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How to Edge a Garden Path
Edging helps hold path materials such as rocks and bricks in place. Use flexible edging and stakes to hold the materials in place.
Edging along your garden path helps keep the path materials in place, but it can also enhance the beauty of the path and the landscape as a whole. Line the path with flexible edging designed for function rather than beauty, or add rocks, stones or upcycled materials to decorate the pathway even more.
Edging as Walls for Your Path
The most basic purpose of the edging is to keep the path in place. Materials such as small rocks and pebbles or even bricks can shift over time. Without the edging, your path may soon look as if it was abandoned decades ago. Flexible edging, usually made of rubber, plastic or thin metal, conforms to the shape of your path and keeps the loose materials in place. The edging goes in place after you've dug a channel for the path and after you've installed landscape fabric or weed barrier, if you choose to use such barriers.
Things You'll Need
Flexible edging (twice the length of the path)
Edging stakes -- one per every 5 to 7 feet
Mallet or hammer
Step 1
Line half of the edging pieces up along one side of the garden path. Place the other half of the pieces on the other side of the path.
Step 2
Join the flexible edging pieces together by sliding the skinny edge of one piece into the channel on the edge of the next piece. This may require flipping some of the pieces around -- they all have one thin edge and one channel edge. Repeat the process with the edging pieces on the other side of the path.
Tip
If the plastic edging is longer than you need for your path -- many quality versions are at least 20 feet long -- cut the edging to the desired length with a utility knife, using a straightedge as a guide.
Step 3
Line the edging up on each side of the path, inside the cutout made for the path. Align the edging vertically so the narrow curved lip on the bottom faces in toward the path; not all edging has this lip.
Step 4
Pound one stake into the curved channel along the bottom of the edging, holding the stake nearly parallel to the ground, hammering toward the lawn or soil outside the path. The first stake should be several inches from the beginning of the edging.
Step 5
Hammer in additional stakes every five to seven feet, and within a few inches on each side of joined edging pieces to help keep the edges in place. Add a stake several inches from the end of the edging as well. Insert stakes along the edging on the other side of the path in the same manner.
Ornamental Edging
Add edging such as rounded, reclaimed bricks, softball-sized rocks found on a beach, or even ceramic tile for ornamental effect.
Place smooth brick or stone along the inside edges of the path, inside the edging, by scooping out a shallow indentation for each stone or brick so they stay in place. If you prefer a more level look, dig out a channel for the flat materials so they rest nearly flush with the material coating the center of the path, such as mulch or crushed white stone.
Line the path with the slightly curved edges from the broken tops of terra cotta or ceramic pots for a somewhat eclectic, upcycled look.
Stick rectangular or square ceramic tile along the inside of the edging vertically, pointed ends facing up, for an unusual edging. For maximum visual impact, pair the tiles, insides facing one another, so the glazed, finished sides are visible from both inside and outside the path.
Tip
For ideas on plants to enhance your path, see What to Plant Along a Garden Walkway.
