Are you designing a new patio? Looking to spruce up your pergola? Need a new look for your outdoor lounge?
If you’re one of the many homeowners or business property owners seeking to delineate your landscape and your lawn, then this article is for you.
While it might be tempting to use bricks, steel or stones for hardscape edging, plants and flowers create a more harmonious and beautiful effect. Read on to find out the best landscaping edging plants!
Landscape Edging | Landscaping Franklin, TN
Edging Plant Basics
For the purposes of this article, when we’re referring to edging plants, we typically mean short plants you can easily walk over. If you are looking to edge your property, you should look into tall bushes or even trees for your landscape borders.
When considering what kind of edging plants to delineate with, keep in mind the reason you’re delineating in the first place. If you’re defining the borders of your estate with a walkway, avoid using plants that will shed a lot of leaves or even fruit, as they can become a hazard to people walking by.
Additionally, take into account if the plants are going to be under the sun all day or if they will be in the shade. Some plants thrive in direct sunlight, while others will wither away.
Qualities to Look For
So, what makes a good edging plant? Let’s take Barrenwort, or Horny Goat’s Weed, for example. It’s colorful, perky and relatively sturdy, making it a go-to choice for many classic gardens, despite its mundane-sounding name. In spring, Barrenwort can bloom with thin flowers in a variety of colors. Moreover, it’s not a plant that requires constant attention.
Geraniums of various species are also ideal both for their versatility and the beautiful colors of many sub-species, such as the bloody geranium. Geraniums survive both in sunny and shaded spots.
Generally speaking, you’d want plants that don’t require constant attention and pruning. Most landowners prefer perennial plants for landscape edging, as they don’t require annual replacement.
If you’re looking for a middle ground, you can opt for Foxgloves, which are biennials. In the first year, a Foxglove edging will be leafy as the plant grows foliage. In the second year, the plants will flower and then eventually die. Biennial plants can give some surprising variation in your land.
The Right Plant for the Right Purpose
In addition to not creating a hazard with fallen leaves and fruit, you need to consider the purpose of your borders. If you wish to beautify a stone walkway in your yard, choose a flowering edging plant that will soften up the stone and perhaps give a bit of much-needed color.
Always consider the functionality of the border. If you want to add a dash of color, make sure it’s not impacting the usability of your garden. Many plants that drop berries can create a real mess, which might be colorful but requires a lot of effort to clean up each year.
As mentioned earlier, edging your property border should be done with plants that physically restrict access, especially if you’re not planning on relying on a hardscape fence as well. Even if you use a fence, you might still want to use tall plants to delineate your property borders for reasons of privacy.
Landscape Edging in the Shade
If the area you want to delineate is mainly in the shade, you should consider plants that thrive in relatively little direct sunlight like Deadnettle or Lungword, both of which are low, silvery plants that make plain but beautiful blooms in early summer. Deadnettle spreads relatively slowly, making it an ideal choice for landscape edging, and Lungword makes pristine white flowers in the spring, with slight hues of pink or purple.
Coral bells and other plants from the Heuchera genus are also great due to their beautiful variation in leaf color that provides excitement but also practicality. You can use different Coral bells to delineate different parts of your garden for some colorful consistency. Instead of coral bells, you can also use Foamflower for a similar effect in shady areas.
Other plants that are suitable for landscape edging in partial shade include:
- Halcyon hosta
- Hakonechloa
- Pachysandra
- Impatiens
- Lenten rose
- Lady’s Mantle
- Primrose
- Spurge
Edging Plants that Thrive in Direct Sun
If you want to delineate an area that is going to be completely under the sun, you should consider these hardy plants and flowers that thrive in direct sun.
Yarrow is a sturdy perennial herb that makes tiny white blooms. Ideal for classic gardens and when you don’t need a flashy statement, these are edging plants you can depend on.
If you’re into fragrant herbs, you can also use lavender. Lavender is an excellent choice for landscape edging due to its fragrant aroma and adaptability to grow in a range of climate conditions.
Monarda or Bee Balm is another perennial choice. These are especially useful if you wish to attract bees or hummingbirds in your garden. Bee Balm flowers feature tube-like flowers in purple, pink red and white colors.
Aster flowers are another popular choice, as they are easy to cultivate and can produce a striking color in the midst of Autumn with literally zero care.
Other plants that can thrive under direct sunlight include:
- Angelina Stonecrop
- Creeping Juniper
- Phlox Subulata
- Silver Mound Artemisia
- Yellow Alyssum
- Shasta Daisy
- Coreopsis
- Purple Coneflower
- Blanketflower
- Russian Sage
- Sedum
- Daylily
- Verbena
Landscape Edging: What do the Experts Say?
Above we’ve seen lots of amazing plants for your landscape edging needs, but we’ve just barely scratched the surface! Landscaping is an art, as much as it’s a science, and creating the perfect, efficient landscape requires a lot of planning and effort.
If you’re serious about your garden, yard or estate, consider leveraging the experience of landscaping design experts to get your landscape to the next level. An expert will not only pick the perfect pants for your borders but also combine them together for the best impact and design your whole landscape for maximum efficiency.