The best garden edging ideas will not only be practical, but they will also pull the overall look of your outdoor space together, define your garden beds and add a polished feel to your entire backyard.

Garden edging can be used in a variety of ways, from giving a lovely definition to your borders to framing a water feature. It's often used along the perimeter of a lawn also, known as lawn edging, to help keep grass in check and reduce the need for mowing – always a plus!

Edging is an integral part of garden landscaping and can be installed using a range of materials that are, more often than not, easy on the budget. You can use everything from garden plants to wood, stone and more depending on whether you want to achieve classic or more modern garden edging ideas. 

BY ANNA K. COTTRELL

An abundant mixture of Dahlia, Lilium and Gladiolus act as one of the most colorful garden edging ideas to keep your space a little more free-flowing too. Mix it up and add in more plants for fragrance, including herbs like lavender, rosemary and thyme, and be sure to keep some evergreens in there for year-round structure. Remember: your flower beds are also your garden edging ideas, so add a bit of height to create the separation you desire. 

You could DIY garden edging using sleepers to create a mini garden bench as well as robust lawn edging. A place to sit, and to house your beautiful planting too, it's too easy. One of those low-maintenance garden ideas suitable even for beginners – and one of the best alternatives to grass too.

Another beautiful and natural garden edging idea: rocks not only look and work a treat at not moving if you secure them well, but they also are fairly easy to install. There's also more variety in terms of shape and size. Plus, it's a pretty low-budget DIY. Fill your beds with a stunning flower mix from Suttons or your local garden center.

Using brick to edge your garden space will give a lovely rustic finish to your borders and is also guaranteed to keep mulch for evergreens and other garden plants in place. Use reclaimed bricks for an even cheaper DIY project. The soft look will suit cottage-style gardens perfectly.

If you are conscious about reducing waste and making your garden eco-friendly, then recycled lawn edging is definitely worth considering. Made from recycled tyres, the recycled garden border from Waitrose Garden is flexible, frost-, mold-, and rot-resistant, and comes in a variety of textured patterns. 

Dense, low-growing hedge plants are excellent candidates for natural garden edging – all you need to do is remember to trim them with a hedge trimmer every year. Traditional box hedge is easily the best shrub for this purpose as it can be trimmed to the exact height and shape you require while maintaining the thickness you need for garden edging.

If you have a natural water feature like a garden pond in your backyard, it will look even prettier if you frame it with paved garden edging. Simply use stone paving slabs used for patios along the perimeter of your pond. This will look more natural than brick and can be combined with raw lawn edging.  

For a rustic, relaxed look, woven or pleated garden edging is a beautiful choice that looks even more characterful than stone. Here, a kitchen garden has been separated from the rest of the garden with woven hazel branches. A great DIY option that can be made for free if you can source fallen branches from a woodland – or very inexpensively if you get the material from a local garden center.