Steel Vs. Natural Vs. Concrete Vs. Plastic: Comparing Quality Landscape Edging

Most professionally designed gardens consist of a series of defined areas, each set aside for a different purpose.

Quality landscape edging accentuates each area, outlining its shape and form with crisp, clean lines.

Edging can also guide the eye through your landscape to the next focal point.

From a utilitarian standpoint, landscape edging keeps grass from spreading into your garden beds and keeps soil and mulch from spilling onto the lawn.

Edging can even help corral loose material, such as gravel, ensuring it doesn’t fall out of its designated path.

The best part about landscape edging is that, when installed correctly, it can handle mower wheels to keep edges manicured, eliminating the need for extra string trimming or weed whacking.

When choosing landscape edging, we typically use four materials: steel, natural, concrete and plastic. Choose quality landscape edging that coordinates with your overall design scheme and provides long-lasting contour to your beds.

Steel Landscape Edging in Modern Design

Steel landscape edging provides an ideal edge because of its strength, durability and flexibility.

It subtly accents the landscape with clean lines and minimal intrusion, won’t rot or become brittle in cold weather, resists ground movement, withstands routine landscape maintenance with its uniform thickness and weight (a mower can be run right along its edge) and installs fairly quickly and easily.

Steel edging is popular in Idaho Falls because it goes well with our trendy, mountain-inspired, rustic landscape designs. The steel edging material is 4 inches tall and 1/8 inch thick.

It sinks down to the grass line, creating a sharp, fine line that holds well. To install it, we cut a 4-inch line in the ground and tap the edging in using 18-inch rebar spikes to secure the edge.

Pros of steel landscape edging: Steel edging is popular and easy to install because it comes in straight, 20-foot sections. Maintenance is minimal because if it lifts up, you can easily hammer it back down. If you are changing your bed shape, you can easily pull this edging up and reshape it to match your new bed shape.

Cons of steel landscape edging: Steel is the second most expensive edging option after concrete, running roughly $3.00 to $3.50 a foot.

Natural (Live-Edge) Landscape Edging

A natural edge uses the existing edge of the bed to create an eco-friendly line that separates flower beds from lawns.

You can do the job by hand with an edging spade, or cut the 6-inch angled edge directly into the earth with an edging machine or a bed shaper attachment that connects to the front of a mower.

To maintain the lawn, mowers can run with their wheels in the angled area to cut the turf right up to the edge, eliminating extra trimming. Natural edges do need to be cleaned up each year to maintain their shape and form.

Pros of natural landscape edging: Natural edging is the second most popular edging type in Idaho Falls, behind steel edging. Mower blades cut safely over the edge—no risk of damaging the edging material or the mower blades, no need to invest in materials.

You can easily change bed shapes by digging a new edge. Natural edging is the third most expensive option compared to steel, concrete and plastic edging, so it’s relatively affordable.

Cons of natural landscape edging: We normally have to clean up natural edges annually as a service, so they require a bit more maintenance.

Pros & Cons of Concrete Landscape Edging

Concrete landscape edging gives beds a 6-inch-wide flat top that's both decorative and functional.

Just like other concrete surfaces, it can be colored and stamped to match your home and landscape design hues.

While concrete edging can be poured by hand, many professionals today use a curb machine that molds and creates the edge as it lays the concrete. Mower wheels run right on the concrete edge to help avoid extra trimming.

This permanent look is a long-term edging solution.

Pros of concrete landscape edging: Concrete edging can be ornamental, colored and embellished to match your home or landscape.

Cons of concrete landscape edging: Concrete edging is the most expensive option, starting at $4 per foot and costing about 25 percent more overall than steel edging. Concrete edging also can settle and crack, requiring maintenance or repairs.

As a permanent option, concrete edging can’t be easily moved if you want to change your beds' shape.

Is Plastic Landscape Edging Worth the Lower Cost?

Plastic landscape edging is the most affordable edging style. While it comes in many grades, the least expensive option can look cheap if not properly installed. It’s the most practical edging solution available.

Pros of plastic landscape edging: Plastic edging is the least expensive way to get a landscape edge.

Cons of plastic landscape edging: While plastic edging is a cheaper option, it often takes more time to install because the material doesn’t always unroll as straight or neat as steel edging.

Because of this, plastic can also lift out of the ground more easily, letting grass grow through or underneath it and sneak into your beds. Plastic edging is the least popular edging option in Idaho Falls.

Trust Your Backyard Details to Outback

All four of these quality landscape edging options take about the same amount of time to install, within about 10 percent of each other, although plastic takes longer than steel because we have to work with the material.

So any option can be installed professionally and smoothly to give your landscape an edge.

Let Outback Landscape help you choose the perfect landscape edging to accentuate your property. Contact our experts at 208-656-3220 or fill out the contact form to set up a no-obligation meeting with a team member.

Image Credit: Concrete Edging, Steel Landscape Edging