Abstract:
An edge support for a margin of a lawn comprises an elongate generally L-shaped support member having a base part fixable to ground beneath the lawn, and an upstanding wall part to retain an edge of the lawn. The base part has elongate apertures to allow grass roots to grow therethrough. The base part may have several zones at which it may be cut or broken to permit bending of the wall part. The edge support may be provided with connectors to connect it to further edge supports via flanges on the wall part and the base part.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a device for producing a neat edge for lawns, borders, garden paths and the like. More particularly, but not exclusively, it relates to a device to demarcate and support an edge of a lawn, and to a method for using such a device.  
           [0003]    2. Background Art  
           [0004]    Creating a lawn with a neat edge where it meets flower beds, borders, paths, ponds and the like can be difficult. There is a risk that the edge of the lawn may crumble, especially if the turf is not very well knitted together. If a damaged edge is trimmed back to shape, for example with a spade or an edging tool, the lawn inevitably shrinks and the bed, path, etc. widens. Damaged sections may even need to be removed and re-turfed.  
           [0005]    A particular problem may arise in the case of garden ponds, where the surrounding turf can easily be damaged or even undermined. Clods of soil falling into a pond can make the water unacceptably muddy, necessitating frequent cleaning. It is not always a satisfactory solution to pave the immediate surrounds of a pond.  
           [0006]    It would be helpful to provide a barrier to discourage the spread of grass from the lawn into beds, borders and paths, particularly when regular weeding would be inconvenient or impracticable.  
           [0007]    Simple lawn edging materials, such as vertically inserted ceramic tiles or metal strips, are well known. However, if the lawn is lower than the bed or vertical edge, mowing becomes difficult, and if only one side of the edging material is supported, such as where the lawn is higher than adjacent portions of a flower bed, or where the lawn borders on a pond, the edging material can easily fall over. It may be attached to posts, stakes and the like, extending deep into the ground, but these can be unsightly and are not compatible with waterproof membranes such as are used to line garden ponds.  
           [0008]    Substantial graveled areas are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional grassed lawns. However, for graveled areas as well as grassed ones, a neat edge can be difficult to produce and maintain, particularly when the graveled area is higher than a neighboring area, and there is a risk of gravel falling or being kicked, say, into the neighboring area. There are hence problems with edging graveled areas akin to those with edging traditional grassed lawns, particularly when it is desired that a graveled area extends up to a pond. The term “lawn” as used herein should therefore be understood to refer to both traditional grassed lawns and to graveled garden areas, except where clearly restricted to one or the other by context.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a means to support and protect a periphery of a lawn, particularly adjacent a pond, bed or border, which obviates the above problems and permits the creation of a neat and durable edge to the lawn. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for protecting an edge of a lawn using such means.  
           [0010]    According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an edge support means for a margin of a lawn as defined herein, comprising an elongate generally L-shaped support member having a base part adapted to be fixable to ground beneath the lawn, and an upstanding wall part adapted to retain an edge of the lawn.  
           [0011]    The base part may be apertured, to allow grass root growth therethrough.  
           [0012]    Preferably, the base part comprises a lattice of strut means joining the wall part to an elongate member, optionally extending parallel to the wall part.  
           [0013]    The lattice may define a plurality of elongate apertures extending substantially between the wall part and the elongate member.  
           [0014]    Said elongate apertures may comprise at least one third of a total area of the base part.  
           [0015]    The elongate apertures may each extend transversely to the wall part.  
           [0016]    Each elongate aperture may have a smooth rounded periphery.  
           [0017]    The base part, preferably the elongate member, may be provided with anchoring means.  
           [0018]    The anchoring means may comprise peg means adapted to cooperate with apertures in or adjacent to the elongate member.  
           [0019]    The wall part may optionally extend downwardly from the plane of the base part so that the edge support has a T-shaped profile.  
           [0020]    The elongate member may be provided with a plurality of severable zones, anyone of which may be cut or broken as required to permit alteration, at any desired point, of the alignment of the wall part.  
           [0021]    The wall part may thus be deformable, either convexly or concavely.  
           [0022]    The wall part may comprise zones of weakness, better to allow its bending.  
           [0023]    The edge support means may be provided with connection means to connect it to further edge support means.  
           [0024]    The wall part may be provided along its upper margin with strengthening means, such as a zone of increased thickness or a flange means, optionally a flange means extending towards the base part.  
           [0025]    The base part may be provided along its margin remote from the wall means with strengthening means, such as a zone of increased thickness or a flange means, optionally a flange means extending towards the wall part.  
           [0026]    The connection means may conveniently connect via flange means of adjoining edge support means.  
           [0027]    The edge support means may be provided adjacent a junction of the wall part and the base part with reinforcing means adapted to resist flexion of said junction, particularly bending of the wall part away from the base part.  
           [0028]    The reinforcing means may comprise a simple reinforcing bead extending along the junction or more complex shapes, such as a C-shaped bead, disposed with a convex side towards said junction.  
           [0029]    The edge support means may comprise a plastics material, such as polyethylene, polypropylene or poly (vinyl chloride).  
           [0030]    The edge support means may be provided with illumination means.  
           [0031]    The illumination means may comprise fiber-optic cable means operatively linked to a light source locatable remotely from the edge support means.  
           [0032]    The edge support means may comprise a fiber-optic cable element provided with means to connect it operatively to a fiber-optic cable element of adjoining edge support means.  
           [0033]    The edge support means may thus illuminate a margin of a lawn, path, pond or the like, for safety or for decorative purposes.  
           [0034]    According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of protecting an edge of a lawn which comprises the steps of providing an edge support means as described above, locating the base part thereof to a ground surface, and laying lawn material on top of the base part with an end of the lawn material abutting the wall part.  
           [0035]    When the lawn is a grassed lawn, the lawn material may comprise turf, which may be a freshly laid turf or alternatively may be a peripheral zone of an existing lawn.  
           [0036]    Alternatively, where the lawn is a graveled area, the lawn material may be gravel.  
           [0037]    The method may comprise the step of removing existing turf or other lawn material from the lawn over at least an area corresponding to an extent of the base part.  
           [0038]    Alternatively, the method may comprise the step of peeling back existing turf from said area.  
           [0039]    The method may comprise the step of anchoring the edge support means to the ground using a peg means or other anchoring means.  
           [0040]    The method may further comprise the steps of providing a plurality of edge support means, and linking them in series, either before or after disposing them in position on the ground.  
           [0041]    To protect an edge of a lawn adjacent a pond, the method may further comprise the steps of digging the pond and laying a waterproof lining means over a base of the pond and a surface of the ground surrounding the pond, and the base part of the or each edge support means is then disposed on top of said waterproof lining means, and the turf or other lawn material is laid on top of both the base part and the waterproof lining means. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0042]    Embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 1 is a plan view of part of an edge support embodying the invention;  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the support of FIG. 1 in use;  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the support of FIG. 1 in use adjacent a pond;  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative form of edge support in use adjacent a pond;  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 5 is a plan view of part of another edge support embodying the invention;  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a further edge support with strengthening elements;  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a variant form of the support of FIG. 6;  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the support of FIG. 1 in use with a graveled “lawn”;  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 9 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention;  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 10 is a plan view of the edge support of FIG. 9 with all the removable panels knocked out to allow flexure in either direction of the support;  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the support of FIG. 9 taken along the line XI-XI thereof,  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting member; and  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 13 is a scrap cross-sectional view showing a zone of weakness and taken along the line XIII of FIG. 9. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0056]    Referring now to the drawings, and to FIG. 1 in particular, an edge support  1  for a lawn comprises a generally vertical, in use, wall  2  and a generally horizontal, in use, base member  3 . In the embodiment shown, the wall  2  and the base member  3  comprise a single L-shaped molding of thermoplastics material, although in an alternative embodiment, the wall  2  and the base member  3  are formed separately and fastened together. In other embodiments, the support may comprise other materials such as wood or metal, especially aluminum.  
         [0057]    The base member  3  comprises an elongate strip  4  and a plurality of diagonal strips  5  connecting it to the wall  2 . The diagonal strips  5  slant in alternately opposing directions to form a series of triangular apertures  6 . This configuration imparts excellent rigidity to the base member  3 , while saving raw materials and allowing grass roots to grow down through the base member  3 , helping to anchor it in place. The strip  4  is provided with a plurality of holes  7 , spaced one from another, each configured to receive a peg (not shown in this view) to help to anchor the edge support  1 .  
         [0058]    The edge support  1  may be used in the configuration shown in FIG. 1 to support a straight lawn edge. To support a concave or convex lawn edge, the frame strip  4  is severed along any or each of dotted lines  8 . The wall  2  may then be folded concavely or convexly. In the wall  2 , at the apex of each triangular space, a fold zone  9  may optionally be provided to allow bending of the wall  2 . However, this may not be necessary, especially with lighter gauge material. The severed ends of the strip  4  may be overlapped where necessary.  
         [0059]    The strip  4  may be grooved, notched or otherwise weakened along the dotted lines  8 , to ease cutting. Similarly, each fold zone  9  may be grooved, notched or otherwise prepared for easy folding. However, in a preferred embodiment, both the wall  2  and the base member  3  are composed of thermoplastics material of thickness two to three millimeters, which may be folded manually without especial preparation. Similarly, the strip  4  may then be cut at any convenient point along its length with readily available tools, such as a knife, scissors, garden shears, secateurs or the like.  
         [0060]    In use, the edge support  1  is disposed as shown in FIG. 2. When a grassed lawn is being laid from scratch, the edge support  1  is placed, with the base member  3  on a generally level surface, at a boundary between, for example, a flower bed  10  and an area  11  which is or will be lawn. A peg  12  is inserted through each hole  7  of the base member  3 . A turf  13  is then laid on top of the base member  3 , such that an end of the turf  13  is in contact with the wall  2 . The remainder of the area  11  may be turfed conventionally.  
         [0061]    If a lawn is being grown from seed, soil is placed on top of the base member  3  and in contact with the wall  2 , and the area  11  may then be seeded conventionally.  
         [0062]    If the edge support  1  is to be used to edge an existing grassed lawn, a turf  13  is either cut out of the existing area  11 , or a corresponding zone is undercut and peeled back. In either case, sufficient space is created to emplace the edge support as above, and the turf  13  is then replaced or folded back into position, as appropriate. Any gaps remaining between the turf  13  and the wall  2 , due, for example, to previous damage to the edge of the lawn area  11 , can be filled with soil and reseeded, or plugged with small pieces of turf, as desired.  
         [0063]    The wall  2  of the edge support  1  thus creates a neat edge to the lawn, resistant to crumbling and other damage. The weight of the turf  13  on the base member  3 , and the presence of the pegs  12 , keep the edge support  1  securely in position. In a preferred embodiment, the wall  2  is dimensioned to be almost as high as a typical turf thickness (normally from twenty to twenty-five millimeters). The wall  2  may thus conveniently be about 20 millimeters high. The lawn area  11  can then be mown right up to its edge, which is supported by the wall  2 , without the wall  2  being damaged by lawnmower blades, or vice versa. Edge trimming, with shears or a string trimmer, for example, may be unnecessary. Roots  14  of grass plants  15  growing on the turf  13  (only some of which are shown, for clarity) may in time grow through the apertures  6  in the base member  3 , anchoring the edge support even more securely. In this connection, the apertures are shown as triangles. However, other shapes may be used, as described below.  
         [0064]    In normal use, it is envisaged that the base member  3  should extend perhaps 70 to 80 millimeters from the wall  2 , to provide sufficient stability. In an alternative embodiment, larger edge supports  1  may be provided, with a turf  13  already in situ thereon, for convenience.  
         [0065]    Clearly, edge supports  1  may be provided with walls of a convenient length, and a number of walls may be connected, end-to-end, to provide a desired continuous length of wall  2 . Standard male-female engagement devices may be provided at each end of each length, and one embodiment of such a connector is shown in FIG. 12, described in more detail below.  
         [0066]    For the edge support  1  to be used adjacent a pond  16 , there is a slight variation in the installation method. A pit is dug for the pond  16 , and the pond  16  is lined with a water impermeable membrane  17 , which is extended to underlie the area  11 . The base member  3  is then placed on top of the membrane  17  as shown in FIG. 3. The pegs  12  are set far enough from the edge of the pond to be able to penetrate the membrane  17  without possibility of leakage. Such a perforation in a periphery of the membrane  17  would not cause the leakage problems that could result from the use of retaining stakes at a margin of the pond  16  itself. For a grassed lawn, the turf  13  may then be placed on top of the base member  3  and in contact with the wall  2 , as described above.  
         [0067]    A neat and secure edge can thus be provided for a pond in a lawn area, without recourse to concrete rims, paving slabs and the like. There will be very little tendency for soil to crumble into the pond, and the lawn can be mown up to its edge without its giving way.  
         [0068]    In this application of the edge support  1 , a short downward extension  18  of the wall  2 , below the general level of the base member  3 , may form a sideways ‘T’ -shaped support. This is useful for cosmetic and other purposes, as shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0069]    The edge support  1  may be made of appropriately colored materials, such as green plastics material, and may have appropriate surface textures molded or embossed into a face of the wall  2  exposed in use, to blend in with its surroundings.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 5 shows a plan of an edge support  21  with an alternative configuration of base member  3  to that shown in FIG. 1. The wall  2  and the base member  3  comprise a single L shaped extrusion of thermoplastics material. The base member  3  is provided with a plurality of elongate apertures  22 , which may be formed by stamping out portions of the base member  3  (which is typically only two or three millimeters thick). Each end  23  of the elongate apertures  22  is rounded, conveniently being substantially semicircular. This shape reduces stresses in the material of the base member  3  around the elongate apertures  22 , compared to shapes with distinct corners, reducing accidental breakages. The elongate apertures  22  extend generally perpendicularly away from the wall  2  towards an elongate strip  4  defining an edge of the base member  3  remote from the wall  2 . The strip  4  is provided with a plurality of holes  7 , each configured to receive a peg, as for the edge support  1  of FIG. 1.  
         [0071]    To support a concave or convex lawn edge, the elongate strip  4  is severed along a line between its edge remote from the wall  2  and an elongate aperture  22 . The wall  2  may then be folded concavely or convexly, as for the edge support  1  of FIG. 1, overlapping severed ends of the strip  4  where necessary.  
         [0072]    A plurality of narrow slots  24  are also provided in the base member  3 , also with rounded ends  25 . The narrow slots  24  supplement the elongate apertures  22 , lightening the edge support  21  further, and providing additional routes through which grass roots may grow and engage with the base member  3 , anchoring the edge support  21 .  
         [0073]    In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the base member  3  is an unapertured sheet. Alternatively, the base  3  may be provided with slits or notches, extending from the wall  2  towards an opposite margin of the base member  3 , to facilitate bending of the wall  2 .  
         [0074]    [0074]FIGS. 6 and 7 show, in cross-section, edge supports  31 , 32  with strengthening elements. The wall  2  of each edge support  31 , 32  has its upper rim  33  folded over. This strengthens the upper rim  33  without making the wall  2  much more difficult to bend convexly or concavely, as described above.  
         [0075]    The base member  3  of each edge support  31 , 32  is provided adjacent its edge remote from the wall  2  with a flange  34  extending therefrom upwardly and slightly towards the wall  2 . This strengthens the base member  3  and may engage with a turf  13  (not shown) placed thereon, helping to anchor the edge support  31 , 32 . It does not make the base member  3  significantly more difficult to sever, where required.  
         [0076]    The folded upper rim  33  and the flange  34  are simple shapes to be formed in a continuous plastics extrusion (which may be cut into individual edge supports as required). The recesses  35 , 36  formed between the upper rim  33  and the wall  2 , and between the flange  34  and the base member  3 , respectively, providing convenient points of attachment for connecting elements  39  to join adjacent edge supports.  
         [0077]    The edge support  31  of FIG. 6 is provided with a reinforcing element  37  with a C-shaped profile adjacent a junction of the wall  2  and the base member  3 . The edge support  32  of FIG. 7 is instead provided with a reinforcing bead  38  of generally quarter-circular profile along the junction. The reinforcing element  37  and the reinforcing bead  38  each strengthen the respective edge support  31 , 32  against any tendency for the wall  2  to be bent away from the base member  3 , for example by someone treading on an edge of a lawn supported by the edge support.  
         [0078]    A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The base member  3  is apertured similarly to that of the preceding embodiment, but is additionally provided with zones of weakness  50 , two of which lead from an edge of the base  3  at a converging angle across the frame strip  4  to connect to the rounded end  23  of each aperture  22 , defining a removable panel  51  of generally trapezoidal shape.  
         [0079]    A cross section of such a zone of weakness  50  is shown in FIG. 13. It may easily be fractured by manual pressure to remove the panel  51 , allowing the support to be bent in either direction. FIG. 10 shows a support where all the panels  51  have been removed. Of course, it is not always necessary to remove every panel. Where the degree of curvature required is shallow, alternate panels  51  may be left in place, and where no curvature is required, all the panels  51  in that section may remain unbroken. Essentially, any panel may be removed to allow curvature at that section of the edge support.  
         [0080]    [0080]FIG. 8 shows an edge support  1  supporting an edge of a graveled “lawn”  41  adjacent a flowerbed  10 . The base member  3  is placed on a generally level surface, as for a grassed lawn, and a peg  12  is inserted through each hole  7  of the base member  3 . Gravel  42  is then poured on top of the base member  3 , and is retained by the wall  2 , restraining it from spilling on to the flowerbed  10 . In this use, an apertured base member  3  is not required, as plant growth through the graveled “lawn”  41  is not desired.  
         [0081]    A graveled “lawn”  41  is frequently laid over a sheet  43  of “geotextile”, which is permeable to moisture, but too finely apertured to allow shoots and roots therethrough. Geotextile may lift up at its edges, which is unsightly and allows weeds to grow. If an edge support  1  is placed on top of the geotextile sheet  43  and is pegged into place with the pegs  12  extending through the sheet  43 , the sheet  43  can be neatly maintained in position.  
         [0082]    An edge support means as described above thus provides a convenient and reliable means of providing a neat and durable edge for a lawn, where it meets a flowering bed, a border or a pond. It can be used for straight, convex or concave edges with minimal adjustment. The lawn can be mown up to the edge with little risk of damage, and the lawn edge does not require frequent trimming, tidying and repair. The edge support can equally well be used to edge graveled garden areas as to edge traditional grassed lawns.