Edging along a picket fence prevents grass, weeds and garden plants from spreading under the fence.
Picket fences, commonly used in front yards, create boundaries to restrict unwanted traffic, but more importantly, this traditional fence style highlights your home and garden. Picket fences look best against neatly trimmed lawns and well-manicured plant beds. Edging the garden along a picket fence clears out any vegetation growing under the fence, eliminating the need for weed trimmers that can damage your fence. Edging is especially important if you plant aggressive or potentially invasive plants in the garden because the edging line prevents the plants from spreading to the other side of the fence.
Cut a line along the picket fence with a half-moon edger or spade. Cut the line about 6 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches out from the fence.
Pull back on the handle of the spade or edging tool to lift and separate the soil from under the fence.
Pull the vegetation away from the fence, revealing a trench along the fence line.
Cut a second edging line on the other side of the picket fence and remove the vegetation to complete the trench.
Fill in the trench with mulch, if desired, to prevent mud and water from pooling up at the base of the fence, which can cause the fence pickets to rot faster. If the garden is also mulched, use the same type of mulch so the edging trench is unnoticeable.
Cut the edging lines on both sides of the fence with the edging tool about once monthly to keep the garden vegetation from spreading into the trench. This repeated cutting might not be necessary if you mulch the edging trench because mulch helps to suppress weed growth. If desired, you can use an electric or gasoline-powered rotary edging tool in place of the hand tools.
Another option is to install polyvinyl landscape edging against the sides of the trench. Press the edging against the straight sides of the trench, and drive 10-inch steel spikes through the guide holes in the edging.
Allonsy, Amelia. "How to Edge a Garden By a Picket Fence." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/edge-garden-picket-fence-48721.html. Accessed 19 April 2019.