Everedge, or it’s rival Core Edge, the metal edging that slots together and can also be bent into curves, gives a sharp, invisible edge. You push in the integral spikes to the soil level. Otherwise its a long ‘straight edge’ a length of steel section used by builders, or just a plank of wood, combined with an edging tool. The former is not cheap, but very effective, the latter is cheap, but needs to be repeated ad infinitum!
You can also use narrow paving slabs/outdoor tiles set flush with the soil, or any material with a straight edge, really. The things to avoid are log rolls and plastic edging which rot or break up and are not really strong enough or straight enough.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie gave a good overview of options. I used to use pallet slats. These would decay - it looked beautiful with moss and all kinds of insects living in it, but the maintenance was too much. My parents used painted planks of wood, again a lot of maintenance. I now use everedge corten. It's an investment - I got most of it as a birthday present. It's easy to create nice flowing lines with this. As my lawn is not manicured but more of a clover/self-heal/yarrow lawn (and sadly some species of grass I'd rather not have) I've chosen to edge the border rather than the lawn. It's less insulating than the slats used to be - it gets hot when it's in the sun.
Thanks for your answers... that Everedge does look good, but as you say is pretty pricey. Not sure if the budget can run to that at the moment, particularly as it is a pretty long border... Something to save up for, I think. In the meantime, I think I'll invest in a new edging tool. Do you have a pic of yours in situ you could post, @micearguers?
Interesting you say it gets hot @micearguers, is yours not fully flush with the soil level of both grass and border? I would have thought the soil either side would protect it from overheating. At least I hope so, having recently installed 17m of it!
Core Edge - https://www.corelp.co.uk/core-edge/ does work out cheaper, I recall, you get a full metre length per piece, including the crossover joints of the lengths, whereas Everedge is less than a metre when installed. Still expensive though!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie currently I use the edging itself as a bit of a delineation feature. It is flush with the border soil, on the lawn side I edge the lawn actually. It's not everywhere it gets hot, just in the south-west facing border, and it's not a huge problem - and it's definitely caused by being exposed. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
Thanks for the pics, @micearguers, it does look lovely, and something to think about for the future! However, when I explained to OH how much it would cost to edge the border with it, he suddenly decided that he would do it himself! Looks a lot tidier than yesterday...
Posts
You can also use narrow paving slabs/outdoor tiles set flush with the soil, or any material with a straight edge, really. The things to avoid are log rolls and plastic edging which rot or break up and are not really strong enough or straight enough.
Core Edge - https://www.corelp.co.uk/core-edge/ does work out cheaper, I recall, you get a full metre length per piece, including the crossover joints of the lengths, whereas Everedge is less than a metre when installed. Still expensive though!
Thanks for the pics, @micearguers, it does look lovely, and something to think about for the future! However, when I explained to OH how much it would cost to edge the border with it, he suddenly decided that he would do it himself! Looks a lot tidier than yesterday...