How to create a garden border

Video by Pots & Trowels. This walk-through is based on the video "How to Create / Prepare a New Border" from Pots & Trowels. Martin takes you through edging the lawn, removing the turf, and getting the soil ready for planting — all in a practical, no-nonsense style that is well worth watching before you pick up a spade.

1. Plan the shape and position

Before you dig a single thing, spend a bit of time deciding where the border will go and what shape it will be. A border along a fence or wall is the classic choice and usually works well because it gives plants a backdrop and keeps the lawn open. A freestanding island bed in the middle of the lawn can look great but needs careful thought about scale — too small and it just looks lost.

For curved borders, a garden hose laid on the grass is a brilliant planning tool. You can adjust it freely until the curve looks right, then mark it out with sand or spray paint. Aim for gentle, flowing curves rather than tight wiggles — gentle curves are easier to mow alongside and tend to look more natural in a typical East Kent semi or terrace garden.

2. Mark out the edges clearly

Once you are happy with the shape, mark it properly before you start cutting. For a straight border along a fence, stretch a string line between two pegs and use that as your guide. For curved borders, mark along the outside of the hose with a half-moon edging iron or a spade, working in short sections.

Take your time getting this right — the edge is the most visible part of the finished border and a wobbly edge will bother you every time you look at it. It is much easier to adjust the shape now than after you have lifted all the turf.

3. Remove the turf

Slice off the turf in strips with a spade, cutting to a depth of about 5–6 cm. Work along the border in manageable sections. Stack the turf upside down in a corner of the garden — it will rot down into a usable loam within a year or so, which is worth having.

If the turf is particularly thick or the area is large, a hired turf cutter will save a lot of effort. It depends on how much ground you are covering. For a small to medium border up to about 10 m long, doing it by hand is fine; bigger than that and the machine starts to look worthwhile. In heavy clay soil, which is common in parts of East Kent, even a small border can be hard work to strip by hand.

4. Dig over and improve the soil

Once the turf is off, dig the border over to a spade's depth — what gardeners call single digging. Break up any compacted lumps, remove any perennial weed roots you come across, and then work in a good amount of organic matter. Well-rotted garden compost, composted bark, or a couple of bags of planting compost from the garden centre all work well.

This is the most important step in the whole job. Plants grow in the soil, not the planting plan, and a border with decent, open, fertile soil will always outperform one planted in tired, compacted ground. In sandy, free-draining soils — common closer to the Sandwich coast — organic matter helps retain moisture in dry summers. In heavier clay, it helps loosen the structure.

5. Cut a clean, crisp edge

With the soil prepared, cut a clean final edge along the front of the border. A half-moon edging iron gives a vertical, neat cut that holds its shape well. If you only have a spade, that will do the job, but angle the blade slightly inward so the edge slopes just a little into the border — it makes the edge more stable.

The gap between the border and the lawn should be consistent all the way along. Even 1–2 cm of variation is visible to the eye, so take your time. Cutting the edge is the last step before planting and it has a disproportionate effect on how the finished border looks. That said, a slightly imperfect edge can always be tidied up once the plants are in and you can see the overall picture.

6. Mulch before or after planting

Once planting is done, apply a layer of bark chippings or composted wood chip across the whole border to a depth of around 5 cm. This suppresses annual weeds, locks in soil moisture over the summer, and gives the border a finished, cared-for look straight away. Keep the mulch clear of plant stems and crowns to avoid rot.

If you prefer to mulch before planting, that works too — just pull the mulch aside to plant through it. Either way, the mulch will need topping up every year or two as it breaks down into the soil. It is a small amount of work each spring that saves a lot of weeding through the rest of the season.

When to call a handyman

Creating a border is very doable as a weekend project, but the groundwork is hard going if the soil is heavy or the area is large. Call Richard if you want the turf stripped, soil dug over, and edges cut properly without spending your whole weekend bent double — or if you want the whole thing done including planting. Get in touch to talk through what you have in mind.