Looking to improve the appearance of your yard? Creating expertly manicured edges for your garden beds is one of the easiest and most effective ways to add curb appeal and turn your garden beds into the centerpiece of your landscape design. Whether you rely on manual cutting tools or a more efficient option like a Bluebird bed edger for your Pennsylvania property, here are five helpful tips for creating attractive garden bed edges.
Develop a layout
The first step in creating beautiful garden bed edges is creating an attractive layout. If you’re going for a more formal look, straight, clean lines are recommended. Use two stakes and a string line in between them as your guide to help you get the straightest edges. For a more natural look, incorporate plenty of curves for your bed edges. Large, smooth and flowing curves look the most natural. You can use a garden hose as your guide. Simply lay it on the ground to show you where to make the cuts.
Choose the right tool
Choosing the right tool is one of the most important tricks when it comes to edging a garden bed. While you could use a shovel or spade, it often makes the job more difficult and leads to poor results. Instead, rent a Bluebird bed edger in Pennsylvania—or a similar high-quality tool from your trusted rental service. It makes quick work of edging a bed and results in an attractive, professional look.
Make the cuts
Using your chosen cutting tool, make the cuts to the turf. If you’ve chosen to manually cut the edges, you’ll have to cut and dig at an angle. It’s best to simply rent a bed edger tool, since you can easily make the angle adjustments you need and it only takes one pass to clearly define the edge. You’ll end up with much clearer cuts than manually edging the bed and coming back over it with a trimmer.
Clean up
Once you’re satisfied with the edges you’ve created, you’ll notice that there are plenty of clumps or strips of grass lying around. Use a rake and shovel to pick up the debris and get the area clean. Add the soil and scraps to your compost pile instead of throwing them away; they’ll aid in the breakdown of the rest of the material in the pile, creating nutrients for your plantings.
Mulch as desired
If you want to give your beds a polished, professional look, it’s best to add some mulch or other loose fill. Organic mulches like stone, gravel or shredded rubber bark chips are ideal for keeping weeds down. For a more natural look, choose shredded wood and bark chips. Adding mulch to garden beds provides plenty of benefits, including weed suppression, soil temperature modulation and moisture retention.
With high-quality equipment like a Bluebird bed edger, you can make attractive garden beds that set your Pennsylvania property apart from the rest. For all your gardening equipment needs and expert advice, visit Central Equipment Company.