What to do with lawn edges?

[ThrillsAndSpills2025]

Hi I'm very lucky my neighbour has just put in a new fence which looks great.

I'm not ready yet to dig and plant borders, but I know I might end up with lawn growth which at the edges turns into needing shears.

What would others do to keep it neat? It's also very shady (West facing garden) so I'm not going to go bonkers on bedding plants or anything yet, that's for the other side. Plus my lawn is being seeded anyway after recent building work myself.

Should I think edging of some kind, gravel, or...?

Thank you!

I've always strimmed edges of lawns and now lay edging between grass and bed boundary.

If its a bed, I'd prepare the soil, cover with either cardboard of weed membrane then create pockets where the plants are going and layer with bark. You could do gravel though.

No, don't use gravel as lawn edging - it is probably the worst thing you could use actually.

It won't stop the grass growing into it, the stuff goes everywhere, it ends up on the lawn, and then ruins your lawnmower blades. Either just keep a straight edge with a half-moon edging tool & long-handled shears, or use brick edging that is flush with the grass.

Either use a strimmer or build a mowing strip i.e. a hard paved line about 100mm wide around the lawn which will retain the lawn and allow you to mow over it. It needs to be level with the grass. You could use sleeper, bricks paving, whatever. Not gravel though it's a quick way to smash your windows or lose an eye!

I second this, once I picked up gravel in the lawnmower, which then spat it out at high speed and broke a window.