I don't totally understand. Are you saying that your property is lower than your neighbors? So is mine, on one side however my beds are raised up about 4 inches. On the neighbor's side I used steel edging and water and debris just runs alongside it. and on the side facing in I hand selected field and river stone that matches the stone facade of the house and mortared it in place one by one. Easy but messy but it goes quick. The hard part is finding the stone but I know just the place if you want to do it. You can get stones in varying heights and I think it looks good.

Yes, I am saying my yard is lower than my neighbors' yards. I live near the bottom of a ridge, and water flows from my neighbors' yards into my side yard - and their yards are eroding into my side yard and back yard. So I need an edging plan that won't get buried under the silt and that won't back water up into the flower border and drown the plants. This bed is full of moisture loving plants, but none of them can afford to sit under water.

Last year I decided to try edging that looked like wrought iron - it established a definite border, but let water through. However, the border has a slight slope from one end to another, and the edging was designed for completely flat yards - so that didn't work out. Two years a go I tried just cutting a trench for a border - looked great, but disappeared after the second rain.

Any and every edging idea would be appreciated.

A photo of the site could get the creative juices flowing. Frome the sounds of it I'm thinking retaining wall or french drain or both.

Quirky, I have french drains to direct the flow away from the house and through my back yard. I also have catch basins on the property line, and they certainly help, along with a lot of grading to carry the water on through the back yard. I can't put in a retaining wall because it would back the water into my neighbor's basement - and the county wouldn't let me do that even if I were willing to flood my neighbor.

Would love to give you a picture, but I don't have a camera.

I think I've read about your drainage problems in the past. It might have been someone else. Are your beds raised at all? The stones I was talking about are rectangular in shape like bricks I laid them on their side so the edging is about 4-6" inches high and the gaps are filled in with cement so it should deflect a lot of water.

So you are telling us that your neighbor is perfectly willing to let their water flood your property, but you are too nice to flood theirs with their own water?
Why not kindly suggest to them that they need to install french drains on their own property to keep their water off of yours. Explain this in conjunction with worrying that your building a retaining wall might flood their basement. Maybe they will get the picture.

GGG

Those are some good suggestions. I had the same type of problem, and used both the concrete edgers and a drainage pipe to carry the water away. It worked very well and was easy to install.

I seem to remember a law or ordinance that requires you to accept natural water runoff from your neighbors who live above you, and you cannot re-direct the natural flow in a manner that causes runoff to your neighbors below you. You could, however, ask them install something to retain the silt. I don't think you are required to accept that.

Yes I heard the same thing when I told a landscaper I wanted to do a little grading to direct neighbors water from coming into my yard.

Hello: There is an actual Georgia law concerning the kind of erosion you are experiencing...it is in the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act. Your neighbour is actually required to handle things of this nature!

Rather than hiring an attorney, though, I would suggest a wide border of liriope at the property line (to hold back the sediment) and redoing the path with gravel and a drainage pipe to one of your catch basins. The neighbour will soon tire of the swamp created by your "liriope dam" and do something about it.