When planning a new garden or thinking about giving a current one a makeover, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of choosing and buying lots of colourful plants for your beds. After all, these are the main feature of a garden and when they do bloom, flowers can give so much pleasure to even the world-weariest gardener.
However, in doing so, you may not realise how important garden edging can be to the overall look and design of your back yard.
What is garden edging?
Garden edging is a dividing material used to separate one area of a garden from another.
Edging adds to the structure of a garden and also acts as a boundary between plants, lawns and paths. In practical terms, it also prevents any stray grass or soil from escaping to another area of the garden and helps maintain walkways. It can also be a real benefit when it comes to mowing the lawn, as you will be able to cut right to the edge of the grass and that means small plants aren’t in danger of being eaten up by the mower.
There are lots of different kinds of garden edging available, with many on offer in our Timber and Building Materials Auction. With so many options, it’s a real chance to get creative and decorative outside.
Types of garden edging
Brick
If you want a traditional look, bricks can provide sturdy and attractive edges to your borders and paths. They can be set in different ways, either vertically, flat to the ground or perhaps on an angle. Set flat, they create a great mowing strip, reducing time and effort spent cutting grass.
Stones
Installed in sand or concrete, flagstones and cobblestones can give a classic look to your garden and are a nice contrast to a lawn and flowerbed. However, the unevenness between stones can mean weeds have the chance to creep through.
Timber
Wood is a popular and cost effective way to line your borders. It gives a soft look to edging and can really blend in with the natural materials of your garden. Rounded sleepers are often used and are pressure treated to ensure they weather well. Alternatively, you can take a more DIY approach and recycle planks or unused fire logs alongside your paths and flowerbeds.
Hedges
Using tough hedging plants as a boundary between beds and lawns is striking and gives a natural look to your garden. Maintenance of hedges is easy though can be a breeding ground for weeds.
Alternatives
Alternatively, you can go for a more eclectic look and use other materials to edge your borders. Upside down bottles work well as do tiles and even plates! Recycled tyres and hoses are also effective and add a distinct style to your garden.
Many of these materials, including pine, wooden sleepers and tiles can be found at great prices in our Timber and Building Materials Auction, held every Wednesday at 10am.