One of the first things you’ll notice on a beautifully maintained lawn on a fine home in a nice block is not only how clean and well mowed their lawn is but also how precise and straight as arrows the edges are. Being able to edge your lawn and keep it well groomed makes your lawn stand out and look like a million bucks! You know what it’s really like? Like when you got to get a haircut. They cut the proper length of your hair, style it just like you want, and then the trip up and “edge” around your ears, your sideburns, and the back of your neck. Nothing looks better than a well-executed haircut by a pro.
The same thing holds true for your lawn. Once you mow it and fine trim all the edges and make them look flawless, you get a sense of pride and fell pretty damn good about the work you just did.
So today, we’re going to go into how to edge your lawn like a pro. You’ll notice that most professional lawn care service providers do things with incredible precision and speed. Hey, they’re pros! They know what they are doing. The majority of these folks don’t use an edger or a specific tool for edging lawns. They use their weedwhackers. The reason is that they can edge out a lawn in just about 2 minutes with it. Hell, even asphalt sealcoating companies are pros at it. They edge before the seal coat driveways along edges to not get their sealants on the grass. So here is exactly how they do it.
First off, they fire up their weedwhacker or trimmer or whatever you like to call it in your neck of the woods. Once it’s on, they hold it like they normally would. Then, they simply flip the entire thing right over and hold it upside down. This creates the string spinner from being horizontal to becoming vertical. They hold it upside down in a way where instead of pulling the trigger to rev up the string, they use their thumb to push the trigger down. Once they have their hand in place hold it upside down, they raise the back part of it over their shoulder and hold it firmly.
Oh, before they even begin, the first judge and see which way the string will be spinning. The reason is so they know on which side to stand on as they walk along and edge the lawn. They make sure that the direction they are going will not shoot off rocks and debris onto a window, property, or cars that may be parked nearby.
Once they’ve determined which way they will face the edge of the lawn, then it’s time to start edging that lawn. All the day is walk and hold the trimmer firmly. They follow a straight line in vision on the ground. They get down to the dirt with the timing moving along steadily. Most of the time you see one of these props do it, it looks really easy for them because, for one, they’ve probably been doing it for years. Number two, they’ve probably been edging that same lawn for a long time and a channel or groove begins to set in and it’s just easier to follow along.
The first time you do this, expect some gashes in your lawn and some crooked lines. No big deal. The grass always grows back. You’ll get a shot to practice over and over again. Once you get it down you’ll start edging your lawn like a pro. You’ll get good at edging around trees, bushes, and planters. Before you know it, it will look like a laser came by to edge your lawn. That’s how good your lines will look. Special thanks to our friends over at Lawn Care Stockton for their tips and expertise!
Then you got regular, plain old gas-powered push mowers. These are the norm and are priced affordably that even a kid down the street has bought one to start his own mowing service. If you got a normal sized lawn and it’s on flat ground, this is the way to go.
So, you’ve cracked open a beer late Saturday afternoon. You’ve fired up your self-propelled mower and made some sweet looking lawn lines on your lawn. You’ve fired up your gas trimmer and edged the edges so sharp and straight that you can lay a laser pointer along the lines just to prove to your buddies just how straight your lines are. Everything looks great except there are crap and debris everywhere!