what does everyone use for edging

Hi! Would like to know what everyone uses for decorative edging for their gardens.
I'm planning the last touches of my shade garden trying to get some good season end sales. Just ordered some decorative willow edging and hammer in edging from gardener's supply and some inexpensive pine edging from collections etc.
So what does everyone use in their gardens to edge?

My husband works on construction sites. He brought me home some stone edging. Actually it is curbing but I am going to give it a shot.

I don't use a decorative edging...i just go around the edges twice a summer with a shovel or an edger and dig them even, or if I'm lazy I turn the weed trimmer on it's side and do it quickly. Much easier with the riding lawnmower....... Hubby can put the edge of the tires on and cut the lawn right to the very edge of the garden.

I have a variety: some black plastic that I set low so I can mow over it and some lannon stone. There was a lot of timbers here when we moved in - I really didn't like it.

I've got mostly raised beds, so I used the stones that came with our yard, and also a friend of my inlaws had some property that he built a home on that was nothing but rocks, so he allowed us to come take as many as we wanted. Back breaking to say the least, but worth it. I haven't had much luck doing those nice, neat landscaper eges with a shovel or edger because I always hit more rocks! I like the clean look of those, though.

Logs and stones but I want to pick up a bunch of plates to use to edge the bed along the garage. Going to the "World's Biggest Garage Sale" this weekend so maybe I will find some.

This message was edited Sep 27, 2007 11:21 PM

Stones from the garden along garden path and around rose bed along slightly raised beds. Brick pavers out back and dug out edges out front. Works best is the dug edges but also the most work initially, I like the neat look the best also. Stones work best for path edge. Brick pavers get swamped by the grass and require maintenance too often out back. Stones around rose bed hold back soil well but because it is surrounded by grass has to have a strip of mulch also for separation or a lot of trimming is required. I would like to switch to some of the pavers made for circle trim or brick pavers around the perimeter there.

We are using decorative cinder blocks that DSIL picked up for free two summers ago. Also have a few beds that are rock-timmed.

I had also done 2 short stacked stone walls with flat stones that a friend got us from a house that was going to be demolished. He works as a township employee and he is allowed to go into houses that are slated for demo( after the owners remove all their things) and take whatever he wants...landscape supplies, trees, plants, even light fixtures and stuff like that from the inside...how cool is that???? I told him to let me know whenever they have another one scheduled.

From experience with a number of options, I have to say the best edging is no edging at all, if you're talking about between bed and lawn. Dig a nice deep trough and do what 3g does.

I have 14 flower beds and a veggie garden.....I use everything!!
I have bricks on 5 beds, landscaping timbers on 4 beds, rocks for 4 beds and plastic edging on 1 bed. I use black thick plastic and lay 4x8 along the edges on the veggie garden.....hardly any weeding that way!

Whadda know. I dug deep trenches as borders because I didn't want to spend money and I was lazy. And now Vic and others are saying that's the, or a way to go. I wondered because they've worked well. Keep expecting grass to take over the beds but it hasn't.

As far as I'm concerned, the dug edges are the best.....the never shift, or heave from the frost, never fall over or get crooked, and if ya want to expand the bed, no fuss....just dig wider out......

Thanks - I feel better - I just have dug edges too. :-)

I'm in the process of doing that now. Got talked into using river rock and it's been a disaster. So I'm digging the trough and throwing the rocks onto the edge of the bed.

Dug edges here. I hate to weed between the rocks, although it does look nice.

Ya learn something new everyday. I thought the weeds would take over but guess not.
Cat, that sounds like a really cool idea with the dishes.

My DH takes care of the edging as we don't have flower beds (to speak of yet). He uses a weedwacker.

We once let DSIL near the gardens with the weed-whacker. Not a pretty sight when he was done!!

My DH has a gazillion one CDs - I always thought they might make a nice edging . . . .

Would be a rather slim edge. And very shiny.

But maybe the grass and other spreading plants might be contained :-)

But the gardener will be blind.

Maybe the bugs will see their reflections and run away from the CDs leaving before they eat anythng.

Maybe this is what Kassia needs for Woody. (I'll refrain from following up on my own set-up.)

Could be an awsome light show.

Good boy, Victor!!

. . . uh - I don't get it - complete the thought, Victor :-)

I try not to have complete thoughts.

oh come on - you can do it!

I love the rock border look and hate the weeding so I did something "different" that I still think is the best of both. I dug a trough and made a one sided cement mold out 4 inch formica. The formica bends better than bender board or other materials. I "feathered" the trough out so it was not a steep drop on the inside edge and lined it all with wet newpaper. I mixed up cement and poured about 4 feet at time. I set the rock in the wet cement about 3 inches back from the front edge and trimmed the front with a trowel so it rounded down. The 3 inch leading edge of cement made it easy to mow around and the cement kept me front all the nasty weeding. I'm sorry I don't have a picture to post. I did that at the former house, before I had a digital camera. The wet newspaper made it easy for me coax the cement into place if too much came out in one spot while I was pouring the cement.

In the trash to treasure forum they also had some pictures of the plate border AND a bottle border.

The down side has already been noted. It would have been a pain to expand the borders unless I just dug more and pour a new border! And I would have... I'd have used the first border and built on it like a little rock wall. That house was zone 5 and I did not have any trouble with the cement and rock in the winter.

That's a great idea!

psychw-I sure wish I could picture what you're describing.

Hey flower,,,,

What kind of plants did you put into your shade garden? I have and area of the back lawn that gets no sun or little sun but i would still love to have son plants and flowers there! I'm a newbie to this whole gardening thing! any help would be great!

JMR

Hey there, JMR!
Welcome to the forum. How long have you been gardening?

Welcome JMR! Astilbes would work. Hellebores. There are shrubs that will flower in mostly shade - Clethra and Kerria work well. Hydrangea will bloom if it gets some son or is in bright shade. Of course there are annuals. Good luck!

Well kinda just been playing around just this summer,,,, to tell you the truth,,,,,in the front landscaping i just plop everything in the dirt....... the only thing tha did not take was the freebie shrubs.......lol

My DH works for wal-mart and is gone 5days out of 7 so i thought it would be a something to do outside with the dogs,,,, little elvis will sit on a paver with me for hours......i cement too!
I sew as well but need a break from that line of my business.......childrens boutique clothing...I suffer from bi-polar and a string on things that go with it and the meds are starting to work and it is time to get out of the house.......

I love flowers, the birds, digging in the dirt, building stuff from my "trash" i call them my "treasures" I'm doing a bottle tree right now,,,,, having some trouble with it though,,,,

oh dear ,,,,,,,,, I know,,,,,,More than you needed to know right?

okay wha was the question,,,,how long have i been gardening,,, bout 4-5 months,,,,

JMR

What kind of cement work do you do JMR?

JMR ~
What a great addition you will be to our NEG family!!
You are so creative! I am jealous. I like to do papercrafts ... scrapbooks, cards, etc. But I think I would have a very hard time with cement!! LOL
It just wouldn't fold right, ya know?

Welcome, JMR. I planted hellebores, cyclamen, ajuga, and varieties of thyme, columbine and monarda that are for shade. Also, ordered hydrangea that won't be shipped till fall.