Best lawn fabric

When you garden, maintain a manicured lawn, or spend time and money on a perfectly landscaped property, weeds are your biggest enemy. Lawn fabric, known as landscape fabric in some regions, is an easy-to-install solution that prohibits weed growth while keeping your soil healthy.

The best lawn fabric is a barrier between the ground and the sun; it stops sunlight from reaching weeds, preventing their growth. That means your plants, decorative grasses, and even yard grass can freely grow without competing with invasive weeds.

So, what is the best lawn fabric for you? You have plenty of options, and we're going to run down the pros and cons of each so that you can make an educated decision. Let's get started.

If you want the best lawn fabric around, go with ECOgardener. The fabric roll is light enough for one person to carry and cuts to size with a knife or scissors without fraying. The tiny holes in the fabric let rain and air permeate so soil never dries out, and your plants and bushes continue to flourish. ECOgardener lawn fabric is useable for all sorts of gardens and landscaping projects, and it holds up well in all seasons.

This is a thicker material than some other options on our list. GardenMate's woven lawn fabric is crafted from geotextile, made of pollutant-free materials, and contains no plastic. As such, it's the best choice for gardens, raised beds, and terraces. Since it's so heavy-duty, it holds up to sun, rain, and snow over multiple growing seasons. And even though it's tough as nails, it lets air, nutrients, and water circulate so your soil stays healthy.

Best for flower beds and ornamental landscaping, Scotts offers up this 25-year lawn fabric. Yes, it lasts up to 25 years. Install it once, and never worry about weeding again. Scotts is a thin material that's easy to work with. It allows moisture and air to permeate but actively prevents weed growth and soil erosion. The cloth doesn't break down or tear in the rain, snow, or extreme heat. With Scotts, you can forget about intrusive, unwanted greenery.

Amagabeli's ground cover is a high-density woven needle-punched dual-layer fabric with high permeability to help plants get necessary nutrients while keeping weeds at bay. It's tough enough to use under artificial grass, in flower beds, on garden paths and borders, raised beds, and greenhouses. The thick green stripes on the fabric help you align plants, bushes, and stones on walkways. 

This eco-friendly landscape fabric from Petgrow is a strong chemical-free durable weed stopper that allows plants to thrive. The material is needle-punched to help move water and air into the ground beneath it, allowing the soil to stay healthy year-round. Petgrow is UV-stabilized, super thick, and provides long-time weed protection over artificial turf, in gardens, flowerbeds, and on driveways.

This material from Sandbaggy is some of the thickest landscape fabric we've ever seen. It's also sized so you spend less time measuring and cutting and more time enjoying your garden. The fabric is so thick it stays put with staples and cuts without fraying. Sandbaggy is a good choice for rock and gravel landscaping, driveway stabilization, farming and gardening, and mulch landscaping.

What's the best lawn fabric for you?

All of these lawn fabrics are best in class. Still, we have a few favorites. The best all-around lawn fabric, and our staff pick, is from ECOgardener. It's a superb weed barrier that lets in air and rain so the soil doesn't dry out.

If you're looking for an eco-friendly lawn fabric, go with GardenMate. It contains zero plastic and is made of pollutant-free materials. This is a thick lawn fabric and best suited to gardens and raised beds.

The best bang for your buck comes from Scotts. Their lawn fabric lays down quickly, allows air and moisture to reach the soil, and lasts up to 25 years.

Why trust us?

At GardeningEtc, we recommend the best products to enhance your life. As expert curators, we handpick products based on quality and usefulness to positively impact your day-to-day, from cart to doorstep. We take our responsibility seriously — testing products, reading reviews, and sourcing knowledgeable outlets to ensure our selections are worthy of your time and money. We deliver detailed product overviews, balancing objective information with subjective opinions, so making the best choice for your home and lifestyle is as easy as possible.