Natural Bed Edging

Edging along planting beds defines the transition from lawn to planting bed with an aesthetically pleasing divider, whether that be a physical border material or a natural edge. Natural bed edging, or Victorian Edge, is a bed edge divider that requires no materials to be installed, just a clean earthen trench. Natural bed edging is done in two ways: hand done with a shovel, or done mechanically with an edging machine. With skilled workers, both methods will result in the same end product and look.  Unlike a brick or vinyl edging, natural bed edging is not a permanent “one time” installation. Natural bed edging lasts for several  months to a full season, depending on rain fall, soil type and depth of trench installed. We recommend a minimum of an annual refreshing of the beds, and for a more manicured look, we suggest spring and fall.

To install a natural bed edging our crew uses either an edging machine or straight faced “spade” shovel, hence the popular term Spade edge. Once a bed line has been determined, the crewman will cut a vertical 90 degree edge into the turf just along the turf edge, about 3-4” deep. Then a back cut is made with a horizontal shovel, at a 45 degree angle to meet the bottom of the first cut. The crew then disposes of the soil wedge and rakes the trench smooth.  This will produce a clean beveled look to the trench and a mounded look to the planting bed, especially if mulch is installed after the bed edge.

If you are considering having your beds spade edged, please let us know of any know TV cables, invisible dog fencing, landscape lighting wires, and irrigation pipes by marking them with paint or a flag. Underground locating companies do not 

mark for all of these types of buried wires, so we cannot predict where they will be. We can repair low voltage lighting, TV cable, and irrigation pipe, but we do not repair dog fencing wire. If you are concerned about where your cables are buried, which is a handy thing to know, the number for the underground locating companies are as follows:

Illinois  

Indiana

There are many different bed edging materials that can be installed instead of a Natural or Spade edge. This link will take you to our page on other bed edging materials and choices.

Natural bed edging is a great clean look for both formal and natural style landscape, especially in areas with a healthy stand of grass. 

Defined bed edges not only can transform the look of your lawn, but keep grass from growing into the mulch, and keeps the mulch in place in the beds. Spade edge beds also offer an easy job for the person mowing the lawn by reducing the need to string trim along the edge.

Cultivating

Cultivating bare soil is another service that is commonly done when spade edging beds. Cultivating the bare soil is a service we offer, but do not recommend in most cases. Please call our office for more information on cultivating bare soil.