Garden Reports and Rejoicing – December 22
Edged Out
No doubt about it, a freshly edged bed can make a garden look spiffy. There is something about having distinct borders between lawn and beds that is attractive. Sometimes that line is made permanent with a material such as cobblestones. In other cases the grass that tries to invade other areas is cut off, preventing the turf from spreading where it doesn’t belong and making a crisp line where the lawn stops.
In the hands of someone who isn’t paying attention, however, the edging process doesn’t just stop the lawn from encroaching into the gardens. Edging can inadvertently enlarge the beds, creating empty spaces to mulch and shrinking lawns.
Attractive landscapes should be well balanced. If there is an expanse of turf there should be enough grass to make equilibrium between lawn and other beds. And there should not be a widening no man’s land of mulch between the grass and other plants.
This is a design blunder that develops over time yet is easily avoided. Edging should maintain a neat line, not become an ever-shifting boundary.
They're going to be mowing a six inch strip of lawn very soon...and every year more and more mulch must be applied.
