Lawn edge trimmer comparison – cut lawn edges correctly

Depending on the size of your garden and lawn, there are various tools and equipment available to you to properly trim the lawn edges. You can avoid or at least delay the pruning of lawn edges with clever planning when laying the lawn. Lawn edges and stones made of plastic, metal, rubber and also reading stones reduce the 4 to 6-week maintenance cut to a minimum.

Mechanical tool for the perfect cut

Hand shears are extremely precise and particularly suitable for working on smaller green areas. The special shears often have a rotatable cutting head, which facilitates and simplifies the mechanical cut on particularly inaccessible lawn edges. Similar to conventional household scissors, disruptive blades of grass are manually trimmed back to the desired size. Despite the comfortable and modern design, these tools do not have an extended handle, which means that you have to work on your hands and knees. Grass shears have a clean cut and thus promote a healthy and uniform appearance of the entire lawn.

Cordless grass shears can be used universally. You can use these little helpers not only to take care of the lawn edge, but at the same time you can also prune low-growing shrubs to the right shape. Some models have an extension handle, with which you can make this gardening work a little easier on your back. If the cutting pattern is not clean, you should have the cutting surfaces of the scissors sharpened. This not only extends the life of the tool, but also gives your lawn a clean overall appearance.

Tip: When buying battery-operated devices, pay attention to their quality and performance.

Lawn trimmer vs. Motorsensen

Another option for neatly separating the transition between lawn and beds is with trimmers. These devices are suitable for larger lawn edging areas and are easy to use. Trimmers often work with a thicker thread made of plastic, which, thanks to its rapid rotation, mows the excess grass. The advantage of these devices is that even contact with a wall, stones or bushes does not cause any significant damage to the trimmer, but only results in greater wear and tear on the plastic thread. Even the corners of the garden, where a large lawnmower cannot do its work, are no problem for the lightweight line trimmer. But the disadvantage must not be ignored: The upper part of the blades of grass is knocked off by the rotating thread. A yellowish color often forms around the frayed interface, which gives the lawn an unkempt appearance. The energy supply also plays a not insignificant role, because most line trimmers require a socket connection and are therefore dependent on an extension cable. Battery-powered devices make work easier and you can work more freely and mobile in your own garden.

Brushcutters, on the other hand, work independently of the socket. These powerful devices are often equipped with a petrol engine and can be used to cut thick bushes and branches at the same time. Large brushcutters rarely have a rotating line, the mower consists of sturdy knives. Some models come with different attachments and are therefore versatile in the garden. Brushcutters are more suitable for rough cuts and the mower should never come into contact with walls, stones or garden fences. Garden areas and lawn edges that are difficult to access are not suitable for working with brushcutters. If, however, the lawnmower quits its work due to the stalks being too tall,

Lighter grass trimmers and brushcutters come with an electrical connection, which makes these models ready for use extremely quickly. Whether battery, petrol or electricity operation, you should always wear long clothes and sturdy shoes when using the devices. Safety glasses have also often proven their worth. In this way you prevent the risk of injury and protect yourself from stones and small branches being blown up. Working with these models leaves an enormous amount of dirt in the form of stalks and tufts of grass lying around. You may therefore have to plan some time for cleaning afterwards.

Knife and lawn edger

Lawn shears aren’t the only manual tools that can be used to clean the transition from the lawn. Disused kitchen knives with a sturdy, straight blade are also suitable for this. Drive directly along the edge of the lawn and cut about two centimeters of clippings away from the transition. Regular regrinding and cleaning of the knife is a must, and the stooped posture puts stress on the joints and back. But this variant is well suited to clearly separating small areas in the garden. Especially where stone walls or large decorative pieces make it difficult to use grass trimmers and shears, you can make your work easier with a knife.

A so-called lawn edging cutter is a standard tool for many to create a clean area between green space and paths or beds. The tool resembles a spade with a rounded edge. With this you pierce directly at the edge of the lawn and cut off protruding blades of grass and roots. Spades with a smaller, straight blade surface also achieve similar results. However, you need to be careful with this one to get a consistent line. The result is clean, but you will need to refill soil with regular use. Because when using a lawn edge cutter, some substrate is also cut out, the transition between bed and lawn becomes uneven in height over time.

Tip: Both tools, knives and lawn edger, are silent and can be used at almost any time of the day or night.

Tips for the perfect lawn edge

The rules for cutting the edge of the lawn are similar to those for mowing the lawn itself. Depending on the device, the work may only be carried out at certain times and on working days, for example. This is especially the case if you use petrol-powered brushcutters. It is cut in the early morning or in the afternoon, but never in the direct midday heat. There is a great risk that the grass will quickly suffer burns and bare spots. Only mow in dry weather, wet stalks can quickly clog the mower.

Whether you do this job before or after the actual lawn mowing is entirely up to you. Immediately afterwards, you can trim the remaining stalks to a uniform size, so that a uniform cross-section of the entire green area is created. However, if the lawn edge is cut before that, the cut blades of grass are chopped up by the mower’s mower. So they can either remain on the lawn as fertilizer, or the useful grass clippings are added to the compost and flower beds. In hard-to-reach places, you should use cordless shears with a flexible cutting mechanism.

Avoid planting overgrown and ground-covering plants in the direct vicinity of the lawn edge. You cannot always avoid the fact that grass trimmers and the like do not cut away useful and ornamental plants that grow too close to the lawn edge. And particularly fast-growing plants can cover the lawn from the bed and make your work even more difficult.

Tip: mow the grass and the lawn edges before the stalks bloom. This will prevent the lawn seeds from spreading unintentionally in neighboring gardens and in ornamental beds.

Alternative lawn edge frames

When designing the garden, you should not only think about the beds and garden paths. In addition to choosing the right lawn, the separation between the green space should also play an important role. For example, you can make your work in the garden a lot easier if you put the lawn in its place. You save yourself a lot of effort and time with simple means.

Mowing and stone edges

These boundaries consist exclusively of concrete or natural stone and are available in specialist shops under various names. “Lawn edging stones” make mowing easier for you and prevent the lawn from encroaching on ornamental and useful beds. Laying the stones is relatively simple and visually enhances the garden enormously. Even curved paths or round beds are no real obstacle when designing with mowing edges. Because the individual elements are available in different shapes and sizes, so that you can always follow the course of the lawn. If stone edges are not pulled too high, you can comfortably drive over them with the lawnmower on one side and thus conveniently shorten all protruding blades of grass. If you decide on natural stones, you should stack them in two rows and offset.

Plastic and metal lawn edging

If you are personally not a fan of stone edging, you can also fall back on edging tapes and profiles made of plastic and metal. However, these are considerably more short-lived than stone borders and plastic in particular quickly becomes brittle and brittle. For stability, these lawn edges must be buried a few centimeters into the earth. The mower of lawn mowers and brushcutters must not come into contact with the material to avoid damage. Pay attention to good workmanship when buying, especially lawn edges made of metal should not have any sharp edges.

Edging bands made of rubber are becoming increasingly popular as a means of clearly separating lawns, beds and garden paths from one another. The edges made of recycled material are extremely weather-resistant, but the effort required to embed the tapes in the floor is higher. Mechanical force and contact with motorized devices should not take place on the edging tapes. Work here with mechanical lawn shears or string trimmers.

Conclusion
The regular pruning and the cleaning of the lawn edges ensure a neat overall picture of your own garden. With the right tool, you can easily edit even hard-to-reach transitions. A large selection of devices is available in specialist shops, which make your work in the garden easier and which can often be used in a variety of ways.

Kira Bellingham

I'm a homes writer and editor with more than 20 years' experience in publishing. I have worked across many titles, including Ideal Home and, of course, Homes & Gardens. My day job is as Chief Group Sub Editor across the homes and interiors titles in the group. This has given me broad experience in interiors advice on just about every subject. I'm obsessed with interiors and delighted to be part of the Homes & Gardens team.

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