Creative Garden Edging

As a garden writer and stylist for the last 25 years and a garden reader for the last 50 years, it would seem nothing is new to me. For those not as seasoned, or those who are looking for new ideas, I decided to write about creative garden edging.

Full disclosure: My garden’s edging isn’t very creative, since it is just plain rusted metal. I like all the creative ideas I will share below, but in the end, I like structure and don’t want my garden to look so busy. It’s also interesting to note that I’m a collector and a sustainable gardener, so one would think I would be all over the following creative edging design. For me, given my background in garden reading and writing, nothing is new. If, and that is a big IF, I did embrace another type of edging, it hasn’t been invented yet.

Between 2012 and 2013, a movement took off as upcycling, crafting, and thrifting made their way onto the garden scene. This decorative dish edging—where saucers and plates are buried halfway into the soil to create a storybook, whimsical border. The first time I saw dishes used as edging was in a magazine; I loved it. So did the rest of the gardening world! Gardeners everywhere, it seemed, began to follow this trend. I didn’t. The idea had a loooonggg contrail.

I’ve only ever seen this edging on the internet! I love it. And before you think the weeds will grow all up and between the shells, I agree! But it is super cute! I think it would look best at the coast, and if you are a sheller, then there is a good story to go with it.

Stone is another great example of edging. And, yes, weeds will get all up and in it. I hand-weeded it recently, and it wasn’t bad. You see rocks used often in the Northeast, since all you have to do is stick a shovel in the soil and you’ll hit one! Unlike seashells, stone can look appropriate as edging in a wide range of gardens.

Well, maybe not exactly edging, but I like it. It looks super easy to do. I wouldn’t consider it a handrail since it will move when you need to grab hold of it.

Here’s another type of edging that has a very long contrail. Using wine bottles as garden edging became a widespread DIY trend in the early 2010s, again fueled by the upcycling movement; gardeners began burying empty bottles upside-down to create colorful, weather-resistant borders for their flower beds. It’s OK, but I raised three little kids in my garden, where these can be murderous. They’re cute, though. It would take me forever to drink that much wine to make an edge. What I do like is that an edge can be added on after each garden party. The tricky part is finding wine you like that also comes in colorful bottles!

I like this a lot. Frankly, I like metals in general for a variety of things. I purchased a metal-framed mirror from a thrift store for my garden gazebo, which also has a long contrail. This trend is centuries old; I’m finally catching on. More about that later.

I wonder if being a Pisces is why I’m so attracted to metal? From what I understand, we are, but particularly silver and gold. I prefer my metal to be oiled bronze or rusted metal. I seek vintage in most everything I buy. I’ve always been a renegade.

Here’s another fine example of metal edging.

Oh, yes, I could do this all day long! But alas, my Raleigh garden is rocky, and they are never bigger than an egg. I love this look! It’s so organic-looking, which I tend towards.

These are interesting. I’m not sure I would want them in my garden, but their use here was perfect, since they were at the property line. I’ve seen them before, but never knew what they were. My friend, Jere, who was on the tour with me, said, “They were concrete test cylinders.” She then had to explain it further by saying, and I’m paraphrasing, these small, cast cylinders (typically 4” x 8” or 6” x 12”) made of wet concrete from a fresh pour. They are cured and crushed in a laboratory press to verify the concrete’s compressive strength. Why these pieces got a reprieve from the lab press is a mystery.

What a great use of saving the trunk of trees instead of hauling them off. Over the years, I’ve done something similar, working to conserve the Joslin Garden. One would have to be mindful of scale. The size of this garden vegetable bed supports these logs. Plus, it is parallel along the long side street. One must keep scale in mind!

If left in the shade for years, the stumps will develop a wonderful patina. I love this look! You can’t buy it. You can’t gather it. You can’t make it. One must wait patiently for Mother Nature to turn on her charm.

I love this image! The log became a serendipitous edge when the Galanthus spp. spread into the path.

On a very lucky note, we were able to rescue hundreds of Belgian blocks from a neighbor 2 doors down. We used many of the pieces to edge the formal bed at the Joslin Garden. I took a bunch home for additional edging (I already had some) and for steps when I built the new railing and path along my Southside. Other workmates took what they wanted, as did friends. Is it too much to say they were manna from Heaven?

In case you did see my post sharing the steps and railing I created on my Southside.

Don’t you think these are the Crème de la crème? I do.

But it’s never going to happen for me. While I was shopping at a thrift store yesterday, I found these for sale. Not enough to do much with. If you have any ideas, please share. And even if there were plenty, the small ones cost $42 each, and the larger ones were $48.

Until soon,

Helen Yoest