I have replaced my fence with my neighbour, and we have had
feather boarding put on both sides. The fence was also moved
slightly at one end (3") to make the line straight.

Now I have a problem:

I can not mow right up to the fence, as the mower catches on
the feather boarding, and I'm wondering what to do.

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?

--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

On 30/08/2019 17:35, Roger Tonkin wrote:
I have replaced my fence with my neighbour, and we have had
feather boarding put on both sides. The fence was also moved
slightly at one end (3") to make the line straight.

Now I have a problem:

I can not mow right up to the fence, as the mower catches on
the feather boarding, and I'm wondering what to do.

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?

I would be tempted to put down a strip of bark chippings instead of gravel

On 30/08/19 17:49, David Hill wrote:
On 30/08/2019 17:35, Roger Tonkin wrote:
I have replaced my fence with my neighbour, and we have had
feather boarding put on both sides. The fence was also moved
slightly at one end (3") to make the line straight.

Now I have a problem:

I can not mow right up to the fence, as the mower catches on
the feather boarding, and I'm wondering what to do.

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?

I would be tempted to put down a strip of bark chippings instead of gravel

That's fine if you don't mind blackbirds and other feathered vandals
from flicking the stuff over the lawn next to the bark. We get that
problem here, even though there's a 5cm plastic "wall" between the bark
and the lawn.

The OP doesn't say how long the fence is, but if he wants to mow up to a
non-grass edge he could sink 2m lengths of 19 x 38mm tanalised wood into
the soil next to the fence till they are level with the ground, and run
the mower over them.

I don't understand why he can't use a strimmer to cut off the grass next
to the fence.

--

Jeff

On 30/08/2019 17:55, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:35:14 +0100, Roger Tonkin
wrote:


One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

I think you are worrying unnecessarily about the health of the mower
unless it is a cylinder one. The worst that happens is a stone gets
catapulted out from under the cutting deck at high speed. I had a chip
in a window that resulted from one such stone encounter.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?

If you put 6x1 tannalised timber along the edge of the lawn then it
keeps the grass from straying into the bed. I'd probably use a slate
type gravel - its angular shape discourages weeds more.

Follow your wife's suggestion of a narrow bed, and plant climbers in
it to clothe the fence. The bed will need attention from time to time,
to remove weeds and stop the lawn encroaching into it, but it won't be
demanding. Lots of climbers will cope with that aspect, and there's
plenty here to chose from. http://tinyurl.com/yxqkvlw3 Some of them
are self-clinging, but others may need tying in. Shouldn't be a
problem though.

Passiflora and variegated ivy stay close to the fence. Hydrangea
petiolaris will eventually get wider but does so very slowly.

Perpetual sweet pea is another perennial climber that is almost trouble
free but might pull a weak fence over with its vigour.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Martin Brown wrote:

On 30/08/2019 17:55, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:35:14 +0100, Roger Tonkin
wrote:

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

I think you are worrying unnecessarily about the health of the mower
unless it is a cylinder one. The worst that happens is a stone gets
catapulted out from under the cutting deck at high speed.

How closely have you looked at the blade? IME contact with stones
and pebbles soon damages the cutting edge.

I would go with a narrow border and some climbers - they don't
all spread uncontrollably.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
@ChrisJDixon1

Plant amazing Acers.

In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:

Passiflora and variegated ivy stay close to the fence. Hydrangea
petiolaris will eventually get wider but does so very slowly.


So might the others, unless they are kept under control. Ivy also
spreads, both along the ground and out from the top, unless discouraged.

I would go with climbers, but vigorous ones do need keeping in check.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thank you for the responses.

A couple of answers first.

The fence is about 30ft long (along side the lawn anyway) and
about 20ft wide at the widest point.

Strimming right to the fence is a possibility, but I've found
does not leave an even finish with the rest of the lawn.

I am not convinced about climbers, I've found they do tend to
thicken quite a lot and overhang. We have a Jasmin against the
garage wall, and it is about 3ft wide towards the top.

Honeysuckle does not seem to grow well here, I suspect it needs
to snuggle between other plants. Ivy is definitely a NO, we
have bits all over the place that keep coming up! Perpetual
sweet pea does attract, but not sure about outward spread and
width of the bed needed.

Any suggestions for perennial flowers of about 2-3ft that will
grow close to a fence and not spread/fall outwards!

Many thanks




In article -
september.org, says...

I have replaced my fence with my neighbour, and we have had
feather boarding put on both sides. The fence was also moved
slightly at one end (3") to make the line straight.

Now I have a problem:

I can not mow right up to the fence, as the mower catches on
the feather boarding, and I'm wondering what to do.

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?



--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

On Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:35:14 +0100, Roger Tonkin wrote:

I have replaced my fence with my neighbour, and we have had feather
boarding put on both sides. The fence was also moved slightly at one end
(3") to make the line straight.

Now I have a problem:

I can not mow right up to the fence, as the mower catches on the feather
boarding, and I'm wondering what to do.

One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and replace is
with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I find the stones get
onto the grass and could damage the mower.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max 9"-12").
But what to grow in it that will not expand into the mower area/ The
fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are houses on all the other
sides, so the bed would only get limited summer sun from about 1pm to
5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the fence, but
I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright and not expand
sideways?

Any ideas please?

You could always use something that is not gravel.

Paving blocks, for instance, one or two courses wide, would provide a flat
hard surface flush with the lawn and you could then cut up to the edge of
the lawn.

I see a timber variant has been suggested, but I suspect that would have
to be replaced every few years.

Possibly best to dig a small trench, fill with MOT or similar, then set
the blocks on top. This discourages stuff from growing up underneath and
lifting the blocks.

Could be expensive and fiddly but pay off in the long run.


Cheers




Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

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