Lawn edging for rennovating garden

ripcord

Hi all,

At the moment my back garden looks like this. I've killed all the weeks. The soil isn't great though (mostly clay and bog I think!). However I have installed french drains underneath it already, and these seem to be doing the job of draining it.




I want to turn it into the following picture:




My idea is to lay lawn edging first, then fill this in with about an inch or two of top soil. At the moment, the ground is level with the side of the house (you can't see it here - it's underneath the window). So any edging I put down I would like to stay flush with that, although I don't mind raising the garden towards the back.

At the moment, my choices for the edging are:

Small paving bricks laid end-to-end. These will make it easier to mow the grass, and last longer, but might not give me enough height at the back of the garden. They could also be tricky and time-consuming to lay as I've never done it before.

Or, long planks of treated decking turned on their side. These are taller than the bricks and far easier to lay - I assume I just mark a line with a spade and tap them into the ground. The treated wood won't last as long as the bricks, and with a narrow edge it will be trickier to keep a mowers wheels on it.

I don’t have access to anywhere I can dump the existing soil, so to allow room for the 2 inches of top soil at the front (keeping it flush), I'll need to shift existing soil from the front to the back. Also, if I painted the decking with fencelife would this make it last longer in the ground??

Any advice appreciated! It's wrecking my head and I don’t want to do anything until I have a good plan!
Thanks!

snoopy12

hey there,
the plan looks good! I'm curious whether you made a decision re the edging? I have a similar decision to make at the moment!
tia

stewygriffin

8 foot long natural oak railway sleepers laid on their sides would make a lovely border.About 22-25 euro for an oak sleeper depending on who you buy them from.Oak sleeper size is 8 feet long,5 inches wide and 8 inches in height.Make your border/edging with them and use 3 inch wooden stakes or some rebar to secure them down,then do you inflil and lawn.

Sonnenblumen

consider installing a slightly raised edge to finish flush with lawn eg setts/bricks which not only define the lawn edge, but a very effective mowing edge and also prevent the stone pebbles drifting onto grass area.

Easy to install, cost effective and outlasting any timber alternatives.