As a popular and effective landscaping technique for defining the borders of garden beds, lawns and paths, garden edging brings a number of aesthetic and practical benefits. One such benefit is that when properly installed, this can be used to prevent waterlogging. So what is waterlogging, and why should you consider installing garden edging to prevent waterlogging?
The problem of waterlogging
Waterlogging is a prevalent issue for many homeowners and gardeners across the country. This is especially prevalent in areas with clay heavy soils, poor drainage, or during periods of prolonged rainfall. Waterlogging causes excess water to pool on the surface of garden beds and lawns, drowning plant roots and encouraging the growth of harmful fungi and bacteria. Garden edging can be a useful tool to combat this.
Why should you consider installing garden edging to prevent waterlogging?
Garden edging is often overlooked as a tool for water management, but it can be highly effective when designed and installed correctly. This can prevent waterlogging in a number of different ways, including:
- Controlling water flow
- Protecting plants in the garden
- Preventing soil erosion
- Directing water flow with garden edging
One of the most notable ways that garden edging helps to prevent ponding, standing water, and waterlogging is by controlling how water moves through the garden. Properly designed edging can act as a barrier or channel, directing excess water away from vulnerable areas such as flowerbeds, vegetable patches, or lawns. For example, raised edging can keep water contained within certain areas or divert it toward a drainage outlet or natural slope.
Heavy rainfall is something to be expected across the whole of the UK, and so incorporating edging with slight slopes or water channels is particularly useful. For instance, edging made from materials like rubber can be shaped to form shallow trenches that encourage water to drain to lower ground. This helps prevent water from pooling in specific areas and reduces the risk of prolonged saturation.
Protecting plants in the garden
As well as channeling the flow of water, effective garden edging can also be designed to improve overall drainage in the garden. Raised edging, for instance, can be used to create slightly elevated garden beds, lifting plants above the level of standing water. By keeping the soil in these beds from becoming overly saturated, plants can access oxygen and nutrients more effectively.
Preventing soil erosion
Waterlogging is often accompanied by the movement of soil, and the erosion of soil from certain places. Soil erosion is particularly common on sloped gardens, and this is often caused by heavy rainfall which washes topsoil away, exposing plant roots, and causing soil to slide downhill. Garden edging like FlexiBorder helps to prevent this by holding soil in place and reducing the speed at which water moves across the surface.
Choosing FlexiBorder for your garden edging
For stylish and aesthetically pleasing garden edging, that also brings a host of practical benefits, FlexiBorder is the number one choice. This is made from recycled rubber which can bend and flex to up to 70 degrees in both directions, is UV and weather resistant, and is available in a range of colours. Why not take a look today?
