A notable sign of a professional looking garden is its level of cleanliness. Crisp garden edges and weed free beds make your plant material pop. Without paying attention to the details, your garden can quickly become a messy environment. Check out our why edging and mulching your beds are so important:
Best Practices: Why Edge & Mulch?
Edging:
Keeps the surfaces looking sharp and defined. A deep clean edge ensures spreading grass roots stop at the edge of the lawn (roots don’t grow through air – once they hit the sharp edge, they will stop). It’s a lot of work, but is less maintenance over the long run!
Mulching:
Stifles weed growth. Mulch also helps the ground retain moisture, so less watering will be required for you plants.
Step by Step Guide
- With a hard rake, pull the existing mulch away from the edge 18”-24” if possible
- Dig the edge out with a flat shovel or half moon edger.
- Remove any weeds or grass in the 18”-24” area; break up soil clumps and rake out evenly.
- Dig out a clean edge 3”-4” deep
- Ensure straight lines or consistent curves (stand back to view and assess regularly)
- Once the edge is clean or soil clumps and weeds are removed, pull existing mulch back over the soil area but maintain 3” edge depth.
- Top up mulch each year to protect against weeds. This can be extended to every other year for mature gardens.
Bonus tip: Too much mulch can be as big of an issue as not enough mulch! If the mulch layer becomes too thick, your plants will start to take root in the mulch. This can be detrimental to the health of your plants, so before putting down mulch make sure your existing mulch is less than 2” thick. If your mulch is over 2” thick, just turn over the mulch with a hard rake to bring back some fresh colour.
Skip the work and leave it to us! Our group of professional gardeners would love to come help you get your gardens in tip top shape. Get started today >>>
