Where the mower stops, edging starts
1. A look at where grass has crept
We walk the walks, the driveway and the curb first, with the beds on the way. St. Augustine runners cross concrete fast when it is warm, and warm-season grass grows faster and needs mowing more often in the hot summer when there is enough moisture. What has crept gets edged. Where grass has run into a bed, the edger stops at the bed line and the grass inside stays until a weeding visit handles it.
2. Edging the concrete seams
A stick edger drops one straight, narrow, vertical cut where grass has grown over the slab, along the walks, the drive and the curb. The blade follows the seam between lawn and concrete so the line stays where it belongs year over year. On a first visit, a lawn that has not had an edge for a few seasons leaves a shelf of soil along the slab; that soil comes up with the cut, and the next time out the edge is a shallow trim. The crew works at a steady walking pace and flags any sprinkler head at the edge first.
3. Along existing beds
For beds that are already there, the edger follows the line that is already cut. If beds inside the yard need weeding under the shrubs, we price weeding the beds we edge along at the same look.
4. String trimming where the mower cannot reach
The line finishes the places a mower deck cannot work: fences, posts, the mailbox, around trees and under a gate. A trimmer and an edger look alike but handle different parts of the lawn.
Edging and string trimming do different jobs
Edging cuts a line where grass meets concrete or a bed. A trimmer takes down the grass a mower cannot reach.
Edging
- One straight, narrow, vertical cut where grass meets the walk, the drive or the curb.
- Along an existing bed, it follows the line already there.
String trimming
- Grass along fences and posts, around the mailbox and around trees, cut down to match the lawn.
- The line is kept off trunks, siding, windows and cars.
The line stays a few inches off tree trunks, siding, windows and cars.
5. Clippings back on the lawn
Clippings go back onto the lawn, never into the gutter or the street. If you have hedges and shrubs that should be done at the same visit, we add them.
6. A last look along every edge
We walk every line one more time with the trimmer and the edger off. If a spot still looks softer in the shade, that gets a second pass before we go. Anything the edger threw onto the drive or the walk gets blown back onto the lawn.
Edging and trimming each tend to land in a few familiar places:
| Spot | Edged or trimmed | What it leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Along a concrete walk | Edged | A sharp vertical line between grass and the slab |
| The driveway seam | Edged | No grass creep over the drive |
| The curb at the street | Edged | A clean line against the gutter |
| Along a flower bed | Edged along the existing bed line | The bed line that is already there, cleaned up |
| Fences, posts and the mailbox | String trimmed | Grass at matching height, nothing against the post |
| Around trees | Trimmed with line kept off the bark | Short grass at the base, trunk left alone |
| Under a gate | String trimmed | An even sweep where the gate opens |
When edging and trimming stand on their own, and when a different service fits
Edging and trimming are a visit of their own when the lawn is mowed but the lines have gone soft. Most yards have them done at the same visit as the cut.
When edging on its own fits
- The lawn is mowed but every edge looks fuzzy.
- You mow yourself and want a crew for the finish only.
- A reset after the winter, or at green-up.
- You want the concrete seams reopened after a long time without an edge.
When another service fits better
- A yard being kept through the year wants edges kept on a schedule, with the cut done at the same visit.
- A lawn past the mower deck needs a first cut on its own before the lines show.
- Weeds thick inside the beds are their own job, not an edge job.
On the call we ask what the lawn looks like, how long it has been since the last edge and whether you want the cut too. If the walk and the drive are hidden under grass, we start there.
