Defining Your Garden Space

Defining Your Garden Space

Throughout the development of the garden in the West, the theme of order and control of nature has been a common one. The French formal garden was an early standout, with its themes of symmetry and carefully trimmed trees and shrubs spreading to other countries. While the Colonial Revival garden does not segregate plants by type, they are still contained within rectangular beds enclosed by low walls. With this common theme of containing nature, it’s no wonder that garden edging is such an important part of garden design. Here are a few log homes that use edging to great effect.

For a log home, stone edging may be the most popular choice. Depending on your preference, it can be used with or without mortar to form a boundary between various areas in the garden. Stone has the rustic look that appeals to many log home owners, while also being extremely durable. While smaller stones are relatively easy to work with, larger stones can be difficult to move and their unique shapes make stones a more expensive material.

If you are looking for an edging that doesn’t stand out as much, then synthetic materials may be the right choice. These materials are fairly durable, and thin and flexible plastic edging can be conformed into a continuous curved divider between garden sections. However, these materials can be lacking in the looks department unless you take your time selecting a nice material.

Concrete is another choice that can be poured into whatever shape you want for your edging. This divider will be thicker than many synthetic dividers but can still be fairly inconspicuous. Concrete is also great as a structural material, so it can be used on graded lots to act as a retaining wall while taking up less space than a stone example.

Of course, wood can also be used as an edging material. You can even buy landscape timbers with rounded sides, which allows you to create a log wall for a flower bed that looks very much like a miniature version of our contour log profile! You should make sure to use pressure treated logs when using them in the garden. Although this will allow the edging to last longer, the constant exposure to wet soil will degrade landscape timbers over time. Applying wood preservative can help the edging last.

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