn edge is easy. Find out below how best to prepare, what tools you need, and when the best time is for edging your lawn.
Where should you use an English lawn edge?
Lawn edging is often used between a lawn and a border bed. English lawn edges are also useful and attractive if you have island beds in your garden.
When and how often should you create or trim an English lawn edge?
As a general rule, regular and careful maintenance can save you from having to re-edge the lawn completely. If you do need to do so, you can rework an English lawn edge in spring.
For maintenance, trim the lawn edges every two weeks as required using a grass trimmer or brushcutter, or at least two to three times a year, as otherwise the lawn will grow back into the bed and you will have to edge it again the following spring. For greater precision, you can do it during your weekly mowing.
What tools do you need to edge a lawn?
An important tool for fans of the English lawn edge is a half-moon edging tool; this is a garden tool similar to a spade but with a crescent-shaped blade. It is also known as an edging iron or an edging knife, and its straight blade is what enables greater precision.
You could also use a spade with a slightly curved blade, and only edge small sections of the lawn at a time so that it does not become wavy or crooked. The half-moon edger makes precise, straight lawn edging, while a spade will create an untidier edge. If you want a neater, more precise line, you may have to take your edging too, round more than once.
TOOL LIST:
- Wooden board, garden hose or rope
- Half-moon edger or spade
- Claw cultivator
- A wheelbarrow may be useful for transporting the removed sections of turf
- A lawn mower (RMA 235) and a grass trimmer (FSA 57) to tidy the edges and collect debris once done
The straight, crescent-shaped blade of the half-moon edger draws precise lines and is therefore ideal for English lawn edging. Spades, on the other hand, have a curved blade, which is why they make an edge that tends to be crooked, so you usually have to redo it.
Neat and straight lawn edging: tips and safety
The bed, for example your perennial bed, borders onto a lawn. The transition is difficult to see because the lawn is already growing into the bed in places or over a large area.
With our tips and the right power tools, you can get your lawn edges under control and your garden will look neat and well-tended – even if it’s a naturalistic style.
Working with high-performance lawn edging power tools is fun and allows you to broaden your skills, which is great as long as you can rely on effective and safe protective clothing while using them. Always wear your personal protective equipment when working with a brushcutter. This includes helmets, cut protection trousers, safety boots and much more. For details, refer to your product owners manuals. Before using your power tool for the first time, fully familiarise yourself with it and ensure that it is in flawless condition before each use. On request, your STIHL dealer will be happy to prepare your power tool for its first job, and will also advise you on models and sizes of protective clothing that you can try on at your leisure. Please remember that personal protective equipment is no substitute for working safely.
When working with a grass trimmer, stay a good 15 metres away from other people, as small stones and chippings could be thrown up around the area. You must also be careful not to fall into the bed when creating your English lawn edge.
Brushcutters and grass trimmers should be adjusted to suit your height. An upright working posture is important to avoid fatigue and back pain. Work ergonomically by keeping the cutting tool just touching the ground, and always hold the grass trimmer with both hands as you use it. Read more about how to correctly use a brushcutter for trimming grass in our guide.
Finishing touches for the lawn edge
The grass trimmers, brushcutters and clearing saws such as FSA 57 and FSA 60 in the STIHL AK System or the compact battery shrub shear HSA 26 in the STIHL AS System are ideal for maintaining extended edging in gardens or where a lawn meets walls or similar obstacles.
Create your own English lawn edging: step-by-step instructions
Place a long, straight wooden board in the place of the proposed lawn edge, tight against the garden bed. Alternatively, stretch a planting line. If the bed or lawn edge needs to be curved, lay out a hose or rope along the shape instead.
Now use a spade or half-moon edger to cut through the turf along your board, hose, or rope. This will create your English lawn edge a little at a time.
Use a claw cultivator or narrow rake to loosen the soil at the edge of the bed where you have removed turf. Doing this will bring any remaining grass roots in the ground to the surface, from where you can easily pull them out. This buys you more time before grass runners grow back into the bed.
Your neat and tidy English lawn edge is now finished. Remember to trim it regularly so you can enjoy it for a long time to come.
Maintaining and keeping English lawn edges tidy
If your English lawn edge becomes shaggy and the lawn grows over the line, slowly run along the edge with a grass trimmer, for example from the STIHL cordless AK System. If possible, trim before mowing the lawn, and then pick up the clippings with the lawn mower. Any clippings in the bed can be left there.
In places the lawn trimmer can’t reach or may cause damage, the shrub shears HSA 26 with grass trimming blades are a great tool. For example, they can remove grass between slabs, and under sprawling ground cover or fruit-bearing gooseberry or redcurrant bushes with branches that are bent almost to the ground. Even for grass growing in front of and through mesh fences, or under permanently anchored items such as a stone bench, the grass trimmer is a great help.
If you want your English lawn edging to remain really straight, tidy and in shape, trim it every two weeks. In any case, this job should be done at least two to three times a year, as otherwise the grass will quickly grow back into the bed. The frequency also depends on the type of lawn. If it’s a fast-growing grass seed mix or one that encourages strong runners, the intervals for lawn-edging maintenance should not be too long.
Over time, an increasing height difference between the lawn and the bed can also arise. We recommend compensating for this with topsoil.
With our instructions and tips on how to edge a lawn and maintain an English lawn edge, there’s nothing to stop you creating this beautifully crafted transition between lawn and bed in your own garden.
