19.1.11

Free Garden Edge Materials

Most of my garden beds started out without an edge.
In fact, most of them still are, like the one below.
It is only covered with mulch which consist of cut grass and some dried leaves.


Sometimes I use tree trunks and branches as a garden edge.


I also use portulaca and other low-growing creepers to act as an edge.


The above are 2 Garden Pest Controllers sniffing the garden edge for my red sugar cane patch.


Coconut husks, wooden planks and rocks are the other materials that I use as garden edges.
All these materials are easily available here and for free too!
I love the natural look of these materials.
I have a not-so-natural item which is a used car tyre.
It is almost completely hidden in the first photo as I grew the plants inside and around it.

How do you edge your garden beds?

Fer from My Garden in Japan is hosting a World Garden Carnival with the topic 'New Year Gardening Resolutions.'
One of mine would be to continue to look out for new garden edging materials which are easily obtainable.
Head over to  My Garden in Japan for the links to interesting 2011 Gardening Projects all over the world.


This is also my Fertilizer Friday submission where flaunting of flowers and weekly fertilizing are encouraged.
Thanks to Tootsie of Tootsie Time for the opportunity to flaunt my flowers.

p.s. Diana of Kebun Malay-KadazanGirls, See the sunflowers plants next to the yellow cosmos in the last collage? Those are from the seeds you sent. They will be flowering soon. Yippee!

40 comments:

  1. I love using natural materials for edging. I like your coconut husks! In my own garden I usually use rocks or pieces of logs. We also dug a small trench all the way around the front lawn, about six inches deep and wide. This keeps the grass from encroaching on the paths and planting beds.

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  2. Happy colours in your garden! Mine is more green, the flowers are not showing off:( Sometimes I use bricks to edge the garden beds or just let them be. You've got 2 good patrollers - mine likes to dig my garden. Uuugh!

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  3. I love the coconut shells! Thats a great idea! I love Tootsie time! I have just recently met her on twitter! Luv her!

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  4. This is a very helpful post. You gave us ideas on different natural materials which can be used for edging. Thanks.

    I saw in one TV garden show that tyres are not good in the garden. As they age and degrade, harmful chemicals are leached into the soil. I don't know if this is true, something to think about I guess.

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  5. I love the coconut edging!

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  6. Ooh, here's one more vote for the awesomeness of those coconut hulls!

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  7. There are so much to tell about the edging.

    My wife uses pebbles and bricks as the edging. And they become the home of centipedes and lizards.

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  8. I used to have wooden planks and rocks for my vegetable n flower beds. Now Im opting for more formal look..tons of bricks for new raised beds in order to add better soil to them. But I love the rustic look of your coconut shells!

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  9. Your coconut husks looks great - here they seem to go a dull grey and look very untidy. I am always worried about collecting water and breeding mosquitoes - do you have drain hole in the bottom? I dig a trench around the beds at the edge of the grass - then I also like the look of mondo grass at the edge of the vegetation.

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  10. You certainly have a very big garden. I do not edge my plants, as they are all in containers except for the tiny little space where the belimbing is growing! Your garden is very neat and lovely!

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  11. OOOO. You have green in your garden, color too. A bit of snow here, more on the way, and oh so cold. Your garden has a lot of interest and variety. Here some plant their tomato plants inside old car tires because they seem to do well. I don't know if it is because the tires hold in heat and moisture better, but they do make nice containment borders. Keep sending your sunshine, One. cheers. ann

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  12. Like the way of how you recycle nature materials as an edging or border. I wish I have some coconut husks. Your red zinnia is very lovely. I almost let my mouth hang open looking at how fast and tall the sunflower grow in your garden since it is just over a month from sowing them. That is so wonderful!!! Thank you for growing them in your garden. I also can't wait to see them blooming. They will provide you many blooms from just one plant.

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  13. very nice and natural looking.
    noticed that you placed those coconut shells, do they contain water - had any mosquito breeding problems?

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  14. Deb, I like the look of logs and rocks but I find them very heavy to bring home. I settle with the smaller ones. But I guess you would have ample of supply in your huge garden. I would like to to dig a trench too. Still wishing the clay soil softens over time.

    Keats, My 2 patrollers have many duties; one of which is to dig holes for my seedlings which are ready to be transplanted.

    Jenn, Tootsie is loving and humorous, isn't she?

    Solitude Rising, Thanks for your comment. It is my intention to share what I use and perhaps someone out there may find one of the ideas beneficial to them. I don't know if tyres are harmful since they are made of rubber but it is possible. Anyway, I still prefer the other more natural materials.

    Lifeshighway, Thanks! I love the coconut drinks more! :)

    Eliza, So far, coconut is the lightest item. Perhaps I should collect more.

    Rainfield, Centipedes and lizards take care of garden pests. Congrats!

    P3, I would love to use bricks too. They definitely look more formal. First, I would need to get a brick tree. How nice to pluck bricks out of a tree. :)

    Africanaussie, The coconuts are upside down. The hole is at the bottom and none at the top. Mondo grass is a good idea. Thanks.

    Kitchen Flavours, I grow the plants, water, fertilize and weed them too. But the land doesn't belong to me. Others come by and admire the flowers. I offer seeds, seedlings and fruits to many. I am not looking forward to dry season as it will take a lot of effort to water them.

    Ann, Thanks for the tomato-tyre tip. I will keep sending sunshine over. There is abundance of it over here.

    Diana, The sunflowers you see in the photo are the short ones. The taller ones are in a different patch. I'm surprised that they grew this well.

    James, The coconuts are all upside down. The holes are at the bottom so there are no mosquitoes in there. Toads wait underneath the coconuts to catch mosquitoes that fly past.

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  15. One, I remember you'd written about using coconuts before. How wonderful! I use the other materials you've mentioned but coconut is one thing I'll be using now. Your Pest Controllers are adorable!!

    About your question/comment on my blog...thanks. No, I'm not growing the Bottlebrush tree. No space but my sis has one in her garden. About the candles you liked, those are actually candle holders marketed by Avon/India. We get some of these pretty stuff during Diwali.

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  16. Kanak7, It looks like we commented on each other's blog at the same second. The last time I had the idea of using coconut husks, I only had a few of them. Now I have many and still collecting.

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  17. Where I live, there are so many stones and rocks buried in the soil that as I dig and find them, they get put into piles at the back. When the beds are finished, the rocks become the edging; might not be uniform looking but they're free.

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  18. Your beds look great! I like using coconut husks. It make a really nice look

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  19. Very creative edging. Now, I know how to cover my tire, thanks!

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  20. love the flowers beds and the great edging ideas!!

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  21. The coconut husks are very unique for edging, and I like them. A fellow gardener placed small clay pots into the soil and then a piece of bamboo through the hole, and topped them with another small pot. That was a cute idea too. We use rocks ourselves.
    Your dogs are adorable! Beth

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  22. Absolutely love your garden pest controllers!!!!

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  23. Dear One, I think you are clever with your ideas for edging. I find that my garden is better without any though. It is harder for me to keep my grass paths mowed. My messy garden is filled with borders spilling over the edge. Ah! To be in your garden now would be delightful! Here there is miles and miles of snow covering everything. It is very cold too. Thank you for you very kind comment on my Baltimore Oriole post! You are very generous!! I so appreciate your encouragement.

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  24. Hi One,what a coincidence, your post is about what I'm thinking of lately. After planting up my new flower border, I've been debating whether to have an edging or not. If I don't, the grass will invade that space. Thanks for the good ideas.Please let me know when you have other ideas for edgings.
    Rosie

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  25. Lavender Cottage, Findings of rocks while digging can be quite torturous in my experience. A few of hoes have been dented due to this. Anyway, putting these rocks aside and making use of them is a terrific idea.

    Fer, Thanks. But I don't think you'll be needing any borders for a while.

    Darla, Haha! You could grow plants around the tire or just remove it.

    Donna, Thanks.

    Beth, Thanks for sharing the cute pot and bamboo idea. It may be rather unsuitable with patrolling dogs around though.

    Alberta, I would think the garden pest controllers would same the same about you if you ever were to meet up.

    Carol, I understand what you mean. With the Phillipine Grass lawn, I often have to remove the borders to mow it properly. But with the cow grass shown in the photos above, I find them manageable.

    Rosie, Grass will invade with or without the borders. I use them to make the place look a little tidier. The borders also protect the plants from being accidentally mowed. I slow the cow grass invasion by having mulch. The Phillipine grass is another story.

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  26. Very clever and free is good. I do not use edging, the beds are kick-edged. Just a little depression to keep the grass out.

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  27. It's great to see all those wonderful natural materials used to edge your garden beds. I'm not a big fan of bricks or blocks or those pre-packaged rolls of garden edging.

    We have mostly rocks as edges here which always look great! I found your use of coconut husks rather clever! I do so like the look of those tree trunks as well. Great ideas.

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  28. Your clever edge materials are inspiring One! Another vote here for the coconut shells - especially as they are free!

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  29. Man! I'd love to edge garden beds with coconuts. That would be fun. My borders are always rocks -- free and plentiful, living in the Rocky Mountains. ;>)

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  30. Clever use of what's at hand. One of my fav recycled edgings is broken concrete pieces, laid in soil at ground level so the mower wheel can run right over it.

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  31. I AM LOVING THAT COCONUT HUSK BORDER!!!!! That is fantastic! I am so glad you linked in this week...I hope you will do so again soon...your gardens are wonderful and the little peek just wasn't enough!
    have a great weekend!

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  32. The coconuts are awesome!! I just dig a trench between the grass and the garden and fill it with mulch. Very boring!!!

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  33. love the coconut edging also, yes i can get alot of used husks so this is a great idea for my garden, thanks for sharing

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  34. You really have beautiful garden! I use bricks as my garden edges

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  35. I like this post on edging. The coconut husks are cool - we'd never see that here.

    At my place, I have (unfortunately) quite a mishmash. The front has a neat cut in edging which I think looks good for the front of the house. The side yard is sloped and against the house I have a small veggie garden. There are large rocks that retain the soil there. On the opposite side of this, there are perennials planted. I have plastic edging that is a little taller to keep the mulch in b/c when it rains, it would get washed away. Then in the backyard, I have a stone wall and stone raised beds for more veggies.

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  36. I love the tree trunks as edging. It really makes it all look natural. Great idea.

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