Loving D-Crain landscape design. LOVING! Which I found after lisa tomiko mentioned Rig Red Sun in Venice.

Also, Jonathan Duke, owner of Austin Outdoor Studio chimed in with a good tip about that steel landscape edging:

Hey Guys,

I just thought I’d chime in and offer a little advice if I could. We use regular hot rolled steel for our edging jobs. We prefer to do everything in 1/4″ thick steel if not thicker. Corten is great for certain installations like commercial planter application to minimize the rusting. I don’t believe it is necessary for landscaping steel. You’d be suprised how long it takes for 1/4″ steel to rust through.

Here are some tips for having a local shop do it for you.

1.) You want to use steel that is atleast 1-2″ wider than the height you want out of the ground. This will help any washout problems that could happen. Hot Rolled steel is available in widths ranging from 1-12″ that are 20′ long. If you want talled than 12″ you will have to get full sheets fo steel sheared and then weld them together.

2.) The steel can be anchored to the ground in several ways. We use 5/8″ rebar for most edging installations, but other means for taller structures to get the support. The rebar stakes need to be pounded into the ground at least 18″ and then welded to steel edging. Tell the welder which side of the steel the stakes need to be welded on.(you shouldn’t be able to see them. Sometimes it is necesarry to weld angle iron to the back to get perfectly straight edging.

3.) The most important things to communicate to the welder is it must be straight, plumb and installed level if that is the look you are going for. Otherwise, what’s the point of paying the extra cost if it doesn’t look right.

4.) Edging takes longer than you might think to install properly and welder’s rates are not cheap, so keep that in mind if the shop wants to bill you by the hour.

Good luck and keep up the good work, its looking great!

Jonathan Duke
Owner
Austin Outdoor Studio

Hooray, professional tips! Thank you interweb!