sooby said:Lawn mowers often come with a clippings catcher, or there is a mulch setting on lawn tractors. Since you're in NY State I wonder if you have annual bluegrass, which can flower at very, very low mowing heights. But grass clippings per se will be good for the flower beds (unless you use lawn herbicides) other than for any stray seed heads.
For edging by hand you can use an edging tool, a handle with a half-moon at the working end. There are edging attachments for weed whackers but they don't do as neat a job (a lot less work though!).