In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most popular types of lawn edging and their pros and cons. We’ll also provide some helpful tips on how to choose the best lawn edging for your particular lawn and landscape needs. Whether you’re looking for a simple and cost-effective option, or something more decorative and durable, we’ve got you covered. So let’s dive in and explore the best lawn edging options available to help you create a beautifully defined and well-manicured lawn.
| Product | Height, in | Length, ft | Digging | Material | Flexible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimex EasyFlex (Budget Friendly) | 1.5 - 1.7 | 12 - 240 | No | Plastic | Yes | Check Price |
| Master Mark Plastics | 5 | 40 | Yes | Recycled Plastic | Yes | Check Price |
| EverEdge Edging (Editor’s Choice) | 3, 4, 5 | 16.25 | No | Steel | Yes | Check Price |
| Emsco Group Edging | 2.5 | 10 | No | Resin | No | Check Price |
| Suncast FSE10LT | 4.5 | 9, 10 | No | Plastic | No | Check Price |
| Greenes Fence Edging | 5 - 7 | 3 - 18 | No | Wood | Yes | Check Price |
| Dimex EasyFlex Al | 1.63 | 24, 48 | No | Aluminum | No | Check Price |
From a practical standpoint, many people can benefit from lawn edging. If you grow a garden or flowers, lawn edging can help prevent the spread of grass and weeds into your garden or flower bed where they would strangle the water and nutrient resources from the plants you actually want to grow. Beyond that, they can also serve as a border between plants and walkways to help prevent weeds from disrupting the foundation.
What to Look for in Lawn Edging?
How to Find the Best Lawn Edging?
Figuring out which lawn edging is the right one for you can be difficult due to a wide number of materials, styles, and intended applications. That is why we have put together a list of the 7 best lawn edgings, highlighting what each one does best. Then we provide a helpful buyer’s guide, so you can find the best lawn edging for your needs.
This is because a homeowner likely does not need as extravagant a lawn edging as some of the other users who would be looking for this type of product. Instead, a no-fuss option at a reasonable price is a better value. In this, the Dimex is hard to beat. While it is a bit more expensive than some of the other products we reviewed, it also comes in the largest lengths as well.
Beyond the flexibility of the Master Mark Plastics lawn edging, this product is customizable in other ways as well. For instance, this product is exceptionally easy to cut through, so if you need a different sized piece, that will take little time and effort to achieve. That said, this product does only come in 40’ strips, so if you do need smaller pieces, you will likely do plenty of cutting. Adding to this potential timesink, the Master Mark Plastics is also one of the few lawn edgings that we saw which does not come with stakes to secure it.
This means that you will be forced to dig a short and narrow line along the edge of wherever you choose to install it. Then, you will have to come back and fill in that hole, making sure that the lawn edging is standing upright and straight. Still, at 5” in height, this is one of the taller lawn edging products we reviewed and should have plenty of wiggle room to get the exact right height to make your landscape look amazing.
This lawn edging is also exceptionally good if you happen to live in a fairly wet climate. This is because the Master Mark Plastics plastic structure is fully resistant to water. Going a step further, this product is also one of the more eco-friendly on our list as the plastic itself is made entirely from recyclable products. That said, being plastic, is it not the most structurally durable material on our list of lawn edgings, and the fact that it is also fairly thin only adds to this durability issue.Still, made of steel does carry with it a number of advantages. For one, this is by far the most structurally durable lawn edging we reviewed. Interestingly enough, this lawn edging is also exceptionally flexible which makes it great for larger estates that have eccentric edges. Finally, with molded spikes, setup is by far the easiest with this product.
In fact, this product definitely seems to be geared more towards niche convenience, but misses the mark a bit in terms of genuine versatility. That said, this is definitely the best lawn edging to use if you want to be able to run your lawn mower right up against it. This is because the Emsco Group features a flange that prevents the lawnmower from actually coming in contact with the lawn edging.
Still, this product seems to hit as often as it misses. For instance, the installation is fairly simple using the tried and true spike method, but the spikes provided are not truly long enough to prevent the lawn edging from rising up. This is especially true if the ground is not perfectly flat. Also, while there is a hinge system in place, the pieces are not truly flexible which may impact placement versatility.
In terms of lawn edging, this product definitely has its place, but that place is not for every situation. For instance, this product is fairly attractive in that it mimics the appearance of natural materials – and is one of the few to mimic stone. However, that look only holds up under so much scrutiny, and it will look plastic upon closer inspection. Thankfully, that makes it ideal for landscape borders where the viewer is unlikely to be that close.
This lawn edging is also one of the thicker models which will only help enforce the look from a distance. The only issue – which should not be much of an issue for a larger estate – is that the lawn edging is not flexible and instead can only shift every foot along a hinge. Also, this product, while inexpensive singularly, does not come in longer packages.
Some settings are a bit more about the aesthetic appeal the edging provides than anything else. Considering a flower bed is primarily an aesthetic and ambiance setting endeavor, it seems like a match made in heaven to use a natural wood lawn edging with it. As the only natural wood lawn edging on our list, Greenes Fences definitely steals the show for this purpose. The alternating height of the lawn edging planks only reinforces that aesthetic.
Another aspect that makes this lawn edging great for flower beds is the wide variety of sizes available. Since few flower beds come in a standardized size – unlike yards and lawns – this variation allows you to find the right size for you without having to customize it or purchase more than needed.
In terms of the good, this is an exceptionally water resistant lawn edging. Since aluminum is naturally rust resistant and not known for corroding, you do not have to worry about where you live. Even better, this means that the Dimex EasyFlex can also be placed against other materials without having to worry about one affecting the other. Also, as aluminum, it inherently has a good structural integrity.
One odd thing about this lawn edging is that for aluminum, it is not truly flexible. It can be arranged in fairly sharp angles and follow curves, but you are not actually flexing the lawn edging as much as you are bending it. While this is fine for a single use, it means that you will not be able to move it once in place without it losing structural integrity – one of the material’s primary benefits.
While some materials may have unique qualities that limit them in specific ways, the overwhelming majority of materials used to make lawn edging products can actually accommodate a wide variety of characteristics. As such, when you are judging lawn edging products by their material, the most important factors will generally relate to your setting.
While this can loosely be described as durability, it is actually more appropriate to understand how the environmental factors of different locations and settings will affect the different types of materials. Through this, you can still probably find a material that satisfies virtually all of your needs without having to worry about how it will hold up in the long term.
Still, just because plastic is less expensive than most of the other materials does not mean that it is a poor material to use. In fact, a big part of the reason that plastic became so popular for lawn edging products is due to its durability in such a wide variety of environmental settings. For instance, plastic will not rust or rot even if exposed to constant water – and it is also one of the few materials to handle sea water well too.
That said, plastic can face some issues when exposed to the sun for long periods of time, though this is generally more of an aesthetic issue as the sun can change the color of the plastic. Extremely cold or hot climates can also cause the plastic to fail with the latter melting it in rare circumstances and the former cracking it.
This construction allows resins to provide the best of both worlds, ecologically speaking. They are generally safer to throw away as they will eventually degrade into their constituent components, though those with synthetic elements added to their formula will obviously break down differently. Still, resin offers a solid alternative to plastic that is also often less expensive.
Much like plastic, resins are extremely resilient to even continual abuse from the water. Unfortunately, resins will not always be able to handle various chemical exposures quite as well – especially for saltwater – but that will largely depend on the resin’s chemical formula. To make matters more tricky, few manufacturers actually disclose the formula of their resins.
In terms of temperature, resins will be a bit more durable than plastics in extreme heat and are far less likely to melt. On the flip side, the same structure and compounds that protect resins from extreme heat will also make them a bit more brittle than plastic in extreme cold.While wood is not the most expensive material used for lawn edging, it is still generally significantly more expensive than plastic or resins. In fact, the only materials that are more expensive than wood for lawn edging products are metals. That said, wood does offer some advantages over many of the other materials used.
For one, wood has a much higher tolerance for extreme temperatures than plastics or resins. Though it is important to note that this tolerance does not come without caveats. Specifically, when wood is exposed to drastically shifting temperatures, it will expand and contract which can cause the wood to split. Still, it is generally more durable than plastic or resin in this respect – and especially in the short term.
The biggest downfall for wood comes when it is exposed to continuous water. While you can pre-treat the wood to repel water, if the exposure is constant, it will only be a matter of time before the water gets in. Once that happens, wood will bloat and can even begin to rot from the water exposure. On top of that, wood can also develop mildew or mold in extremely wet climates.
This is because, without numerous protections, steel exposed to water will begin to rust. In fact, this effect is far more pronounced than in any of the other materials reviewed and will often occur after a long enough time regardless the type of steel or protective treatments applied. That said, if you live in an arid region or one that does not see regular thunderstorms, the durability of steel may appeal to you.
By far one of the biggest issues with steel is its cost. Pound for pound, steel is the second most expensive material on our list and is significantly more expensive than plastic, resin, or wood. While aluminum is actually more expensive than steel, the unique properties of that metal often allow products made from it to be overall cheaper.
However, if aluminum’s durability is one of its better qualities, its ability to handle water is probably its best quality. Unlike steel, aluminum is naturally corrosion resistant without having to be treated. In short, aluminum does not rust. This makes it ideal for most situations where it will frequently be exposed to water. The one exception to this rule is salt water, where the salt can eat away pockets in the aluminum.
Another excellent quality about aluminum is that it can remain extremely flexible. While steel can be spun thin enough to maintain a decent level of flexibility, aluminum can spin loops around steel – literally. All of the qualities combined make aluminum arguably the best material for lawn edging products outside of a saltwater environment and so long as you are willing to pay a bit more.
The best lawn edging is not going to be the same product for everyone. If you have a garden or flower bed, then you likely do not need the kind of lawn edging that is intended for landscaping large estates. Similarly, if you live in a wet climate, the material of your lawn edging will need to be more specific than if you live in an arid environment.
For the best all-around value – and especially for larger estates – Master Mark Plastics offers an excellent lawn edging. Aside from the fact that you get plenty of length and height, it is also one of the less expensive options that we reviewed. While the installation will be a tad more effort and time intensive, it will provide an excellent accent to larger lawns and estates.
Of course, if you simply want a solid product for your home, the Dimex EasyFlex is a great option. While it will not provide the same type of look as some of the other, taller lawn edgings, it is exceptionally long, and its plastic material will allow it to bend and flex around any and every change in direction. On top of that, it is ideal for virtually any environment.
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