Wood is always a popular building material. From siding to trim, decking to lawn borders, there’s an undeniably classic appeal to using wood for nearly any building project. Wood is a common material for creating lawn borders. If you’re looking into wood as a lawn border, here’s what you need to know:
Wood Edging Pros
Warmth
Wood is well-loved as a building material because it makes a home look warmer and more welcoming. It’s chosen so often because of the aesthetic boost it brings, no matter what your home improvement project is. The variation in wood grain also brings a sense of texture which increases the feeling of having a pattern that won’t actually clash with other patterns or materials. Wood has gained the reputation as an all-purpose material for a reason.
Bamboo edging looks very unusual and bold, and paired with black pebbles and dark stone paths, it will give a Zen feel to your garden.
This stylish veggie garden features raised garden beds with stained edging, white gravel and some vegetables and blooms.
A row of creative mini flower beds styled with branch edging will add interest and eye-catchiness to your front yard or entrance.
Rough branches used as garden bed edging will give your garden a woodland or rustic feel.
Dark-stained wood stands out in the green grass and makes a bold combo for this little veggie garden.
Light-stained flat wooden edging makes the space look more formal and stylish and defines the border of the garden bed.
Structure
When it comes to lawn borders specifically, wood is a good way to create a stronger support structure. This is ideal for raised garden beds and sloped lawns because wood lawn borders have the strength to help guard against erosion and create that structure that keeps your landscaping from floating away with the rain.
This grey timber edging matches the pathway perfectly. The edging is processed with some special water-resistant finish that will make it more durable.
You may paint your wooden edging any shade that you want, here it's painted graphite grey to match the fence and the gravel.
An oversized garden bed for trees that wil be used as a privacy fence is styled with large wooden logs as borders to pull off a rustic look.
The fence is lined up with a long and narrow garden bed with light-stained edging that perfectly matches the fence stain.
You can leave your wood edging uncovered but remember that it can rot faster than coated.
Naturalness
Many people want a natural appearance for the natural spaces in their yard. Wood is a great option because a wooden lawn border, even cut down to smaller pavers or shingles, is still made from natural materials. It’s often easier to blend a wood lawn border into landscaping in a way that is unobtrusive and appears more natural.
Light-stained wood is always a good idea for a veggie garden, it looks nice with stone pathways.
To make your garden bed look more rustic, consider using pieces of logs instead of more traditional edging, it will be very unusual.
Low light-stained wooden edging and white pebbles create a super modern combo for any garden or outdoor space.
A fence dressed up with a matching garden bed with the same wood edging looks better.
If you want a bit of fun, consider using reclaimed wooden planks painted various shades, and voila, your garden bed looks playful.
Sustainability
If you’re looking for an option that will have a lower impact on your carbon footprint, wood is (generally) a good way to go. There are some concerns about some lumber mills’ practices, but if your landscaping team sources wood from a reliable source, wood is generally more sustainable than other options. Since we can continue growing trees, and it isn’t as processed as other options, creating a wood lawn border is generally a more sustainable option.
Shape
Most wood made for landscaping is cut into smaller beams, uniform planks, or shingles. If you’re looking to quickly create a lawn border, beams or planks can be a great option because the space can be cleared and leveled relatively quickly.
Wood is used for so many different projects because it can take on almost any shape imaginable. However, when it comes to border edging, the fact that wood can be cut is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s easy enough to cut pieces down to size and make the lawn border fit your space.
Rustic wooden planks with a bark edge can be used in a rustic or cottage garden to highlight its style.
Polished timber edging with metal details allows creating more unusual garden bed shapes and not just going straight.
Upcycling some wood you can make garden bed edging yourself, and it will define the landscape a lot.
A beautiful veggie garden styled with white gravel, rich-stained wood edging, various blooms and veggies, looks nice.
A cottage veggie garden with grey gravel, garden beds with stained edging, a trellis and a decorative stone pathway.
A creative garden with a wooden path, a garden bed accented with rough branch edging and some trellises.
Rough logs will be a nice fit for a flower bed with a rock garden or a scenery like that, all-natural and with some hardscaping.
Wood Edging Cons
Durability
Wood often needs a bit of extra care in order to survive a longer life outdoors. The good news is that waterproofing treatments can keep wood protected for years, even decades. However, you’ll want to keep an eye on wood retaining walls and lawn borders. Check for signs of wood rot just to make sure that the waterproofing has held and that the wall won’t surprise you and collapse in a heavy rain.
Reclaimed wood pieces as garden bed edging allow you to add a natural touch to your garden.
Such comfortable in using plank edging will do for a cottage garden, though this edging isn't really durable.
Rustic stained wood edging and whitewashed brick are a great combo for a rustic or farmhouse garden.
A vegetable garden with a lot of garden beds and wood edging, black mulch and neutral gravel looks pretty and stylish.
A curved garden bed with stained wood edging, white gravel and some greenery is a catchy and stylish decor feature.
A beautiful cottage garden done with a stained fence and wood garden bed edging, a large trellis arch and gravel hardscaping.
Rich-stained wood for garden bed edging will make your space more stylish and cool, adding a rustic feel to it.
Sturdiness
It can be harder to fit those long lengths of wood into a curved space, and wood shingles don’t typically offer the strength necessary for, say, a retaining wall. Smaller wood segments work better to create a lawn border for flower beds and landscaping elements on flat or mostly flat surfaces, which don’t need to be bolstered by the lawn border. Cutting wood into smaller segments offers increasing opportunities for water or pests to work their way into the wood. Larger sections are typically better because they can be protected more easily.
A tall raised garden bed along the fence is a bold way to dress it up, and hay on the soil brings a strong rustic feel to the space.
Tall wood edges are always a good idea for growing some veggies and herbs in a garden, they are easy to DIY and install yourself.
These thin wood garden bed edges create a more delicate look, upcycle some old wood into such edging yourself.
These light-stained uneven planks break up the formal look of the garden with pebbles, a living wall and flowers adding a bit of spice.
This lush garden with a lot of greenery and blooms looks natural and a bit wild, so a wooden edge makes it a bit more defined.
If you have a wooden deck or paths, pair them with wooden flower bed edges for a more cohesive look.
Light-stained wood is complimented with neutral gravel for a more cohesive and peaceful look.
Such metal details allow you creating flower beds of more unusual shapes as you can move the parts wherever you need.
A vegetable garden with a green lawn, raised garden beds with wooden edges, a large trellis arch with climbers is welcoming.
A very well-organized vegetable garden with garden beds and wooden edging, gravel for hardscaping looks very clean and neat.
Wood logs are all-natural and super creative garden bed edges to rock, they are all about rustic decor.
Rich-stained wooden slabs will prevent erosion and keep your plants and blooms in place, here they also soften the look of the metal fence.