One homeowner sought advice from DIY professionals in the r/DIY subreddit to help transform their home's walkway.
Attaching a picture of the current state of their walkway, the original poster asked, "Any suggestions for fixing this dg walkway edging?"
"DG" likely refers to decomposed granite, which is an increasingly popular material choice for outdoor walkways. Decomposed granite offers a natural road look without the expensive price tag of comparable walkway materials such as gravel or brick.
The OP's picture shows a partially deconstructed walkway lined with scalloped brick edging stone and plastic landscape edging. The path between the edging stone, where the decomposed granite walkway will sit, is barren with some wood chips.
"Looking for something that has minimal upkeep for the edging, and will keep mulch out of the dg walkway," the OP wrote.
Plastic landscape edging is a popular landscaping material that DIY-ers might reach for to help contain their gardens or lawns at an inexpensive price.
Experts who have been working with this material for years, however, recommend against using plastic edging because it's not durable and will need replacing every few years. The same is true for landscape fabric, which is used to help suppress and control the growth of weeds.
In addition to being short-lived and ineffective, plastic edging and plastic landscape fabric will break down into tiny microplastics over time, contaminating the soil and plants, and making it extremely frustrating to pick out of the soil when it is time to replace.
Avoid the headache of having to redo the same job years down the road by using appropriate and durable materials the first time around.
Planting native plants can also help reduce weed growth in your lawn or garden by outcompeting them for space and resources.
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Under $1K 😎 Native plants are slower-growing and less water-dependent than most traditional turfs, which usually contain invasive grass species that explain their rapid growth. A native plant garden could save you time and money on yard work and water bills while supporting the local ecosystem.
Native plants attract pollinators, which contribute to plant reproduction and help to secure the human food supply.
Alternative lawn replacement options that can also yield similar savings are clover and buffalo grass.
"If you want minimal maintenance, pay the money to put in some real masonry, and tear out that cheap, fussy existing solution that can be blown over by a stiff breeze," one commenter stated.
"A major component in making this stuff stay put, snap edge or not, is proper compaction of the ground," another commenter offered, regarding the OP's decomposed granite walkway.
A landscape architect suggested the OP head to a steel supply store to purchase and make their own edging material, which is cheap but also far more effective than plastic edging.
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