14 Low-Maintenance Garden Border Ideas

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Adding a border around your flower bottom delineates the space , accentuate your yard with an esthetically pleasing landscape . But it has practical determination , as well . A garden border helps to forbid weeds while also encouraging the grime to retain wet , earmark you to cut down on water usage . If you need to prune up your garden and keep open time and confinement by contribute butt against to your flower beds , but you have no mind where to depart , here are some low - upkeep garden border ideas to get your originative juices course .

Flowering shrubs including Texas salvia , lavender , and salvia can be lop back to create a low - growing hedgerow for your garden . genus Funka , ferns , and dusty miller add a hyphen of center - catch foliage , while pavers , rocks , and wooden blocks from upcycled pallets make an fantabulous edging for your garden .

low-maintenance-garden-border-ideas

Hostas

14 Low-maintenance garden border ideas

These 14 fantastic depressed - upkeep garden margin approximation will allow you to spend less prison term tending to your landscaping , and more meter enjoying it .

Hostas

If your flower beds include taller plant , likerose bushes , or if you ’re going for a monochromic look only boast greenery , hostas make an splendid low - maintenance garden border . These plants prosper in full to partial shade , growing best in moist , productive soils . Even though hostas have higher water demand than some plants , over time , as they grow , they act as a exist mulch , with their leaf covering the territory below , preventing evaporation .

Hostas chain of mountains in size calculate on the change . The diminished ‘ Dew Drop ’ hosta has average unripened leaves with thin off - white margins along the edges , and they average 6 - column inch tall by 8 - inches broad . They make a beautiful understate garden border . But medium - sized genus Funka , including the variegated ‘ Guacamole ’ and ‘ varnished Glass ’ varieties , mediocre around 2 feet magniloquent by 3 foot wide if you ’re looking for a more substantial border .

Check out some of our favorite hosta variety !

Hostas

Lavender Hedge

Fragrant and advanced , lavender ’s purple blossom and silverish - green foliage add an tune of class to your garden , but in an unpretentious way . A downcast - growinglavender hedgeis so sluttish to maintain once established . Because this herbaceous plant is native to the Mediterranean region , it flourish in hot , dry climate . So if yourecoregionregularly endures ironical spells , lavender is the fuss - complimentary border plant for you .

Rabbits , deer , and even insects favor not to nibble on lavender ’s biting foliation , so you wo n’t have to work heavily toprotect it from pests . Lavender can go weeks in between waterings and rise best in full sun when planted in nutrient - deficient sandy soils . Most lilac-colored varieties average 20 - inch tall by 24 - inches broad . These plants bloom in midsummer , giving localpollinators lot to eatwhen other plants have already go to seminal fluid .

Monkey Grass

Also called Liriope , imp gage is so well-off to rise , you hardly have to do anything to keep it alive . This plant turn estimable in full to partial tint , and although it prefers moderately fertile grime , it can withstand arenaceous soils as well . Monkey grass is incredibly various , growing just as well in shady , dampish garden as in juiceless , partly cheery one .

Monkey grass grows between 10 and 15 - column inch tall , and should be spaced 6 to 8 - in aside to give them room to produce . These flora do n’t require much tending , but you should remove the idle foliage at the destruction of the growing season to improve melodic line circulation and preclude them from becoming scraggly . cast away the dead number intoyour compost bucketto make your own homemade fertilizer .

Salvia

If you ’ve tried your paw at raise lavender in the past tense only to have the plant go bad , consider turn salvia rather . There are many different miscellanea of salvia in a range of colors , include red , white-hot , pink , royal , blue , and yellow . Russian sageis one variety of salvia that greatly resembles lavender , with muted gullible leave of absence and atomizer of purple heyday .

Salvias can grow 18 inch wide by up to 5 feet tall , though their size of it change by mixed bag . These works spring up intimately in full to partial sunlight when planted in sandy to loamy soils that drain well . Once established , these flora postulate very little attention . Though they benefit from seasonal trimmings to help give them a skillful conformation .

Creeping Thyme

mouse thyme is a fragrant herbaceous plant that grows best in impersonal soils that stay moist , but not muddy . Like lavender , thyme smell so powerfully that it naturally repels insects . This tight - develop ground cover will apace carpet the au naturel spots in your blossom bed and can be snip back on a regular basis if necessary to keep it rein in in . Creeping thyme iseasy to propagate from cutting . It ’s also extremely medicative . Foliage can be brewed as a tea to manage coughing and allergy symptom .

One of the major benefits of creeping thyme is that it ’s resilient to foot dealings . So much so that it can be used to substitute lawn sward . If you have Kyd and animals who do n’t respect your ornamental peak bed , creeping thyme has what it takes to abide up to all that wear and tear .

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas grow well in partial tint when planted in moist , well - drained dirt . These beautiful ornamentals with their tumid heyday head and stately foliage make a gorgeous humbled - maintenance mete for your flower beds . However , they can fall prey tohungry cervid . So be sure to spray your hydrangea bushes withhomemade deer repellent .

Choose small-scale hydrangea kind , like ‘ Little Lime ’ and ‘ unbeatable Wee White ’ , that will accent the flower in your beds without upstaging them entirely . While hydrangeas do n’t need much care , they do profit from regular deadheading . nip off choke flower to encourage more blooms to develop .

Pallet Wood Blocks

Pallet crafts are all the furor these day , so why not upcycle a pallet or two and employ them to make edging for your bloom beds ? Simply deconstruct a few palette and cut the boards into 10 to 15 - in sections . Use a hammering to repulse the boards in along the edge of your flower bed . you’re able to force the boards in at the same top to keep things see neat , or you’re able to offset them with one add-in marvellous and the next one shorter for a less put - together look .

Because palette are wood , this DIY edging will deteriorate over time . You ’ll have to substitute it every 10 days or so . But it works well as a dispirited - alimony garden edge because it can easily check in mulch , which reduces the need for weeding and avail soil hold onto wet longer .

Daylilies

Daylilies grow effortlessly , adding a quick splash of color to the edges of your flower bed . These pollyannaish blossom work wonders for attracting pollinators to your backyard . you could find daylilies in spectre of yellow , orangish , pinkish , ruddy , and white . mix in and match free colors to line up up your landscape , or opt a individual variety for a more striking burden .

day lily farm between 2 feet and 4 foot wide-eyed , and some potpourri can reach up to 4 fundament tall . These flowers are perennials , and they ego - propagate easily , so you wo n’t have to interest about replant . Justleave the hosepipe on them for a few minutes a brace of clip a hebdomad , and your daylilies will keep your flower bed look beautiful all season long .

Mint

Long value for itsstress - reducingandgastric - soothingproperties , mint is one of those “ localize it and blank out it ” plants that arise best when left alone . In fact , many nurseryman consider mint invasive . clipping dropped by chance in shady , moist localisation will quickly root and carpet the earth , even without additional aid .

There are over 7,500 varieties of mess . From the sharp spearmint andpeppermintto the sweet-flavored orangish mint and drinking chocolate mint , this marvellously fragrant herb reach garden a breeze because it ’s so ego - sufficient . Plant passel in well - drain dirt , and keep it moist but not mucky . Soon , you ’ll have an effortless edge for your flower beds that will also attractbutterflies and beesto your backyard .

Boxwood

Boxwoods are a timeless classic , mostly because they ’re such a down in the mouth - maintenance bush . Low - farm boxwoods like ‘ Wedding anchor ring ’ and ‘ Sprinter ’ get quickly , and fair 2 or 3 feet tall and just as wide . These mixture are disease - resistant and unlikely to come prey to pests — however , they are toxicant . So if you have qat , weenie , or horses , do n’t get them nibble on these plants .

Turkish boxwood work best when rise as a hedgerow . The leafage pack densely , which does n’t just work to separate your heyday beds from your lawn but also helps trap wet in the priming coat . Most boxwoods have consistent growing patterns , so even though you could trim them , there ’s no pauperization to keep them so utterly manicured . They have a courteous shape on their own .

Texas Sage

Texas salvia is a hardy and unregenerate bush that has lovely silvern green foliage set off by ticklish violet blossoms . This plant life is tolerant of ironic conditions and can withstand being planted in full Dominicus , even in the hot of area . Plant one or two Texas sage President Bush alongside other plant life with similar grow requirements to create a mix - and - couple border , or implant the shrubs close together to work a small hedge .

Texas salvia grows at a slow to restrained yard . It ’s not as quick as creeping thyme or mint . But , unlike those tight - grow garden borders , Texas sage can defy live , dry conditions that would rapidly obliterate other plants . Because it ’s so audacious , it pass water an unbelievably low - maintenance garden border for southwestern and desert landscapes .

Dusty Miller

Dusty miller has intricate leaves that are silverish green in color and velvety soft to the touch modality . This plant ’s delicate show might play tricks you into thinking it must be intemperate to care for , but do n’t be horse around . Dusty miller is tolerant of a variety of soil eccentric , including clay and sand , but the soil must drain well , or the flora will be prone to steady down rot .

In warmer climate , dusty miller can be grown as a perennial , but in nerveless regions , its lifecycle gets curve poor . fortuitously , this plant easy self - seeds , so as long as you desist from pruning the drained bloom , you wo n’t have to interest about replanting your moth-eaten Henry Valentine Miller . Overall , this plant require piddling attention . An inch of body of water a week is enough to keep this plant well-chosen .

Ferns

diminished fern like foxtail grass and tassel ferns make a gorgeous border for blossom beds growing in shady spot . If your yard tends to stay moist , fern are a perfect choice for your garden because they just soak up the water . As long as you keep them hydrated , and remove the drained leafage every once in a while to keep air mobilise around the plant , your ferns should rise just fine .

Ferns work well in bloom beds , providing a touch of greenery . But they ’re also arresting peaking out amongst a thicket ofred , royal , and green foliage . Because they ’re so versatile and so dim-witted to worry for , they ’re a wonderful low - criminal maintenance perimeter for your garden .

Pavers, Bricks, and Stones

utilise pavers , bricks , and Stone to distinctly define where your flush beds end and your lawn begins . Stones can be staggered to establish prime bed up , make a retaining wall and helping to forbid corroding . But a individual level of brick or pavers is enough to demarcate basis - level beds .

While rocks and stones look best above background , consider burying pavers and bricks so that the tops are at land spirit level . This way , you could well mow over them or else of deliver to go around your flower bottom with a weedeater . you could also sum up crushed rock to create footpath in between flower bed , eliminating the want to mow .

What are the benefits of adding a border to your garden?

From an aesthetic perspective , adding a border to your garden help bridge the crack between your landscaping and your lawn . But garden moulding are n’t just meant to look pretty . They serve a aim , too .

Using low - growing hedges and ground cover plant to trim out the sharpness of your efflorescence beds prevent weeds from bug out up in between plants . They also swan shade on the ground below , protecting it from the sun ’s rough rays so it can hold wet in longer .

Greenery furnish cosmetic flora with an understated background while flowering shrubs can help draw more local pollinators to your backyard . Overall , create a border for your garden saves prison term and confinement , while relieve oneself your backyard more good to the ecosystem .