Down the Garden Path

Here we are at the end of May and maybe the beds in the backyard look ok or maybe not. We love our lawns, yet grass can move into our landscape beds in a stealth like manner, while we are waiting for better weather for bed weeding and edging.

Putting a strong clean line on the landscape beds really makes a difference in how they look, bringing out the strong curves that make the bed flow through the yard. That edge is the transition from bed to lawn that defines outdoor spaces.

With new plantings and a recently created bed, perhaps the best edging is a simple one made with an edging tool or flat spade. Too often beds are created, lined with an edging material that in a few short seasons can be found well underneath the evergreen and shrub branches at the ground because we did not realize just how much those plants are going to grow. Another good reason to hold off with any permanent edging is bed creation occurs over a few growing seasons and the bed edge should be able to change with it as well. Perennial flower beds come to mind as a great example. Increasing the number of plants with different bloom times and colors usually means a deeper bed out into the yard, easy to do if edging material does not have to be moved too.

Bed lines that are too close to plants can make the bed look tight and confining. Opening up an established bed as the plants have grown and matured provide a relaxed view of the annuals, perennials and shrubs. Mowing the lawn is a lot easier when the bed lines are away from the plants.

There are a variety of mulches that can be used in landscape beds these days. Naturally colored mulches will retain their color longer than dyed mulches. Mulches also can vary in size consistency. Mulches that are screened more than once show up as more uniform once spread. You might consider using a higher quality mulch in those beds that are seen regularly and up close compared to the back screening bed a good distance from the home.

Mulching flower beds can be a bit tricky as many of our perennials grow each year from the crown of the plant and are not able push up through mulch. Be careful about mulching into the crown of those plants. Mulch is typically put down at about an inch deep once settled in flower beds compared to landscape shrub and evergreen beds. Two to three inches in pretty common in these cases. When mulching to the lawn edge, if possible leave some open dirt. This makes touch up edging easy and keeps the grass from moving into the mulch too.

Trees in the landscape can also benefit from being edged and mulched. Young tree roots will appreciate the cooler soil temperatures and retained moisture so there is some good functionally going on. Larger, established trees less damage to surface roots near the trunk of the tree and we like how it looks