The days of having a mediocre landscape are over. Now, if you don’t put all your effort into building the most striking landscape in your neighborhood, you’re likely wasting your time.
This doesn’t have to be a lot of work, though. With our landscape border ideas, you can separate any piece of the garden from the rest without having to waste much money or time. More importantly, you’ll be boosting your landscape appeal exponentially.
For that, though, you need to learn why landscape borders are so important and what types you may encounter. Below, we go over all that (as well as some exciting ideas to consider!). So, scroll and find out!
Why Build a Landscape Border?
Everyone overlooks landscape borders as simple decorative items. But they’re much more than that. Here are a few things garden edges can offer:
Eye-Catching Appearance
With a border, you’ll have the chance to create a more professional finish, something that attracts everyone’s attention at first sight. Whether in your front yard or backyard, you can make it more good-looking with a border.
Better Organization
What better than to give your proper garden organization? The begonias on one side, the succulents on the other, roses out there, and the elephant ears apart. You can organize the garden however you prefer, without plants overcrowding spaces, as long as you come up with a well-designed border.
Plant Protection
Some plants are more fragile than others. If they get attacked by faster-spreading species or weeds, they may eventually die or don’t grow as expected. To prevent that, a border comes like the perfect protective barrier for fragile species.
Types of Landscape Borders to Consider
While landscape borders may all seem the same to you, they’re not. You can actually find borders made of pretty much any material. Here are some of the most common:
Flowers & Perennials
Even though flowers and perennials make better additions for the center of the landscape, they may also become excellent borders. Because they tend to thrive and last a long time, they may prevent other species from jumping around and overspreading.
Shrubs & Hedges
Plants that grow in bushy form offer the chance to shape and grow them as desired. With the right planting arrangement, they become perfect additions to landscapes as borders. Having said that, they require more maintenance than other types (something worth having in mind).
Rocks & Stone
The most popular type of border for any garden is either stones, rocks, or slabs. Because they’re found anywhere, are easy to place, and require no maintenance, they become excellent landscape borders. And despite their simplicity, they still add a rough yet attractive look.
Timber & Fences
Pieces of wood, pickets, wattle, or even fences themselves all make for practical and easy-to-produce borders. In contrast with others, these can match different garden styles to perfection, adding to its attractiveness. As a downside, they require a bit of maintenance over the years.
Concrete & Bricks
If you don’t like the rough look of rocks and stones, you can always go for concrete, bricks, tiles, curbing, and similar. They still add a serious look while preventing plants from crowding other areas effectively. The best about them is the ability to last a lifetime.
Metal & Wire
The only way to keep pests and other humans away from the landscape is to build a metal border. You can use wire fences, steel stakes, and everything in between. It could also be purely decorative if you want, as long as you pick an attractive design with shapes that boost your garden’s appeal.
16 Eye-Catching Landscape Border Ideas (+Pictures)
We found hundreds, if not thousands, of different ideas worth taking a look at. But we wanted to bring only the best – so we decided to focus on only 16 of them. Here’s why we found them so captivating:
1. The Rocky Gravel Border
AT first sight, the garden looks like any other. But as soon as you zoom in into the gravel path and check the rock borders safeguarding the perennials – you’ll realize it’s not.
It combines pieces of wood cut in small slabs that add up to a gorgeous walkway. Yet, it’s the purple-rock border that stands out the most. Alongside purple or red plants like roses or begonias, you can create a uniquely attractive border that no one can dismiss.
2. A Brick & Mulch Tropical Border
The main advantage of using bricks or tiles as a landscape border is to shape them as needed. As long as you plan the pieces’ arrangement beforehand, you can make anything from heart-shaped landscapes to straight or circular ones.
Sure enough, bricks and tiles also protect from exterior vegetation and look decently appealing. Combined with mulch or gravel of similar colors, they become an essential part of the landscape appearance.
3. Colorful Wildflower Border
Those weed-like plants that grow gorgeous flowers are never worth ignoring. Despite not requiring the effort that other borders do, they still make up for excellent alternatives.
They block other plants from spreading in or out the landscape, add a limit to the vegetation, and still manage to look fantastic (especially in blooming season).
We recommend arranging a set of different flowers, preferably those that bloom at various stages of the year. This will give your landscape a colorful border all-year-round.
4. Fragrant Border with Lavender
Part of the mint family, lavender is one of those herbs that grow practically anywhere. More interesting, it can easily overcrowd any garden if you aren’t careful.
For that reason, they become exceptional border options. Not only will they prevent other plants from jumping around the garden and overspreading, but they also add a wonderful purple touch that never disappoints.
5. The Pricky Rock Border
If you’re going for the classic arrangement of a border, consider stones. But you don’t have to make it a simple border. You can always pick the prickiest and pointiest rocks, making it much more appealing and adding a touch of safety (keeps away animals and intruders).
When painted, these pricky rock borders can surpass any other type of look without problems. Be aware, though, rocky edges can be time-consuming and effort-sucking. We recommend these for small landscapes.
6. Shrub Border for Colorful Plants
Nothing better than a dense shrub bordering your most colorful plant to give your landscape the most attractive look.
Those plants that attract everything and everyone at first sight – you can pair them up with a shrub to highlight them. More importantly, shrubs will protect them from weeds and other overcrowding plants that could cause damage.
7. A Succulent and Gravel Spectacle
The most versatile decorative plants you can use for a landscape border is a succulent. With hundreds of different species to get, you can prepare the most enticing garden without putting in much effort.
We recommend at least one aloe vera and some cactuses to boost up the appeal. Pair them up with ravel and some rocks to add a rough appearance impossible to dismiss.
8. Simple Hedge for Row Gardens
Edging your landscape with a hedge is probably the easiest thing to do. If well cut and organized, the place will look like you want it to.
It is a perfect addition for row gardens with vegetables that require a long border. Because hedges are typically resistant to weed and prevent plants from spreading beyond, they are worth considering.
For places where vegetation stays green most of the year, hedges become even more useful. They will add extra appeal to an evergreen landscape.
9. A Maize Wonder Border
Not many people know this, but maize (and other crops) also make for exceptional border plants. This is not usual because crops are seen as overcrowding and a bit problematic. But if you know how to separate them from the rest of the plants nicely, they will likely protect the landscape like nothing else.
One exciting part of maize and other crops is the yield. You will have the chance to prepare both a decorative and productive landscape at once. You won’t have to stick with purely visual space. And despite that, they still have some sort of attractiveness.
10. Yellow Marigold Explosion Border
Make your garden burst out in beauty with the right combination of flowers – like marigolds. These perennial herbs are incredibly gorgeous when blooming, delivering an intense yellow color with the flowers that is impossible to overlook.
But there’s something about marigolds that stands out: it is a perennial herb that doesn’t let other plants go through. They will obviously become an eye-catching addition to a landscape border while still providing all the benefits other borders will.
11. Grassy Hedge in Stone Bed
Staying within the limits of the imagination always comes like a waste of time. That’s why we also recommend taking it a step further and come up with your own combination of grass and hedge. It will keep exterior plants at bay while preventing the landscape vegetation from overspreading.
Because grass alone can be slightly problematic, we recommend adding a stone or concrete bed. A place where the grass will grow (and can’t get out of) could be an excellent option. This will add an extra layer of protection while giving the grass an attractive shape.
12. Begonias in a Straight Line
Among the most attractive plants you’ll ever find, begonias are up there among the most sought-after. And it is not a secret why: the red-to-purple colors they offer is unbeatable – especially when blooming.
As a plant for landscape borders, it doesn’t disappoint either. Plant them in a straight line alongside some snake plants and perennials, and the plant will keep everything in control. And that’s without ever failing to bloom colorfully every year.
13. Farm-Style Fence with Gravel
There’s no need to go simple with a landscape edge. A more intrinsic farm-style alternative may also get the job done. And sure enough, it will also add up to the appearance of the place without overdoing it.
You can come up with any type of fence you want (metal, wire, wood, bamboo, etc.) as long as it is well-separated below with gravel or sand. The focus is to prevent exterior and interior vegetation from mixing.
This is especially useful for large landscapes where other types of borders may look dull. While it will take a lot of work, the looks and practicality are unmatched.
14. Classical Slab Path Border
For those who want something more straightforward that gets the job done and still adds a touch of convenience, a slab walkway can be a perfect choice.
Slabs or stone paths keep away even the trickiest of grasses or weeds. At the same time, they last a lifetime and can withstand decades of abuse (traffic and even modifications).
That’s why they are popular – slab paths make for super-useful borders for almost any type of garden.
15. Mini-Hedge with Gravel Border
Shrubs and hedges are exceptional border options (like we’ve shown you before). But nothing beats the beauty of a super-colorful garden with a mini-hedge border. Nothing fancy could veer the attention away from the landscape plants, but still effective enough at keeping everything at bay.
You will need to choose a small shrub species for the job – but they will look amazing nonetheless. With the right maintenance and planting organization, they’ll make your landscape stand out without a doubt.
16. The Lupin & Grass Border Mix
Few people consider that small flowering plants can also become exceptional options for borders. One of them is lupin. When the gorgeous purple flowers bloom, it will make even the dullest of landscapes look fantastic.
The most exciting part about lupin and similar plants is the ability to keep other vegetation at bay. When paired with grass, they will prevent even the trickiest of weeds from spreading around.
Conclusion
So, did you like our landscape border ideas? With so many options to consider, you should be ready to tackle the project and get your landscape looking like never before.
Take your time, though. Making a border for your garden may seem like an easy endeavor, but you could end up spending more time and effort than expected. To prevent any waste – choose wisely and plant before even starting.
If that’s the case, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous landscape in no time. Get your hands dirty and build it up!
Check out these other great posts!
15 Awesome Wood Fence Ideas and Designs
12 Great Goat Fencing Ideas You’ll Love
35 Beautiful DIY Walkway Ideas and Designs