Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Edging and paths..., 1 by rcn48

rcn48 wrote:
Hey Angie! Finally catching up here and enjoy seeing your photos, especially the woodland area :) I have the same dilemma here, numerous paths which need stone or mulch and plenty of "edges" that need something to keep the grass out of the gardens! Like you, unless I hit the Power Ball I'm never going to be able to achieve the look I'm going for! LOL One thing I've used for our woodland path is pine needles, keeps it natural looking, packs down well although they can be little slippery when wet but they're free! We've recently switched the mulch we're using for the gardens, a product called Virginia Pine Bark & Pines from Norfleet in Fredericksburg, VA. I wish we could get it in bulk because it would work great for the paths. It's $3.50/bag at Southern States and it would cost a small fortune at that price to cover all the paths here :( One thing I have started doing to help keep the cost down whenever I do use it is lay newspapers before spreading it. I use a whole newspaper (thick!) and overlap them. I know they won't last forever but again, it's free and should help for at least a few years.

For edgers, I know you've got a lot of territory to cover but there are pavers at Lowes or Home Depot that aren't too expensive. Some can run you up to $5.00 each but if you study what's available there are cheaper alternatives, some as inexpensive as $1.50 each. I've starting using one that I think is $1.48? They're 2"x12" with a chiseled edge and pretty sturdy, although I'm not sure they'd survive UPS or Fed Ex driving over them! LOL If I could afford it, I'd buy the same thing we used at my daughter's last summer to edge her front path (photo). Since I can't afford it and I don't have an "edger", I've been resorting to the method I used to use for my gardens in Maine. I dig along the edges creating a v-shaped "wedge" and mulch the edge deep. The wedge allows me to use the weed whacker at an angle to keep the grass from growing into the beds. Of course, sometimes I get the angle wrong and there's some bare spots where the weed whacker cuts into the soil too deep but I'd rather be looking at a bare spot than watching grass creep into the beds! I'm just not a huge fan of landscape timbers or plastic roll edging plus I'm too darned cheap! LOL Now if I could just take the time to get a permit and collect from the Blue Ridge Parkway, I'd have rocks for the natural look I'd prefer over anything else :)