Question
Hi
Thanks for your help.
I am very new at landscaping and am thinking of getting rid of an area just beside my lawn. This area has mulch on it and has a couple of small bushes. It is full of weeds at the moment. I plan to take out all the bushes and the weeds, remove the mulch, poison the area, lay a weed mat and then cover it with 20mm pebbles. What I want to know is that when I would mow the lawn, would the pebbles make my task very difficult as they would be the same height as the lawn? Do I need to make a retaining wall for the pebbles? Should this retaining wall be level with the lawn or raised?
Thank you for your time again.
Cheers

Answer
Sorry for the delay - I was traveling.  As to pebbles next to lawn; it is not a good idea to have them so close to each other, because when you mow the lawn (I am assuming you are not using a manual, "push" type mower) the rocks will be thrown by the mower blade - Very dangerous!!

You'll need a physical barrier between the two, either with a wide curb (min. of 150 mm), or vertical seperation (maybe a low retaining wall?).  It can be rubber, wood, poured concrete, prefabricated block, or brick, but you'll need something to catch the lawnmower wheel and prevent the blade from coming into contact with the pebbles.

Here are a few examples:
http://www.ppsr.co.uk/pandrpropertyservices/Blockwork.html
http://www.ecoscapemulch.co.uk/lawn_edging.htm
http://www.mhjgroup.com/searchlawnedging.htm
http://www.edgn.com.au/

All the best!  ~Marc