[Novice but totally hooked]

We moved into our newly built house some 20 years ago and, for a number of reasons, have never really got the garden under control.

Much of the garden was builder's rubble and after two attemps we've managed to get the lawn looking reasonable (depite the best efforts of the pigeons who sit in the large ash tree an poo all over it!).  Our problem is the edging.

My husband is keen, as he has been for years to use an edging tool and try and get a good edge to the flower beds and borders.  My view is that ideally that would be great but I know from experience that this just won't happen. My reasons for saying this:-

1.  he's been saying for years he thinks it's a good idea but has he acted on this suggestion?  No.
2.  the dog doesn't seem to understand the difference between the lawn and the flower beds so walks from one to the other, breaking down any crisp edge I've managed to create.  (he's 15 years old now so it's not a habit we're likely to be able to break him of unless the layout of the beds/lawn is changed!)
3.  It's going to take some time and effort to create a firm edge to give us a crisp, smart looking edge. 
4.  Will my husband take the time and effort to keep the edges looking good?  On past experiences no.  His idea of mowing the lawn is to leave the edges with the long grass creeping into the flower beds so that any attempt by me to create a defined edge is soon lost.

After 20 years I want a quick and easy solution that is going to solve the problem once and for all.  My suggestion now is to use log rolls to create the edges and build slightly raised beds behind them to keep the lawn and flower beds clearly defined. 

I know to a purist this may not seem the best solution and believe me if I had the time and energy I'd try and battle on.  However, realistically, I don't have the time or a husband who will put in the time to maintain the edging as we'd like it.  I know we've still got the problem of keeping the lawn tidy where it meets the edging but I think that's going to be a lot easier than the mess it is at the moment.

What are others' views on this?  What at the pros and cons of edging lawns like this? 




 

[Kleftiwallah]

I would go for a straight strip of galvanised tin (not the wavy kind).  Pressed in untill the top edge is level with the lawn.  You can run a mower over it, no problem.   Cheers,   Tony.

[Trillium]

Or you could try this lawn edging product:
http://www.greenfingers.com/superstore/category.asp?dept_id=200332

Or this sort of product you can mow right over:
http://www.precastproducts.com/concrete_lawn.html

[sion01]

Fantastic Trillium.I have been looking for something to edge a curved bed for years.Looks like this could be it

[Elaine G]

Log roll has a limited life - ours has rotted away and we are now looking for an alternative 

Elaine