Can you think of a better way to lend a final touch to a garden than an imaginative edging? Good
news is you have plenty of options – you may pick readymade choices, or
let your imagination run riot. Make it traditional, do it quirky or
choose classic – any style lends a finished and a manicured look for
your yard.
Apart
from carving out clear-cut spaces and adding texture to the garden,
edging keeps lawns from sneaking into flower beds; weeds are kept out of
vegetable gardens and plants from invading walkways.
Bricks for a traditional look
Brick,
a common landscape edging choice, offers a time-honored traditional
look. It is commonly available, and fairly inexpensive.
Set your bricks on a bed of sand for an even and smooth finish. Push bricks tightly together to minimize spaces between them.
Concrete for a contemporary show
Concrete
is decorative and functional; it survives years of wear and tear, and
is easy on your pocket too. It defines effectively garden beds and tree
surrounds.
Create
an air of mystery with a winding concrete path that runs through your
yard. For added interest, use concrete pavers of different heights on a
slope or uneven landscape for a smooth transitional look.
Flagstones for a classic touch
If
you happen to have a country garden, choose flagstone edging for a
classic look. Go for diverse colors and thicknesses to match or contrast
your plants with other stonework in the landscape. It could even set
off stonework on your house. Irregular in shape, flagstones last longer
and stack firmly in the yard.
Rocks for a natural garden look
For
a cool and laid-back look of a natural garden, select rocks of
different shapes and colors. You can position large multicolor rocks
judiciously, to add to the informal style.
Flowering plants for a splash of color
Low-growing
flowering plants are a fantastic choice to splash your yard with color,
and soften hard boundaries, Plant them in one long continuous mass for
the color to drape on your yard smoothly.
Ideas to experiment
Here are some novel ideas to break conventionality, and to bring on the chic to your landscape.
- Got a stack of used glass bottles? Create colored bottle edges, burying them neck down side by side in the soil. To lend a quirky country garden charm, mix bottles of different colors, or go monochrome for a toned down look.
- Line your garden edge with used China plates.
- Stack metallic wheels of different sizes.
- Bury fallen tree branches of different heights for a rustic look.
- Use wooden panels of diverse heights alternately for a distressed look.
- Surround a flower bed with logs that bring out the colors charmingly. Sit them in the soil either horizontally or vertically. You are being kind to the environment too!
- Cinder blocks can work as planters, apart from defining the garden boundaries.
- Terracotta pipes work just like cinder blocks – both as planters and garden liners. They would perfectly match up the terracotta planters you have placed around the yard.
