I wanted to clean up my tree landscape. I tidied up all the old pine bark nuggets from before, and the first picture is what I started with before mulching.
The second picture is the result when I was done. I have never edged and was really outside of my comfort zone and wanted to accomplish something. I thought the edging wasn’t clean enough like you see online. There’s no clear drop off. I have clay soil so it was really thick and hard to work with, which is the part I can’t help.
The other pictures are of me trying to rework the edging so I could get a cleaner drop off. I really think I butchered my lawn. How can I fix this? Or should I just be thankful I didn’t yoink up the grass and sprinkle some grass seed?
I am so embarrassed and feel like an idiot.
by SpinningPumpkins
35 Comments
It looks good! I’m not sure what you’re seeing? Does it look like too large of a mulch circle for your tastes?
I could be wrong, but I feel like you’re over thinking this. Maybe just buy more mulch to spread out and cover the space more evenly?
Ima be honest I don’t know what the end goal was supposed to look like but I think it looks like it’s planted really high, like on a mound.
What’s the goal with the edging? I can see that you are edging it but it looks like the dirt is still there? Or am I crazy?
Like I support the idea of edging this if you wanted to keep the mulch from spilling out, but I don’t really think that’s what is happening here.
Um also, what’s the idea behind the netting around the tree itself? Are you protecting it from something?
FWIW, I like what you’ve done with the landscaping near your porch.
I’d recommend watching a YouTube video on how to properly edge a tree bed. Everything you have going right now can be salvaged easily so don’t sweat it. I’m a fan of deep edges so I usually dig them down about 4 inches but to each their own
You might want to back cut the edge so the mulch lies beneath the grass level. That way the grass does not easily grow into the mulch bed.
More importantly, at first glance the tree looks buried too deep. I’d be way more worried about that.
EDIT: It’s definitely buried too deep. It should not look like a pole in the ground. I would prioritize exposing your root flare and regrading the tree over mulch edging, unless you enjoy having a rotting tree to deal with in a few years.
Move the mulch so it’s less mound-y and have it run right up against the edge you just made and cover the upended dirt . The edge won’t stay forever because grass grows so don’t worry too much if it’s not perfect
The cuts in your grass from the shovel are literally nothing. You could just leave them as is and they’ll be gone the first time it rains.
Trace a circle with string next time and cut them round. It’s totally fine.
Put a hard edge that will define the circle
Dig the edge of the circle out about 3 inches deep and wide. Prevents mulch from escaping. What is the problem??
Bigger mulch ring means you get to add flowers.
To make a circle tie a string or rope to the tree and follow it around.
Trying to edge a circle around a tree can be tricky. In the past, I’ve laid out rope around the tree, made lots of adjustments, then used marking paint along the rope, making finer adjustments as needed.
I feel your thinking too much, like others have said. You can spread or get another bag of mulch. If you left it, it would be grown through in a couple weeks.just use a string trimmer moving forward.
Nah, pulling the grass way back always makes the tree look bigger.
Tie a string around the tree and measure how wide you want it. walk in a circle and mark your line with some paint. Should get you pretty damn close to having a perfect circle.
It’s 100% fine. You could rake the mulch to the edge you have and move on with your life. I’m guessing you’re worried about the edge to divert the water back towards the tree and that’s still going to happen.
Quick tip for a bulletproof circle. String looped to freely rotate around the tree. Pick your length and use a tape measure to mark the end of the string. Construction marking paint at the end of the string and walk the circle. Get a flat edge spade and cut the circle on the outside of the paint line about 3-4 inches deep. Profit. We do tons of these every week. As an aside – this ain’t bad and certainly nothing that can’t be made the way you envisioned. Don’t stress.
Omg use a string next time
Tie a rope around the tree and tie the other end near the base of your shovel and go around and and rework the circle. Easy fix.
1) Loosely attach one end of a rope to the bottom of the tree and the other end to a garden hoe (not the kind hanging out on the sketchy corner). Make the length of the rope the same as the radius of the circle you want.
2) Walk in a circle with the rope tight’ish and the edge of the hoe dragging along the ground.
Voila! You have an outline of the perfect circle around your tree.
Take a picture of your yard, today. Look back at what you’ve accomplished later.
it ll be fine. Its not the ondeck circle at Yankee stadium
Or get a string , go around from the middle. Do you have perfect lawn people in the neighborhood. .I do
Lowe’s has 5 for $10. Put a little more on it and call it a day, looks fine.
Could buy like 1-2 bags of mulch and black edging strips. Put the edging where you went around with your shovel and fill the outer edges of the mulch to meet the edging.
You’re like 80% of the way there, don’t sweat it looking perfect. Many people don’t even try to make a nice yard, so you’re already doing more than most.
Add some rocks as a border to hold in the mulch and make the area look a bit more impactful
Ok, you now know how to make a perfect circle. (It was fine, don’t fret. Pretty sure someone won’t be out there measuring it – lol). With dry soil like yours, do this after a rain, while the soil is moist, sticks together better and is easier to dig in. It’s a losing battle when dry.
The important part is to hold your shovel straight down (an edging tool is invaluable here), do a straight cut all around, about 4″ deep or so. Then 8″ (even 12″ if your circle is big enough) inside that circle, use your shovel at a 45 degree angle, cut a line from top of soil to bottom of your straight cut. It creates a slope. Remove that extra strip of soil, so you have a trench. This will allow you to add mulch (or compost) to the bed. The edge of the grass is 4″ above the mulch. You want the grass roots to not grow into your mulch – that straight side of the trench will help.
Run your hands over the tree ring soil and remove the big hard chunks of clay – they just look messy and as you know, they’ll never break down. Then add/smooth your mulch, keeping it away from the trunk. Maintain the slope – don’t fill the trench, just add a thin enough layer at the trench to look nice and neat. Remember, you don’t want that grass growing in the mulch. Periodically touch it up as needed over the season.
There are videos you can watch to see all this in action. Some of these guys just zip along, making it all look effortless.
Yeah you did blow it. Can’t you just grow grass under it? If you are hiding the roots because it’s too much shade I guess I could understand it. But I think I would rather just see the roots and as much grass as possible.
Make sure you keep the root flare exposed on that tree to prevent girdling. One of the easiest mistakes to make when planting a tree is going too deep or doing these large mounds of mulch.
I think it looks fine!! And I bet that tree is loving your efforts! I’m a bit of a perfectionist but I tend to like an imperfect (more natural looking) yard. I have to really work hard to scatter my flowers when I plant them because I love the scattered look but my brain wants to put them in rows/order. 😆
If it’s because the circle doesn’t look perfectly even, just even it out another day. Once you’ve taken a break from it, it’ll likely become very clear what you need to do to make it exactly how you want it & it’ll be easier when you go back to it because the hardest part is already done. I think it looks great though!
Can’t go wrong with those shoes on!!!
Next time tie some string to the trunk of the tree, loosely, and use some landscape spray paint to mark the cut line. Or tie the other end to your edger and make your intital cuts in the ground going all the way around.
It looks fine though.
what i see is someone who tried and put in some hard work. It looks good, just buy some more mulch and distribute it evenly. Looks good 👍🏼
This looks very salvageable. Don’t stress it. Watch [this](https://youtu.be/HvubW0OJvDo?si=YiDm207GZ09EG4w7) video for reference. Use a string to make a better circle. Dig the circle deeper to make the edge stand out more. Also I think you should mulch all the way to the edges. It doesn’t look very clean otherwise. With those changes I think it’ll look much better