42 Garden Edging Ideas

You’ve decided that you’re going to build a garden in your yard. That’s great. You have the space picked out and you know what you want to plant. There’s just one thing left to do: choose the edging material that you want to go around the outside of your garden. This can be a tough thing to decide on, so to make it easier, we’ve come up with some of the best garden edging ideas for your yard. 

The material you choose needs to be sturdy enough to last. It has to hold back your grass on one side and keep your mulch and dirt contained on the other. Pick something that is nice to look at and enhances the style of your garden and yard with decorative yet also functional garden edging. Check out these garden edging ideas to get inspired and create something impressive in your yard.

1. Garden Edging Ideas Featuring Stylish Pavers

If you already have paving stones in your yard, then why not create a cohesive look by using them for your edging? Extend the pavers out toward your garden. When you want to create the edge, turn the paver up on end to create a solid visual edge that also blends in.

Another option is to choose a contrasting paver. It can be a different size or color from the ones you’re using for your driveway or walkway. Use this different paver to create a line around the outside. This creates your edging while also tying everything together.

2. Embrace the Natural Charm of Wood

Wood can give your garden border a rustic look. Choose reclaimed wood or salvaged railroad ties. This aged wood is solid and perfect for creating a border around your garden. If this is too farmhouse or rustic for your home, you can choose a wood that is more finished.

Planks of wood turned on their side create a miniature wall around your garden. You can sink them into the ground but remember to treat the wood, otherwise, it’ll rot. A better option is to hold the planks of wood in place with metal stakes or brackets.

Having planks on their side can create a deep bed for your garden; you can add soil and create a richer soil composition for your plants.

The third option for your wood is to create a small edge out of wood stakes that are positioned next to each other on end. You can place them individually or buy a kit that comes with the wood preassembled.

3. Aesthetic Appeal

You could hire a contractor to come out and create custom concrete edging for your landscaping. However, this is expensive and may not be worth the investment required. Instead, buy pre-made concrete edging pieces and do it yourself. These pieces come in a wide range of patterns, designs, and sizes.

If you decide to go this route, it’s best that you determine the general size of your garden but not its exact shape. Since these pieces come in limited shapes, you’ll need to lay them out and finish creating your garden by following the line of the edging you’ve laid out. Then you can sink the edging into the ground and finish your garden.

4. Unleash Your Imagination

All of the other edging options on this list are your standard home and commercial construction solutions. But that doesn’t mean they are your only option.

If you’re a creative type, then don’t be afraid to try something unique for your landscape edging. You can line glass bottles up that are shades of bright green and rich blue or use terracotta pots. Then plant flowers in the pots while also using them as edging.

If you have an issue with drainage, consider an edging idea that’s also functional. Trench edging creates a mini mote around your lawn edge. Then excess water from your yard and your garden can drain into the trench and be carried away.

If you want to reduce the maintenance required for your trench, you can buy edging material with the trench built-in. You’ll dig the trench, place the edging, and occasionally clear off the grate on top.

5. Contemporary Flair

You can create a modern look with your edging by using multiple materials. Combining multiple edging elements together creates a custom look that’s multi-layered. You can have a metal edge with a line of river rocks and then bordered by a line of cut stones. The total border is wide, but each individual element isn’t.

Another modern edging solution is to use an unexpected material. Use an expensive stone like marble or granite. This stone is durable and will elevate the look of your garden. Just know that this option isn’t one you should DIY. It’ll also be significantly more expensive than other options on this list.

If your property is large and you have the space available, create a stunning water feature as your border. You’ll want to line the border with a material that’s impervious, such as concrete or stone. Then fill the edging void with water and add a way for the water to circulate. Finish the look by placing river rocks at the bottom of the water feature to create a river effect.

6. Stamped Concrete Styles

One of the fastest and easiest garden bed edging solutions is stamped concrete. It comes in pre-made sections that you buy and place. It comes in various finishes, so you can have the look of natural stone, wood, or brick. Pick any color you can imagine and if you can’t find the color you want, simply paint it.

This poured concrete is made in molds or poured in place and then stamped to give it texture and a pattern. Concrete is a smart choice for your landscaping because it’s low maintenance, durable, and won’t corrode.

7. Raised Garden Options

Raised flowerbeds should have edging or walls around them that will give them an elegant look. This can be treated wood for a rustic, farmhouse, or natural look. If you prefer something a bit more modern, then try using stacked stone. A gabion wall is also a beautiful solution.

You can make your own gabion walls by building wood frames that you then wrap chicken wire around to create a three-dimensional open space. Fill this space with rocks but be sure to choose a wire that has holes small enough to stop the rocks from falling through the wire. You can leave the top open, but for a polished look, top the rocks with a bit of wire mesh.

8. Elegant Metal Accents

If you want to give your garden bed a sleek and modern look, then consider using metal to build your edge. There are long, flat sheets that can create a thin yet effective wall. The nice thing about metal is that you can easily bend it to create smooth curves.

You can also buy long rigid pieces to create perfectly sharp corners for a more angular garden edge. Be sure to choose a metal that’s durable enough to last in the weather elements. Otherwise, that bright shiny silver will be red and rusted in no time.

If you want to use mulch, river rock, or pebbles as your border, then consider placing a metal edge first. The metal will be strong enough to hold the rocks in place while also being low profile enough to not change the visual effect of the rocks.

9. Functional Beauty

A retaining wall is required when you want to build in a place where you’ll cut into the earth. Maybe you live in an area where the ground has mountains or hills. Or perhaps you want to build up your property. The retaining wall supports the weight of the earth behind it.

A simple retaining wall is constructed from poured concrete. To give it additional strength, you can reinforce it with rebar. Other options for building your wall are stone, wood, and metal sheets.

The material you choose will depend on the size of your retaining wall and the look you’re going for. Stacked stone can be perfect for a small retaining wall in your raised garden bed. However, it may not be strong enough to hold the entire garden up.

10. Natural Elegance

If you want to create a visual border that’s flat on the ground, then try using rocks or pebbles. This creates a decorative landscape border. To make this look work for your garden, stick with smaller rocks, like pea gravel, river rock, and pebbles.

When laying your rocks, you don’t need to dig super deep. You just need to dig deep enough to lay a few inches of gravel. Lay a matting down before you add your stones. This will prevent weeds from growing up between the stones and creating a high-maintenance border.

It’s also smart to add a border to your gravel edging to hold all of the stones in place. Finish the edge by pouring and smoothing the stones out.

11. Practical and Versatile

If you’re looking for an affordable solution, then plastic edging is your ideal choice. It’s commonly chosen for lawn edging, but you can also use it around your garden. It comes in black and will be in a big roll. You just need to measure the distance around your garden and buy a roll or several rolls long enough.

Plastic will give your garden a clean and low-profile garden design. It’s also easy to work with and something you can install yourself in a day. The downside of plastic is that it isn’t as durable as other options. It also tends to come out of the ground if you don’t install it correctly. Lawn equipment blades on lawnmowers and equipment can tear the plastic up.

12. Timeless Charm

Stacked bricks will give your home a classic colonial look. They’re also perfect for creating an upscale look to your home’s exterior. If you plan on using bricks for your patio or walkway, then continue using these bricks as the edging around your landscaping.

If you want to create a raised bed, then stack the bricks on top of each other to create your desired height. Now you have a mini brick wall.

For a more streamlined look, embed one row of bricks into the ground. This keeps the bricks flush with the walkway but creates a visual accent or frame around the walkway. If your sidewalk is concrete, line either side with bricks for an affordable way to elevate it.

13. Building Block Solutions

If you like the look of stones but want something a little more uniform for your landscape design, then blocks of stone are a perfect choice. These aren’t your standard cinder blocks. These are cut blocks that look like stones but have a standardized size and shape. This makes working with them much easier than trying to arrange randomly sized and shaped natural stones.

Stone edging comes in a wide variety of sizes, colors, and shapes. You’ll want to scale the stones to the size of your flower bed or vegetable garden. This will create the most curb appeal. Smaller or shorter blocks are required if you want to create more curves or try more creative landscape-edging ideas.