Is your lawn invading your sidewalks, driveways, and walkways? It might be time to edge it.

Edging your lawn makes a barrier that stops grass from spreading into unwanted areas, lowers the need for frequent trimming, and makes mowing easier by providing a clear boundary. It also improves drainage by creating a small trench along your hardscaping, preventing water from pooling on walkways or driveways. Here’s how to do it in 9 simple steps.

When Should I Edge My Lawn?

Most lawns only require edging once per year, and the best time to do it is in late June. This avoids the peak growing season of April and May, and it also helps you take advantage of slower growth from July onward. By edging at the right time, the results will last longer and you’ll need less touch-ups.

You should always mow before you edge your lawn. By mowing first, you’ll know how short to cut or trim the grass along your lawn’s edges, and you’ll be less likely to leave weedy or bare patches.

Tools for Edging Your Lawn

Choosing the right edging tool is crucial for achieving professional-looking results. There are power and manual options. Generally, powered tools are the easiest to use, but they’re more expensive. Manual tools take more effort to use, but you can get excellent precision if you know what you’re doing.

The Best Edging Tools

Here are the four basic tool options specifically for lawn edging:

  • String trimmers: Power string trimmers are the best option for both trimming and edging your lawn. They come in electric, gas, corded, and cordless versions. Gas works best for large lawns, and electric is more environmentally friendly.
  • Dual wheel rotary edgers: These manual edgers feature serrated blades attached to one side of a rubber wheel. While the wheel rolls along the grass, the blades slice through grass growing over the edges of pathways and driveways.
  • Landscaping edgers: Landscaping edgers have a shaft 3–4 feet long. A steel blade is located at the bottom, and footrests are on either side. You primarily use them to remove grass and sod growing over pathways and driveways. However, they also come in handy to remove turf beside flower beds.
  • Edging shears: You can generally use edging shears for touch-ups around your lawn, but they’re not the best option for a large-scale job.

Edging Without an Edger

If you can’t find an edger or string trimmer, there are a few alternative—and slightly unorthodox—tools you could use instead. They run purely on muscle power, so be prepared to exert some physical effort to get the job done.

  • Flat shovel: Flat shovels are fast and precise, but edging jobs using them still take longer.
  • Half-moon edger: Half-moon edgers work similarly to flat shovels. They offer incredible precision, but take far more effort. Cleanup is also trickier, since you can’t use the tool to scoop up the debris. Instead, you’ll need to do this with a rake or shovel.
  • Reciprocating saw: Reciprocating saws are primarily used for construction, but if you’re an experienced landscaper, you can use them to edge your lawn. They’ll cut through anything with ease, but they could strain your back in this case since you need to bend over through the entire process.
  • Lawn shears: You can use lawn shears by walking along your yard and snipping loose blades of grass. However, they’re not a great option for lawns that need a lot of effort to edge.
  • Utility knives: You can use utility knives to trace your yard’s edges, but this can be a labor-intensive process. Like other manual edging alternatives, you can increase your precision with a knife at the expense of your time and effort.
  • Lawnmower: Lawnmowers can make for decent alternatives to most edgers, depending on your yard’s layout. If you have a really level lawn with mostly straight lines and neat borders, mowers can do the edging quickly and efficiently. However, they can’t maneuver very well, so you may struggle to edge boulevards with curbs or other tricky parts of your lawn’s perimeter.

How to Edge Your Lawn in 8 Simple Steps

Once you have your edging tool ready, follow these steps to achieve professional-looking lawn edges.

Step 1: Assess Your Lawn’s Layout

This is an important first step, especially if it’s your first time edging on your own. Use tape, a hose, or a rope to delineate the areas where you plan to cut. Stay away from using spray paint, since it’s a less precise tool. You may find this step unnecessary if you’re simply edging beside your sidewalks, so skip it if that’s the case for you.

Step 2: Mow Your Grass

Mowing your lawn is an important early step, since it lets you know how tall or short to trim along the lawn’s edges. Don’t cut more than a third of your grass blades at a time—you don’t want to cut the lawn too short, which can cause empty patches and weak roots over time.

Step 3: Edge Your Planning Markings

Before you start edging, make sure there are no electrical wires, plumbing pipes, buried cables, or other hazards near your lawn. Give them a wide berth so you don’t accidentally cut into them.

If you’re using a string trimmer, flip the head 180 degrees to turn it vertical. Keep the deflector shield facing your body. Most trimmers spin clockwise, so you should move left to right. Walk on a hard surface, keep your arms straight, engage your core, and use deliberate movements to keep the trimmer level. Aim to cut about 2 inches deep.

For manual edgers, drive the tool straight down with your feet as you would with a shovel. You want the lip at the bottom to touch the soil. Keep your edger completely straight so that your edge becomes more defined. Finally, rock the edger side-to-side and follow by gently pulling the handle back up. 

Step 4: Correct Any Cutting Lines or Uneven Edges

As you edge, use a shovel to dig up loose soil and turf and give you a better sense of your edges. Once you’ve finished, correct cutting lines and uneven edges as necessary for a clean, even line.

Step 5: Edge Gardens and Sidewalks

For garden beds and sidewalks, manual edgers can give you more fluid lines. After marking the area you want to edge, follow the same steps for manual edging a perimeter. Use slow, steady, and deliberate movements.

Step 6: Use Edging Shears on Bushes and Shrubs

Once you edge the perimeter of your lawn and gardens, you can use edging shears to prune and trim your shrubs and bushes. Keep straight edges and cut back perennials to beautify your garden and encourage more high-quality growth in the future.

Step 7: Clean Up Clippings

Once you’re done, use a stiff brush to clean up grass, soil, and residue from your trimmer, edger, shears, and other tools. If debris hardens and dries, you’ll have a harder time using the equipment when you need to edge your lawn next.

Step 8: Trim Your Lawn Regularly

To maintain crisp edges, trim your lawn regularly so it won’t overgrow. Wild and untamed edges are a headache to deal with. Plus, if you trim your lawn regularly, you will certainly increase your lawn’s curb appeal.

Maintaining an Edged Lawn

After you create clean edges, regularly maintain them so they keep looking their best. Follow these tips for best results:

  • Trim the edges every few weeks during the growing season.
  • Use edging shears for quick touch-ups between major edging sessions.
  • Water deeply but infrequently to encourage deep root growth.
  • Use a natural herbicide along the freshly-cut edges to prevent weed growth.
  • Fertilize your edged lawns according to their type and season.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to edge your lawn?

You should edge your lawn in June so that you avoid the peak growing season of April to May. Your lawn will grow slower from July to December, enabling your edging work to last longer.


How often should I edge my lawn?

Most lawns do not need to be edged more than once per year, but you can always touch up your lawn’s edges whenever it is needed.


Is lawn edging worth it?

Edging your lawn is an important step to keeping your yard looking good. By edging, you can create a root barrier that stops invading grass, which will save you lots of time and energy when trimming your lawn. If you are a homeowner, lawn edging is very important for your property’s curb appeal.


Do I have to continue edging my lawn?

Yes, you should continue to edge your lawn if you want to maintain the curb appeal of your yard.


Today's Homeowner Lawn Rating Methodology

At Today's Homeowner, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. That’s why we took the time to create an objective rating system and score each lawn company/service according to our methodology.

Our research team dug deep into the fine print of contracts, combed through more than one hundred customer reviews, and thoroughly investigated all of each lawn care service’s services, costs, and products. We’ve done the homework for you by researching nearly all of the lawn care companies on the market so you can have the information you need to make the best choice for your home.

We developed a formula to objectively determine the best lawn care companies and give each a score out of 100 based on the following criteria:

  • Plan Options (30): Do they provide a variety of plan options? We looked at the number of plans each lawn treatment company offered and the flexibility of adjusting the plan.
  • Services offered (20): How many services are offered in each plan? We looked at the number of lawn care coverages, including weed control, seeding, irrigation, aeration, dethatching, and more.
  • Trust (10): What do customers say after their lawn has been serviced? Does this company offer a guarantee? We considered how satisfied customers are post-service if the company does what it says it will, BBB accreditation, and service guarantees.
  • Prices (10): How reasonable are the costs of the plan or service in comparison to the industry average? We compared the costs of each company to competitors that offer the same lawn services.
  • Unique perks (10): Does the company offer discounts or special services such as organic treatments, pest control, or a mobile app? We looked for extras each company offers that set them apart from the competition.
  • Customer Service (10): How is the customer experience when contacting the company? We considered the speed of response, weekend/holiday availability, and ease of communication through phone calls, email, and online chat functions.
  • Nationwide availability (10): How many states does the company offer its services? Companies that operate nationally and in all zip codes are favored over those with limited availability
Editorial Contributors
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Elisabeth Beauchamp

Senior Staff Writer

Elisabeth Beauchamp is a content producer for Today’s Homeowner’s Lawn and Windows categories. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Journalism and Linguistics. When Elisabeth isn’t writing about flowers, foliage, and fertilizer, she’s researching landscaping trends and current events in the agricultural space. Elisabeth aims to educate and equip readers with the tools they need to create a home they love.

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Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

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