Garden Edging for Maintenance & Ornament

A staple of English Arts & Crafts gardens, edging has practical as well as historical appeal. Choose from buried barriers to brick, stone, iron, or tile.

- Brian D. Coleman

Edging prevents soil and mulch from overflowing flower beds, and helps keep loose gravel or mulch within their borders for crisp and clearly defined walkways. Using taller borders of miniature boxwood or low fencing directs traffic and keeps visitors (including way ward children and dogs) on the paths and out of the flowers. 

A wide range of materials and styles is available today to edge a garden, from reclaimed, rope-edged English tiles to modern bands of steel, plastic, or aluminum. Any type can work in an Arts & Crafts garden if well placed in the landscape. For decorative edging, color is a place to start: Terra-cotta bricks or salt-glazed, red-brown English tiles work well with gardens planted in a fall palette of burgundy, gold, and dark leafy green; borders of soft grey stones or slabs of blue slate complement lighter plantings, such as a springtime bed of pink azaleas. Structure in the garden should coordinate with the composition of the edging. Thus, if you have a brick patio or a tile fountain, consider edging the paths with brick or complementary tiles to tie the landscape together.