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Garden Borders

Garden Borders and Edging
Garden borders and edgings are very useful for marking the edge of your garden beds and delimiting different areas of your garden. Garden edging will also stop (or minimize) soil, pebbles, or mulch from spilling from one area into another. You don't want your garden soil washing onto your paths or your mulch migrating onto your lawn. Garden borders can also slow the spread of weeds, including grass invading your garden beds. They will also help protect your flowers and vegetables from getting damaged by a weed trimmer or lawn mower and certain types of garden borders may be able to keep dogs, chickens, or other animals out of your garden beds.
Interlocking Faux Stone Garden Border Edging available from Amazon.
Not only are garden borders useful, but they also look good and can make quite a feature in your garden.
This Spring, why not dress up your garden with a new border. Here are some ideas and suggestions for you to try.
Timber Garden Borders
Using Wood as a Garden Border

© Copyright GonnaFly.
Logs used as garden borders in my parents' garden
Wood makes a good building material because it is strong but not too heavy, relatively easy to work with, and not very expensive. But when timber is exposed to the elements (or just being in contact with wet ground), there can be problems with rot and / or insects destroying it.
In the past this problem was solved by pressure treating timber with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) but, this treated timber is now not available to purchase for your garden because the arsenic can leach out of the wood - not good for your health or the environment! Alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) is now most often used instead, but you may still wish to avoid the chemicals used to treat this wood, especially if you have children. For more information, read this article about using treated timber in your garden.
If you want to avoid these treated timbers, you could always use redwood, cedar, or white oak which tend to be more rot resistant than other woods. You could also use other untreated lumber and be prepared to replace it every few years. Or you could use faux wood.
Wood and Faux Wood Garden Borders

This roll of North American cedar edging is 6" high and 10' long. Because it is flexible, you can make curving borders with it.
Picket Fence Edging
These are not your full-sized picket fences, but little garden edges to decorate your garden beds or place as borders around your trees.
Stone Garden Borders
Garden Borders from Rock / Stone

© Copyright Anika Malone
and licensed for reuse under the CC BY 2.0 License.
Stone and Faux Stone Borders

This plastic "stone" wall stands 6 inches high and is attached to the ground using 10 inch nails.

Set of 10 plastic "stones" which snap together and then stake into the ground
Each piece 10" x 4"
Video: how to lay rocks for a garden border
Brick / Paver Garden Borders
Garden Borders from Bricks and Pavers

Picture © Copyright GonnaFly.
There are many ways to use bricks and pavers as garden edging.
For example, you could make a sawtooth edging (bricks laid at an angle like in the picture above). Read instructions for installing a sawtooth brick edging just in soil or in concrete.
You could make a mini wall out of bricks or pavers built on top of the ground.
You could embed a course of bricks or pavers in the soil so they are flush with the ground.
Be careful to fill any holes in the bricks so that they won't be a haven for snails or slugs. Also if the bricks are laid so that the holes run vertically and these holes are just filled with soil, you may get weeds growing in the holes. But you could also utilize these spots to plant your own choice of plants - ground covers, herbs, etc.
Metal / Wire Garden Borders
Decorative Coated Wire Garden Borders
These decorative metal edgings look very attractive but are not likely to stop your mulch from spilling out of your garden bed. They may be good enough to keep your dog from digging in your vegetable patch, provided he is not too energetic or too big! Carefully check the length of each piece as some of these sections are quite short. Then calculate how many pieces you will need to buy to complete the border.

Available in many different colors
Concrete Garden Borders
Concrete Garden Borders

© Copyright Crinklecrankle.com
and licensed for reuse under the CC BY 2.0 License.
Concrete is very solid and durable and, if done correctly, it is likely to outlast most other types of borders. You can buy pre-cast concrete border sections (from a local nursery) or pour your own concrete using molds. If you are pouring your own concrete using molds, you can color and texture the concrete to match or contrast with any existing concrete.
Kushlan Kurb Border Kit

This kit contains four reusable 72" long high-density polyethylene forms for making curbs 6" wide and 3" high.
4 Piece Set Edge Paver Concrete Mold

Make your own concrete border by forming your own pavers with this set. The set contains two rectangular molds 12" by 5", one rectangular mold 6" by 5" and a 45 degree angle piece. Pour exactly the pieces you need to make your garden border.
Garden Borders from Recycled Materials
How to use recycled objects to make garden borders

Recycled garden edging ideas
- Use recycled bottles:
- Instructions for making a garden border with lights from recycled blue bottles
- Instructions for creating a water or wine bottle garden border
- Pictures of colorful bottles used as a border for a garden bed
- Wheels:
- Picture of a garden privacy screen created from old metal wheels
- Make a herb garden from an old wagon wheel. The spokes mark the borders between sections.
- Coat hangers:
- Instructions for making garden edging from old wire coat hangers
- China dinner plates:
- Tires / tyres:
- Ideas for reusing old tires / tyres as garden planters. I would want to research more before planting vegetables or herbs in them.
Borders Made from Recycled Tires

This edging looks like mulch, but it's made from recycled tires - great for keeping them out of the landfill! And mowing is easy - you can mow right over the top without damaging the border or picking up any loose mulch.

Another rubber border made from recycled tires. Helps block weeds while conserving moisture in the soil.
Plants as Garden Borders
Flowers / Plants as Garden Borders

© Copyright Aly1963
and licensed for reuse under the CC BY 2.0 License.
A massed planting of flowers or other plants may form an attractive border on your garden bed or along a path. Often a border plant will be a low-grower, such as sweet alyssum, petunias, nasturtiums, and geraniums, so as not to cast shade on the other plants, but it depends on the intended function of the border. If the planting is thick enough, it may deter the spreading of weeds. A prickly plant used as a border may stop some animals from getting into your prized flower patch.
When choosing plants for your border, don't restrict yourself to flowers only. Some plants have interesting foliage (color or texture) that will retain their appeal all through the year, not just during the flowering season.
Some low-growing plants
Which garden borders do you prefer?
I have several different styles of borders in my garden, still seeking that "perfect" one though........
We struggle with this every year. I love the look of stones used in the border. I shared your lens on our G+ page today!
Thank you for publishing the many excellent ideas.
This is an awesome lens. These garden borders are great ideas. I have found a new idea I will use this spring as a border. Thanks for sharing.
perfect lens and best ideas i got from this
Great post! I love plants.
wohoho i still looking for this article, thanks
This is the time of year you start thinking about what you plan for the yard. Your lens is perfect for getting the ideas flowing.
very nice lense!
I love the stonewall garden stakes. Thanks for the great ideas!
Great ideas, beautiful lens! I think I like flowers as a border best!
really great ideas for garden borders...All are unique to themselves and add a lot of value to gardens and specially flowering plants..
www.jankioiltools.com
I rather like the rocks - lovely ideas, all of them!
Great ideas! We use a lot of fallen logs around here. When they need to be replaced, I just dig up the "mulch" from underneath and spread it into my soil!
Some great ideas - I like the plants as border idea.
I used cut logs around garden beds. One of the raised garden beds in my garden used stacked boulders. Thanks for the new ideas you have presented.
We like to do very natural looking garden borders. I like the wood log one :)
These tips are very nice and great. These kind of borders add more beauty to the garden. Thanks for such a nice idea and lens.
I prefer concrete mold set. Recycled border are also a great idea
Really good ideas, all of them. Sure like the faux stone border. Mmmmmm.
Very nice range of garden borders. I personally like the Stonewall Border Stakes.
I like the vertical logs and the natural plant borders especially; those are two methods my grandparents used to frame their raised herb beds or border their vegetable garden. It was always a perfectly suited natural look.
I prefer the paver concrete mold set. I use bricks at the moment, but the concrete mold looks a lot nicer and will work better.
Nice lens. We inherited a brick border in our garden - bricks upended and sunk into the soil. Looks very nice :)
In the spring when I have pictures of my raised beds I was going to do an article about it. This lens has given me some ideas as to how to spruce it up before taking pictures.
Either the stone or the flower. Love the lens. Very informative.
I use mostly concrete stones, but really like real stone. And I am in the process of making a bottle border.
Very pretty, I love the concrete molds.
I especially like wooden and rock garden borders.
I like them all. I am toying with the idea of a raised bed with a wooden boarder for my nest project. I'm just not sure where a good place to put it will be. I love this lens. It is giving me a lot of ideas.
I like all of them, so it's hard to choose!
Nice border ideas! I especially like the recycle ideas. :)
Actually my favorites were some you out-linked to: the plates, the wine bottles with lights and the old wheels in particular. Pinned to my Garden board, and blessed due to your attention and focus on upcycling.
I use wood and faux stone. Your lens is beautiful.
I'm going to try the recycled blue bottles with lights idea!
I prefer wood garden borders. Looks natural
I prefer rocks as garden borders.
Nice lens. I love gardening. Enjoyed the pictures.
Nice Lens.Thanks for sharing the lens.
I use rocks, wood, interlock curved stone, but I love the Interlocking Faux Stone Garden Border Edging. Great look. Very nice lens.
The borders are the final, necessary touch. Good Lens!
Since I have so many free ones available, I tend to use logs from fallen trees, although I do have some made from concrete blocks. It is nice to know about so many options.
I prefer rocks or anything natural...love your ideas here esepcially the recycled garden borders. Thanks for sharing.
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