Why is Landscape Edging Important – Guide by Landscaping Experts
Edging is a clever way to enhance your garden without a full redesign.
It creates clean lines between your lawn and your borders, cuts down on trimming and lawn mowing time, and prevents grass creeping into flower beds.
Beyond the practical side, the right edging is also a finishing touch that complements your planting and pulls the whole garden design together.
But it can be hard to know which type of edging is important to your garden.
There’s a wide range of garden edging options in different materials and price points.
The right choice usually comes down to the look you want and your style and budget.
This guide runs through the main types of edging for garden beds and lawns, how each one is installed, and what the RHS recommends for a garden edge that lasts.
Types of Landscape Edging: How to Keep Your Lawn Edge Tidy
Timber Edging
Timber edging is a popular choice for a natural look, especially in a cottage-style border or anywhere you want the edging to blend in rather than stand out.
Treated timber boards, sleepers or log rolls all work well, and wood edging’s natural texture tends to complement planting better than harder materials like steel or stone.
To install timber edging, dig a shallow trench along the line of your border with a spade, then insert the boards into the trench before you fill the trench with soil to hold them firmly in place.
A wooden peg driven in every metre or so, alongside each board, keeps everything straight and stops the edging shifting over time.
Once the pegs are in, use a rubber mallet to knock them flush with the top of the boards so they don’t catch a mower blade.
Because timber sits in contact with damp soil, it will eventually rot, especially in wet Scottish weather.
We always recommend a pressure-treated or naturally rot-resistant wood like oak or larch.
These last considerably longer than untreated softwood. Wooden garden edging like this is a good option if you want to create a natural transition between lawn and border without a hard, artificial-looking line.
Steel Edging and Corten Steel
Steel edging is a flexible metal option that gives clean lines and suits contemporary garden design.
It’s flexible enough to curve around beds while still holding a straight line where you need one.
Standard steel needs to be galvanised or powder-coated to resist rust, since untreated steel will corrode quickly outdoors.
Corten steel is a specific type of weathering steel that’s become popular for its warm, rusted-orange finish.
Unlike ordinary steel, corten steel is designed to develop a stable rust layer that protects the metal underneath, so it doesn’t need galvanising and only gets better looking with age.
It’s a good way to create a unique, modern edge that works well against gravel, stone or minimalist planting, and metal garden edging like this suits contemporary planting schemes very well.
Both types of steel edging use thin, flexible strips held in place with steel pegs driven into the ground. This keeps the line straight without a visible trench needed.
Brick Edging
Brick edging works particularly well in period or cottage gardens as well as homes made of brick.
Bricks can be laid flat, on their side, or angled into a classic saw-tooth pattern for extra visual interest.
Because brick is heavy and durable, it also doubles as a mowing strip.
Laid flush with the lawn, it lets you run a mower wheel straight along the edge without needing to trim by hand afterwards.
Although brick can be more labour-intensive to install, it creates a long-lasting edge that helps create an attractive, low-upkeep border once it’s down.
Plastic Edging and Metal Edging
For a quick, affordable option, plastic edging and metal edging strips are widely available.
These create flexible lawn edging that is easy to install. They can be curved around beds by hand and secured with plastic or metal pegs, without any digging required in most cases.
However, plastic edging typically degrades rapidly under UV light and there are concerns this contributes to microplastics in soil.
For this reason, we typically steer clients towards more durable and natural solutions.
Log Edging
Log roll edging, made from short lengths of timber wired together into a flexible roll, is a simple way to edge a border with a natural, rustic look.
Edging log rolls come in various heights and are usually pressure-treated to resist rot.
Though they’ll still need replacing eventually since they sit directly in damp soil.
It suits a cottage garden or informal planting scheme especially well, where a slightly rustic finish works better than a hard, straight-edged material.
Gravel Edging and Stone Edging
Gravel edging and stone edging both work well for a more natural, textured border, especially alongside gravel paths, driveways or rockeries.
A shallow trench lined with timber, steel or plastic edging keeps loose gravel from spreading onto the lawn or mixing into planting beds over time.
Natural stone, such as cobbles, granite setts or reclaimed stone, gives a more solid, permanent edge and tends to suit period or rural properties best.
It usually needs to be bedded into a trench on mortar or a compacted sub-base, but it will comfortably outlast almost every other material on this list.
Scallop Edging and Paver Edging
Scallop edging, the classic curved or wavy-topped border tile often seen in Victorian and Edwardian gardens.
They add a beautiful decorative, traditional finish to a straight-edged border.
It’s usually made from concrete or terracotta and partially buried in a shallow trench so only the scalloped top sits proud of the soil.
Paver edging works on a similar principle.
They use small rectangular or square pavers set on edge or laid flat along the border line.
Both scallop and paver edging are widely available to order online from garden centres and specialist edging suppliers, and we can help install your border edging with ease.
Choosing Landscape Edging for Every Garden Bed
With so many types of garden borders available, the right choice usually comes down to the look you want, how much upkeep you’re happy to take on, and your style and budget, and the size of your garden.
In every case, a well-fitted edge is a finishing touch that pulls the whole garden together, giving flower beds, lawns and paths a clear, deliberate structure rather than letting everything blur into one.
If you are thinking about garden border edging to bring together your outdoor space, trust the professionals at GGM Landscaping.
We design and install edging as part of full landscaping projects across Glasgow and the Central Belt.
Whether you need hard or soft landscaping, we can help.
If you’d like advice on the best edging for your garden, book your free garden consultation, or call us on 07946 322717 to speak to our team.