Best mow over lawn edging, mowing edges & mow strips

Best mow over lawn edging

3/5/2023

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There is nothing more frustrating than mowing your lawn only to have to strim around the edges.

This is a common occurrence when your lawns edges meet vertical features such as paving paths, walls or raised beds. The best way to illuminate this issue is to install mow over edging or mow strips.

These, ideally, will be at least 100mm in width so your mower overhangs enough to cut all edges efficiently. There are a few products and ways to install mowing strops efficiently.

In this article I will list 5 of the best mow-over edging ideas for easy mowing.

Can you mow over lawn edging?

You can mow over lawn edging if it is the same level or ‘flush’ as the existing grass.

Retaining edging or edging which is higher than the grass level should not be mown over. This is because raised edging could collide with the mowers blade. This could damage both your garden edging and your lawn mower.

What is the best edging for a lawn?

The best edging for a lawn is one that retains the edge of the lawn neatly and securely. The perfect lawn edging will also be in keeping with the gardens design and facilitate easy mowing.

What is a mow strip?

A mow strip is a strip of material which borders your lawns perimeter at the same level as the lawn.

The strip will ideally be made of a strong and robust material which will not degrade over time. Mow strips have a width of around 100mm which allows mowers enough over hang to cut edges effectively.

This can bee seen in the image above on the right hand side of the lawn.

Why install mow strip edging?

A mow strip edging can make mowing the edges of your lawn much easier. There will be no need to go around your lawns edge with a strimmer afterwards.

Having mow strip edging around the perimeter of your lawn at the same level also looks good. This is especially so if you use a coloured edging which contrasts the green grass.

I often find cream porcelain and black slate are perfect as mow edging for this aesthetic.

The best mow over lawn edging – 5 choices

Brick edging

Brick edging makes the perfect mow strip edging material. It is durable, versatile and comes in many colours and styles.

Brick mow strips can be lengthways or widthways in a soldier course. The only drawback with bricks is they can be costly to install.

Why not check out our article on how much does it cost to install a brick mow strip edge?

Block paving edging

Block paving can be laid as mow, strip, edging in exactly the same way as bricks are. Block paving blocks can be set in next to the lawn at the same height as the ground.

This will provide a seamless mow over edge! Like brick mow strips you will need to base your blocks properly. The best way to do this is excavate a trench and form a layer of compacted hardcore.

The best material for this is compactable mot type 1 sub-base. Blocks can then be laid on a 1:4 cement sharp sand mortar mix.

Why not check out our article on how to lay block paving as edging step by step.

Paving edgings

Paving can also make very effective, mow-over, lawn edging. This is even more effective when you use the same paving as your patio or garden paths.

This helps to keep your lawn in sync with the rest of your gardens design. If you wish to create mow strip edging out of paving simply cut them neatly into strips. This can be done with an angle grinder and a diamond cutting blade.

Then simply bed down your edgings onto a solid and strong mortar bed. Make sure you base up your paving mow strips as you would a patio.

This will make them robust so they do not move or sink over time. Why not check out our article on how much do paving mow strips cost to install.

Timber edging

There are a few different methods for creating timber mow strips. The first way is to set timber sleepers into the ground so they are level with the grass.

This can also be achieved with 6x2 treated timbers, however this will only provide you with a 50mm overhang for your mower. Both 6x2 and sleepers will also be no good if you want curved mowing edges.

For curves your best option is to install timber gravel boards fixed to 50mm timber pegs. However it must be said that timber is never the best material for outside construction.

In times of excessive damp wood can become slippery and it will also eventually degrade.

Stainless steel flexible edging

Stainless steel and flexible, metal, edging is becoming more popular for edging lawns and borders.

However, metal edging will only be effective as a mow edge if the lawn does not meet vertical structures. Flexible metal edging only makes a good mow edging if the lawn is higher than surrounding surfaces.

However the thin, curved, metal looks very aesthetic as an edge to contemporary lawns.

Core edge metal edging

Thank you for reading our article on the best mow over lawn edging. If you require mow over edging installation do not hesitate to contact us below.

Below I will link to some other, relevant articles you may find informative.

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The Author
Paul Nicolaides
BA (Hons) Dip

Paul Nicolaides has over 30 years of recreational gardening and 20 years of professional landscaping experience. He has worked for landscape contractors including design and build practices across London and the South East. In 2006 he qualified with a BA Hons degree and post graduate diploma in Landscape Architecture. In 2009 he founded Ecospaces an ecological landscaping practice which aims to improve social cohesion and reduce climate change through landscaping. In 2016 he founded Buckinghamshire Landscape Gardeners which designs and builds gardens across Buckinghamshire and the South East. This blog aims to provide easy problem solving information to its audience and encourage others to take up the joy of landscaping and gardening.