I found this great edging article on Superior Lawns Australia website and it’s well worth a read.

26 March 2018

Sometimes we run out of time to add the finishing touches to the lawn – but don’t forget the edging. Finishing your lawn off with a nice edge can be compared to adding a frame to a painting; it makes all the difference.

If your lawn looks a bit scraggly around the edges, the overall appearance of your lawn is definitely diminished. Not everyone has a lawn edger… that’s OK; a whipper snipper can do the job but its important to know how to use it to get the best results. 

The team at Lawn Solutions Australia have come up with 5 tips for getting a great finish every time. 

1. Choosing your trimmer; the main types are corded/cordless and petrol powered trimmers. Petrol trimmers will have more power and you will find these much easier for larger spaces. The may find the corded trimmers are a bit annoying as you will need to drag an extension lead behind you – but these are all you need if the space is small. The cordless trimmers are convenient in that sense, but do tend to lack the right power to get that precision edge. 

2. Speed; your trimmer will work best when at full speed. So, keeping your trimmer line away from the edge and working your way in (this is the key to maintaining speed). Avoid starting the line trimmer already in the grass – the aim is to cut the quickest and cleanest cuts; the tip of the line does all the cutting so keeping the majority of the line clear will result in the cleanest cuts. 

3. Spin Direction; depending on which way your trimmer spins, you will need to be sure you are cutting with one side and the cuttings are being ejected to the opposite side. i.e if your trimmer spins counter clockwise you will need to keep the right side closer to the edge so that the clippings are being ejected away from it. This will keep the cutting path clear and allow you to achieve a much better result.

4. Edging and tapering; edging will be important for driveways and paths where you are after a clean edge to something parallel. This is where you hold the edge of the trimmer so that the string is vertical. This will provide a crisp cut line where you want the grass to end. Tapering is used for fencing and retaining walls where you hold the edge of the trimmer so that the string is at a slight angle. This will ensure you don’t scalp a full run of grass by trimming parallel and get a nice gradual blend between the object and the grass. 

5. Regular trims; as with mowing it is important that you keep on top of the edging and no not allow it to get out of control. So, the more you do it, the more likely your edges will stay uniform and the easier they will be to tidy up, and the better you will get at it. 

The original blog post was found on the Lawn Solutions Australia Website. Superior Lawns Australia is proud to be a member of Lawn Solutions Australia.