alternative to expensive border edging

redmatchstickman

hi , i am in the process of making some beds for my flowers. have dug out some spaces, removed roots and put down black sheeting. i need border edging to keep the lawn seperate, i think its a bit pricey.average £5.00 per 6 metres. is there an alternative i could use? have racked my brain, maybe a builders material would work out cheaper like some kind pf plastic on a roll. dont mind cutting it. or any other ideas welcome, preferably something thats round the house or on freecycle.

*MF*

Empty food tins, turned upside down, pushed into the ground, and painted either in natural colours or even in bright colours ... and when it rains, the sound effect is great.

mymatebob

*MF* wrote: »

Empty food tins, turned upside down, pushed into the ground, and painted either in natural colours or even in bright colours ... and when it rains, the sound effect is great.

Sounds very similar to the bloke along the road from me.
He has done it with wine bottles mind you.
And from the look of his edging his liver must be pickled

mary43

I used some old bricks we had laying around to do a couple of flower beds. Put them in on a slant and they look a bit more attractive I think.
Wine bottles................I advertised a lot of ours (OH loves his wine) and we got rid of them on freecycle to someone who is using them to edge the garden. We'd a load left over from Christmas and it savefd a trip to the bottle bank.

redmatchstickman

i like the bricks idea, the bottles are good but not for me. any more ideas please? im after a formal look. thanks everyone

barbie_babe

My mum use to put pebbles around her borders.

ScratchandSniff-->[X]

There's a bloke on our allotments who's used old radiators for the edge of his beds.

carole.uk

*MF* wrote: »

Empty food tins, turned upside down, pushed into the ground, and painted either in natural colours or even in bright colours ... and when it rains, the sound effect is great.

i love this idea sounds great if i will def think about using this for my borders when the garden is sorted

chunkymunky_3

mymatebob wrote: »

Sounds very similar to the bloke along the road from me.
He has done it with wine bottles mind you.
And from the look of his edging his liver must be pickled

quiet a while back gardeners world had a thing about using upturned wine/beer bottles to edge a border...and i must admit the photo looked better than the imagination conjures!

i did see a garden which had the lawn edged with little terracotta pots.....which has the advantage of also allowing for extra planting put i would imagine that would work out even more expensive!

old weathered bricks are good if you have a reclaimation yard near you

*MF*

carole.uk wrote: »

i love this idea sounds great if i will def think about using this for my borders when the garden is sorted

With a little bit of design, like different sizes, tilting some, lowering and heightening others, when it rains you can have a calypso band playing, and punch some holes in them and plants like trailing lobelia etc cascade ... and you still have the edge.:D

ScoobieGirl

There are always patio slabs going on freecycle - cut them in half and use vertically.