Grassroots Landscaper

Scenario #1: The concrete driveway has a narrow strip of garden between it and the retaining wall. I wish to put something as edging between the driveway and the garden to prevent the ground cover from spilling out.

Scenario #2: Brick patio bordering backyard. We need to add a french drain, but also need to prevent grass growing over the brick.

Scenario #3: We want to make a walkway through the middle of the backyard, mostly rock. I need to separate the path from the weeds (lawn). This edging needs to be low enough for the mower to run over, even if I have to shut the blades off.

So, I need lots of edging, and everything I find in a home improvement store is utter crap.

What do people use?

4"x8' steel or make your own concrete with rebar.

Big Box store is crap. Maybe ask some landscapers and find out what the "pros" use.  

When we redid our front lawn landscaping the nursery we used carried a heavier aluminum edging that was not available at Lowdepot. 

I use this metal edging, but I also got it at a big box store, so maybe it's crap? For straight lines you could use something thicker, but that stuff won't do bends or radii very easily. I've got a mix of gentle curves, hand formed permanent bends and straight sections with 90 degree corners and have been happy with it thus far. I've got 2 seasons on mine now where I run the string trimmer along it about every 5-7 days between March and Nov and haven't damaged the powder coat. And while I wouldn't want to make a habit out of it, I've found that I can drive into/over it with my 1500lb mower and it doesn't bend or damage the finish.

Metal Edging sounds like a great band name. "We'll almost take you there!"