The Best Plants for Garden Edging

By definition, edging plants are plants grouped together with similar plants to form an edge or border in a garden or landscape design. When using plants to edge a garden, keep them in proportion to their background. For example, large shrubs require a larger edge plant to look balanced. Consider color and texture when choosing an edging plant. Edging need not be a line of single plants; use two or three in a grouping to add dimension and variety.

Sun Rose is a hardy plant and does well in areas of full sun with minimum tolerable cold temperatures between -20 to -30 degrees F in USDA hardiness zone 4. They grow about 18 inches in height and bloom from May through June. The general width of each plant is 18 inches, so plant from 15 to 18 inches apart for best coverage. The rose-like flowers come in peach, deep red with yellow center, red-orange, bright orange, white, rose pink and yellow. The foliage ranges from a silvery green to deep forest green. Sun rose need no special soil type--standard potting soil works well.

Pansies have a single flower with five rounded petals. They bloom during the winter in the south or southwest, and during the summer in the north. The plant reaches approximately 9 inches in height and width, so plant from 5 to 9 inches apart for good coverage. Pansies do well in full sun with minimum tolerable cold temperatures between -20 to -30 degrees F in USDA zone 4. The color ranges available are red, purple, blue, bronze, pink, black, yellow, white, lavender, orange, apricot and mahogany and can be a single color or two or three colors together with a "face." The yellow or blue colors have the strongest fragrance. Pansies prefer loose, organic soil and should be fertilized at planting with a balanced fertilizer with slightly high nitrogen.

Bishops Hat, or Epimedium, popular for their tiny flowers and foliage, are used as accents in floral arrangements. They do best in moist, woods-like settings but can be adapted to drier conditions once the plants are established. These plants grow from 6 to 12 inches in height and are on average 12 to 18 inches wide. Plant in full sun or partial shade from between 10 and 18 inches apart. These plants are tolerant of cold temperatures ranging from -10 to -20 degrees F and bloom from March through May and are available in amber, pink with lilac, lavender, yellow, red with white, yellow with orange, and white.