For most lawn aficionados, the color, height, and health of the lawn are all-important. Many people consider that edging isn't necessary, but in fact it's a finishing touch that can make all the difference between a good-looking lawn and a great one. Edging isn't a crucial part of lawn maintenance, but it gives your lawn a well-manicured look that isn't achievable by any other means.

A properly edged and trimmed lawn looks great, but there are other good reasons to edge, too. In conjunction with regular mowing, edging and trimming your lawn will help reduce weeds, and improve your lawn's overall health. Edging gives you cleaner lawn lines, with tidy weed-free borders that don't distort the shape and structure of your lawn's edges, to keep both your lawn and your garden looking good in every season.

Edging and Trimming

The process of edging involves using an implement called an edger or trimmer to provide those smooth, neat lawn lines. Edgers are implements that provide a vertical cut to the grass being edged, while trimmers apply a horizontal cut. Each has a slightly different purpose in terms of lawn maintenance.

Edgers are used to create a neat, tidy edging to provide that well-manicured look to the edges of the lawn. It gives your lawn's borders a more finely-groomed look by preventing grasses from growing outside the confines of the lawn's edges. An edger cuts grass with a blade that is oriented in a vertical fashion, and the implement is used by running it in a straight or curved line along the borders of the lawn.

Trimmers, on the other hand, are used to level out any patches of grass where your mower cannot reach, or that are too tall to mow, so that these patches can be trimmed to the level of your mowed lawn. These implements traditionally use a nylon string to cut the grass, rather than a blade of the type used in an edger.

When using edgers and trimmers, it's important to beware of being over-zealous with your grass cutting. Trimming your grass too closely will look almost as bad-or worse- as not trimming it at all, as you'll end up with areas of lawn that are cut much closely than the areas where you mowed. Remember the same ‘one third' rule that applies with mowing applies to cutting, too.

Similarly, be careful when edging your lawn that you don't accidentally end up running your edger into the lawn itself-it's important to ensure you stay flush with the edges of the lawn, so that you don't cut out chunks of the lawn itself.

Choosing Edging and Trimming Equipment

Choosing the right equipment for the job is fairly simple, as the type of equipment you need depends mostly on your budget, the size of the lawn you'll be using your equipment on, and how frequently you plan to edge and trim your lawn. For example, if your implements will see frequent use, or if you have a large lawn, the more powerful implements may suit you best.

If your lawn is small and does not require much time spent edging, a pair of vertical cutting shears will do a great job, at less expense. However, if you have more than a quarter acre of lawn or plan to edge frequently, you'll benefit from purchasing an electrical or gas-powered edger.

One of the biggest budget-busting decisions you'll make when purchasing these tools is choosing between electric and gas-powered models. If you're able to reach all corners of your lawn using implements that you connect home electrical outlet, you'll be able to use an electrical trimmer and edger. Most of these implements typically reach to a distance of 100 to 150 feet from an outlet.

However, if you'll need to extend beyond that distance, you may need to invest a little more in a gas-powered tool. These are also good to use if you have a large lawn that requires a great deal of trimming, as gas-powered units tend to be smaller and more mobile than their electrical counterparts. The downside is that gas-powered tools require more maintenance, and are often more noisy than electrical models.

If you're planning to buy both an edger and a trimmer, you may be able to save money by purchasing a horizontal trimmer that can be used for edging as well as trimming. This can be achieved simply by turning the trimmer at an angle that allows it to cut horizontally. You won't achieve as clean an edge when you cut using a trimmer, but if you're planning to buy gas-powered implements you'll save anywhere from $100 to $300 by choosing a tool that can cover both tasks.