Edging for Flower Beds

Physical Barriers

• Physical barriers are an attractive means of creating a clean, easy-to-maintain edging around your flower bed. Physical barriers come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials that can be used to create a simple line to delineate your flower garden edge or stacked in several layers to create a raised bed garden. Materials such as pressure-treated landscaping timbers, bricks, construction edging as well as many other materials can easily be used as a physical barrier for flower beds. Once constructed, physical barriers help prevent weeds from encroaching on your flower bed.

Mechanical Edging

• Flower bed edges are easily kept free from weeds by periodic mechanical removal. Gas-powered or electric weed-eaters, edging tools or your own hands and some hard work can all be used to keep the area near your flower garden free of weeds and invading plants. When mechanically removing weeds near a flower bed edge, be sure to remove the weeds to a distance where you can mow them with lawn mower so that the weeds can be controlled with regular lawn maintenance. A regular edging regime is important for effective mechanical edging around flower beds to keep them weedless, according to Utah State University.

Chemical Edging

• Periodic herbicide treatments along flower beds will keep weeds from growing near your flower bed. Edging with herbicides should start in the early spring by applying a pre-emergent herbicide along the edge of your flower bed to kill grassy weeds before they germinate and become a problem. Subsequent applications of non-selective herbicides should be applied as needed to keep the flower bed edge clear from weeds. Use caution when edging with herbicides and ensure you apply only the edge of the flower bed to prevent unintended damage to your flower bed, according to the University of Illinois.

Mulch Edging

• Organic mulch is a good edging material that has many additional benefits for flower gardens. Mulch limits the ability of cool season grasses to reproduce in your flower bed. In addition, mulch helps maintain soil moisture and regulate soil temperature in flower beds. While mulches are effective at limiting air-blown weed seeds from germinating in your flower bed, they are not so effective against warm season grasses that reproduce by rhizomatic growth underground. Mulch should be used along with another form of edging in landscapes dominated by warm season grasses.