Garden edging buying guide

Whether you're looking to organise a garden or a larger plot of land, garden edging presents a number of advantages in terms of both practicality and style. Usually measuring little more than a few centimetres in height, these garden borders allow you to:

• separate your garden into different zones;

• draw attention to a particular feature or area in your garden;

• mow the lawn and care for your plants with ease;

• separate different crops in your vegetable patch;

• move easily around your vegetable patch.

Garden edging comes in four main types of material: concrete, metal, PVC and natural materials.

Concrete edging

Concrete garden edging can take the form of:

• paving: set in cement or laid directly in pre-worked soil;

• concrete curbing: can be plain grey or coloured;

• kerb stones: allows you to account for small differences in level;

• steps: concrete slab stairs work particularly well.

Metal edging

Metal garden borders have the advantage of being almost invisible as they can be embedded completely in the soil for lawn edging. Metal borders may also come with plastic coated wire mesh as a budget option.

PVC edging

PVC edging offers good value for money and provides a quick and easy way to edge a lawn.

Natural materials

Garden edging can be made of natural materials, such as:

• wood: a cost-efficient and attractive option that offers a rustic and natural look (e.g. woven hazel);

• natural stone: selected for its hardness and durability. 

Each type of natural material offers different properties that should be assessed according to your needs:

• wood can be treated (heat-treated, etc.) and comes in a number of different species;

• stone comes in a number of different colours and levels of density.

In addition to deciding on a material for your garden edging, you will have to consider a number of other factors:

• style: bricks, logs, timber sleepers, gravel, arches, planters;

• installation type: embedded into the ground or fixed down;

• dimensions: i.e. length and height;

• function: bordering a path, grass, lawn edge, a flowerbed, fence, driveway;

• shape and quality of finish.