A scruffy, untidy lawn edge is one of the things that really frustrate the average home gardener. Most of us dream of having the neat, clean edge we see in fine public gardens and perhaps in some of our neighbor’s gardens as well. In cool, moist, summer climates, where grasses from seed are generally grown, there’s no great problem in cutting a straight edge with a half-moon spade a couple of times a year or so, and then maintaining that edge with garden shears or perhaps with a mechanical strimmer.

In Mediterranean and other hot, dry, summer regions however, deep-rooting, perennial species are usually grown for lawn grasses. With these, as many home gardeners are aware to their displeasure, maintaining a neat edge is far more involved. Furthermore, as these species tend to spread by sending out runners above or below the ground, the grass often turns into a noxious weed, invading the neighboring planting beds, while proving irritatingly difficult to control at the same time.

One solution is to insert a plastic edging product in the ground. These have a depth of some 10-15cm (4-6in) and vary greatly in price and quality. The cheap products have a very thin profile and are virtually impossible to keep straight in the ground, so instead of a clean line (as the photos on the package invariably show) you get an untidy wave for a lawn edge instead. The more expensive types, while being flexible enough to permit use in curved edges, are sufficiently firm, to create a line that is reasonably clean and straight.

It is an illusion to think that edging products, pricey or otherwise, prevent the grass from creeping underneath and invading the nearby flowerbed. Species that spread by means of rhizomes (stems that grow parallel to the ground but below it) such as the Bermuda or Zoisia varieties have no trouble passing below an obstruction that is 25cm (10in) deep or more, so constant vigilance is needed to cut away grass that has invaded the planting beds.

The benefit of these products is simply that maintaining the edge is easier, providing one uses a mechanical strimmer after mowing the lawn. The drawback however, is aesthetic, because the top of the product remains visible. The sight of a plastic tube running along the edge of the lawn is not necessarily a disaster, but is hardly the last word in snazzy design either!

From an aesthetic point of view therefore, there is no substitute for decent, natural materials like wooden sleepers. Sleepers from pinewood for example are not horrifically expensive, and an attractive edge with a width of about 15cm gives the lawn’s line more clarity and definition. Products from wood need to be treated for rot prior to installing, and painted with oil once or twice a year to prevent them drying out. An edge of brick paving, is more expensive to install, but does not require maintenance afterwards, so if it be suitable design-wise, can be considered as an alternative to wooden sleepers, especially as they can be used in rounded lines as well as straight ones.