Defining your garden bed can be so much more than a simple practical measure. Let’s have some fun with edging!
There are plenty of ready-to-use products to find at your local gardening or home improvement superstore, but we’re not here to cover those options. We want to focus on the creative solutions that gardeners like yourself have come up with. Sharing fantastic home brew ideas will help make sure that spectacular, unique gardens like these continue to grow around the world.
Using your ingenuity, energy, and a few essential tools, you can create any of the singularly beautiful garden edging projects on this list. Some of these ideas require the purchase of materials, while others rely on recycling and repurposing things you may already have lying around. Your best bet is to take inventory of both your possessions and personal taste, and see what might work best for your own garden. Everyone will have a favorite.
Each of these ideas are linked to an original source, detailing what steps you’ll need to take to craft your own personalized garden edging. Let’s begin!
1. Brick
Brick is perhaps the most traditional garden edging option, and for good reason. It defines garden borders well, it’s weather resistant, and it has a timeless look that goes well with nearly any surroundings. The material cost is higher than some other projects on this list, but the work is relatively minimal.
2. Sea Shells
We just had to put this utterly unique idea near the top of our list. Large seashells, like the quahog species seen here, make for a striking border in any garden. The contrast between earthy greens and seaside attraction creates a unique visual dichotomy that will be the envy of every gardener around. Larger shells can make for walls on their own, while some folks prefer to crush up smaller shells for a rock-garden effect.
3. Gabion
Gabion is a word originally meaning “big cage,” and that’s exactly what this project employs to create a fantastic garden edge. These cages can be purchased at many gardening and home improvement stores, allowing you to fill the interior with a number of materials. Most popular is stone, as pictured below. We’ve seen cut logs, shells, terracotta, and other fillers, but the classic stone gabion garden edge is both modern and somewhat timeless.
4. Stones
This idea is possibly the least labor-intensive on the list, but will still require some strength and perseverance as you carry and set large stones into place. The stones can be purchased or found, but a relatively uniform size is preferred to create the desired “wall” effect. See more Stone Edging Ideas here
5. Cinder Blocks
Cinder blocks are an especially utilitarian idea since their structure makes them not only perfect as an edging material but as planters themselves. As seen in our image, cinder blocks can make excellent planters when set on their sides, while simultaneously defining the garden as tightly as possible.
6. Log Edging
Whether laid out horizontally or vertically (as pictured), using cut logs to edge your garden is a simple, environmentally friendly, and beautiful project. With access to some cut wood, either via retail, your own property, or that of a friend, you can create an appealingly natural garden edge with a bit of effort and time.
7. Woven Wood
Woven garden edging is an especially nuanced, beautiful project to have in your yard. As in our picture below, you can use natural logs and sticks for a truly rustic, old fashioned appearance. We’ve seen equally attractive wicker projects, but the natural approach seems to work best, especially for vegetable gardens.
8. Bottle Edging
Source: Flickr
Here’s a relatively low-cost option with a high degree of personality. As we’ve shown before, using discarded bottles in a creative fashion in the garden is an increasingly popular project. Gathering the bottles themselves is the most labor-intensive part of the project since you’re free to implement them as you please. Pictured here is a garden edged by color-coordinated bottles, creating a walking path.
9. Bowling Balls
For our final idea, we wanted to share this incredibly unique idea. We know that not everyone will have access to old bowling balls, but the results are too stunning to ignore. With a variety of colors and eye-catching spherical design, bowling balls make for surprisingly perfect garden edging materials. Witness our image below, pairing sets of multi-colored balls with a stone walkway to define a lush green garden.
10. Duel-Tier Brick Edging
This garden edging is perfect for creating a beautiful border between your garden and your lawn. There are two tiers of brick with this edging design that utilizes different colored bricks and heights to create a beautiful edge. The brick design looks elegant with all of the green in this garden.
11. Evergreen Forest Edge
The first thing that you notice in this image is the row of evergreen trees in this image. This edging in this idea uses bricks that are embedded in the ground, and the garden is covered in black mulch that matches the coloration of the bricks.
12. Purple Petals with a Diagonal Inlaid Edging
The edging in this design uses bricks as well, but these ones are placed in a diagonal upright position that gives the border some height. The flowers on the inside of the border can be a little unruly and hang over the edge just a bit. The outside is designed with small pebbles that make the garden look spectacular.
13. Glorious Overgrowth
Source:Bill Wandsnider
In this garden edging idea you will notice that the border is made from stone bricks that are not perfectly cut. This rigid look is perfect with large flowers and bushes that have foliage that will lean over the tri-leveled wall. Make sure to keep your plants trimmed enough to see at least one layer of the edging.
14. Circular Edging Idea
This design is perfect for creating a border for a small circular garden. The edge is made from pieces of concrete that have been cut into brick-sized pieces. The patterns on the edging display a charming design that is dual-colored, which will look amazing with brightly colored flowers.
15. Path to Paradise
This next garden edging idea is perfect for a large garden that has an incorporated path. Using rocks of this size to create a border gives the design an asymmetrical look that makes each area of the edging unique. The tall flowers shown in the image perfectly accommodate this edging design.
16. Small Rock Wall Design
The next idea is one that utilizes rocks that are stacked about two layers high, which is perfect for a raised garden. This design allows you to curve the edging to the specific curve of your garden and use smaller stones to fill in the gaps in the wall if desired.
17. Stone Edging Haven
This garden edging idea is perfect for creating a symmetrical garden that looks the same on both sides of the walkway to the door. The garden is full of potted plants, and perfectly trimmed plants that are growing in the ground. The border between the garden and the grass is designed using a plethora of medium-sized rocks.
18. River Edging
The rock edging in this idea reminds me of the piled stones that you see at a river’s edge. The stones can be piled three to four layers high and in any design pattern that you desire. Using white or light colored stones make an elegant contrast to the green grass and the black mulch.
19. Fantastic Front Yard Edging
Using stones is a common edging idea for gardens, but mixing together different types of stones creates a unique design that will turn heads. The front of this small garden is designed with smaller more symmetrical stones, while the back and sides utilize larger rocks that add more flavor to the garden.
20. Log Lover’s Lane
This edging design is a new one that we have not seen yet. It is designed with cut logs that are standing on end. Every other log is designed to be the same height, and the brightly colored flowers in the image look perfect with this edging design.
21. Tiny Timber Edging
If you like the look of natural wood, then this edging design may be perfect for your garden. Plants with long foliage and small blooms are perfect for completing the look and making it seem like the garden is located in the center of a forested area.
22. Jewel Embedded Border
This next garden edge idea is a unique one. It is a grey edge that incorporates embedded jewels into the look. This edging design would look great with a lot of green foliage like the picture shows, but it would also look dazzling with jewel-toned blooms in the garden as well.
23. Wheeling West Virginia Ferns
This edging idea is definitely one that is not often seen. It is designed from old car hub caps, and it creates a fascinating border between the grass and the lovely fern garden that will be a great conversation starter amongst your guests. Large plants work best with this design.
24. Bamboo-Like Edging
This unique looking edging is actually siding that is shaped and positioned to create a charming border that is perfect for trees and succulent plants that have two or three feet high foliage. When the siding is positioned perfectly, it resembles large bamboo stems that add a wooden aspect to your garden.
25. Living Edging Design
This design is based around planted pots that are partially buried in the soil. The area around the pots is covered with red mulch, and the edging of the garden is a line of plants or herbs. Rosemary, thyme, or ornamental grass is perfect for this type of edging.
26. Yin Yang Edging
This design features a white stone edging that can be shaped to your garden with ease. The bright white stones create a magnificent level of contrast with the dark red mulch and the green grass, and the minimalist plant positioning gives the garden a well-kept look.
27. Patio Perfection
This design is created to be part of the patio that it is positioned next to. The same stone is used for the edging as the patio, and it is designed to curve around the area in a way that is elegant, yet simplistic.
28. Railway Edging
This edging idea is one that utilizes the wooden planks to create a unique edge that perfectly contrasts bright green grass and foliage. The edging in this image is designed in a step pattern that is perfect for a garden that is located on a hill.
29. Picture Perfect Edging
This design is one that you would imagine in fictional gardens, but it is perfectly easy to create. The edge is made from a number of small white or light colored stones, and the outer edge is a layer of bricks that keep the stones from venturing out into the grass.
30. No-Dig Decorative Faux Stone Edging
Easily install this no-dig edging that uses natural looking faux stone material. This edging system looks great and is strong, durable and holds its integrity all year! More information can be found here!
Conclusion
You can see just by these 30 ideas alone that the possibilities for creatively edging your garden are boundless! Look around your garden, yard, and home for materials and inspiration before making the leap on your own garden edging project. After seeing the variety of projects on display here, you’re likely to be surprised at how many ideas leap out as the perfect new addition to your own garden.