Lawn edges

Hi, can anyone help with advise around grass trimmer or other tool to manage effectively lawn edges? I have a small garden.

I am reading lot of reviews and all seem saying that all the grass trimmers are almost rubbish.

can anyone advise with their experience?

Thanks a lot

 

I use edging sheer and do ours by hand, and I would guess we have about 200M of lawn edge. I have used a variety of mechanised edge cutters over the years, and I suspect they are OK if you have a rigid edge to your lawn, but all ours are just earth.

The Mantis Tiller I bought recently came with an edge cutter attachment [freebie], haven't tried that yet, but if its any good I'll report back.

Strimmer "on its side" is the only other thing I can think of.

 

Barbamoto

I reckon you can't beat a lawn edging tool (the one like a small spade with a semicircular blade) used in the Spring to redefine the edges. Then followed up with a weekly trim using long handled edging shears. If you trim a little and often, you don't have to pick up the cut grass which will just mulch down and disappear. I always used to find that picking up the cut grass was the worst part of the job.

 

I use edging shears also.
Kristen I would be very interested to hear what you think about the Mantis Tiller - I've been looking at it today and hubby wants "the new toy".

 

My thoughts on the Mantis Tiller are here:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/source-mantis-tilleri-p329641.html#post329641

I'll update when I have tried the edger thingie.

"I reckon you can't beat a lawn edging tool (the one like a small spade with a semicircular blade) used in the Spring to redefine the edges."

Yes, good point Flinty.

I periodically (every 4 years or so) lift a strip of turf along the edge, pull it forward 3" or 4", then using a board to stand on and spread my weight cut a new edge, and put the bits back in the gap, will it with soil, and re-seed it.

Then each year a bit more gets taken away as I remake the edge, and then, after another 4 years, the lawn has shrunk! and I have to slide the turf towards the boarder again.

 

i use hand shears to.... they do the job just fine for me, i`ve tried a electric trimmer in the past but for me it was more trouble than what it was worth.....

 

I run a strimmer around the edges after mowing then trim up with edging shears. I never use a half moon edger.

To me any mecanised edger is a waste of money. I cut some massive runs of edging with some of the very large gardens I work in and find I can edge very quickly with shears, equally quick to any machine.

 

Why are you quoting me?

The Mantis Tiller's "Border Edger" surely has nothing to do with a half-moon cutter? The first is a rotavator accessory, the second is a type of spade!!

 

That link is broken as kt just takes me to the forum front page as I would be interested in your comments having just bought one.

PH

 

I always use a strimmer to do the vertical edge cuttting.

It's exponentially faster than using shears but if the grass has overgrown boundaries, such as onto block paving etc, the half moon tool comes out to slice it back as it creates a small but neat gap that strimmers don't handle so well and tend to leave uneven frayed/ dying grass (not to mention getting through a ton of cord no matter what type you use (and I use Nylinium which is amazingly tough).

 

I use these .

 

I had a customer once asking me to cut the grass with scissors.
I use edging shears only for a nice clean cut and a half moon if need be at the start of the season on edges up against patios/pavements.

 

lol at the scissors pic and mention.

It takes some practice to do vertical edging with a strimmer but with an angled neck one it somehow feels easier as I find it easier to see the strimmer head.

A circle like @martin-f showed with the scissors would probably take probably 30 seconds to do with my Efco strimmer and it would look just as neat. On long, straight edges it's takes slightly slower than a walking pace. So many customers comment on how neat it looks and thought it was only possible to do it with shears without destroying the lines/edges. With plants that overhang the border edges, shears occasionally have to be used sometimes if turning the strimmer upside down and cutting at a very low angle won't cut the grass edges without slicing plant foliage off.

But in all honesty, a couple of customers complained at the state of the tapered edges when I first started, having been shown the ways by a fellow gardener, so resorted to shears on their lawns but within a few weeks, after enough practice it has never been a problem since. It's really worth giving it a try as it speeds the job up tremendously, which means there's more time to do the weeding :(