Can I Put Lawn Fabric Under the Bricks or Edging Along a Flowerbed?

Ever-Present, Costly and Frustrating

• Weeds and grass will grow almost anywhere, including in the edging that's supposed to keep the grass out of your flowerbeds. What makes a lawn a lawn is the fact that turf grasses are dense, thick and spread rapidly. Most of them spread several inches underground, with some penetrating as deep as 5 inches below the soil's surface. Laying landscaping fabric under your brick edging helps prevent the grass from poking through.

Not Your Mother's Linen

• Lawn or landscaping fabric ranges from sheets of plastic to simple burlap to non-woven or tightly woven fabric. Use professional grade landscaping fabric to put the grass and weeds to bed. In general, the longer the guarantee, the higher quality the fabric, advises the DeWitt Company. If you don't want to have to rip up your border and re-install it in a few years because of weeds or grass, buy the highest-quality lawn fabric you can afford. In the long run, it will be worth it.

Do It Right, Or Do It Over

• Proper installation is key, especially if you've bought high-quality edging materials. Dig a trench -- using vertical, not angled cuts -- at least 5 inches deep to mark where the edging will be installed. Then, line that trench with the landscaping fabric, secure it in place with and or soil and install the edging. Frost heave -- when the soil freezes below the surface -- may dislodge the fabric, so secure it in place with pins, which usually accompany the fabric.

  Another way to use landscaping fabric with edging is to wrap the edging in the fabric. Wrap the the bricks so the fabric covers the side of the brick that faces the lawn, and so that it extends slightly above the surface of the soil and down to 2 inches below it. Do this carefully because if you tear the fabric even a little bit, weeds and grass will find their way through.

Consider the Easier Route

• There are easier ways to edge a flowerbed than using lawn fabric and bricks. Concrete, if poured deep enough, will keep weeds and grass at bay and will look similar to stone. In addition, you can create your own custom forms and shapes if you use poured concrete. Some edging materials are designed to penetrate deep into the soil specifically to block weeds and turf grasses. These are usually thin strips of aluminum, steel or plastic, and while they might not look as good as brick, they are effective at keeping out weeds and grass. Which you choose depends on your budget and taste, but none of the three require the use of lawn fabric.