What do you use for the edges around your bed?

[MrsC]

Hi all,

Interested to know what you use as edges for your beds? I managed to mark out my 1st bed at the lottie. Not a big one, 6' x 6', plan on 8' x 4' for the rest as the bed done today is near a concrete base (enough rooms for two 6' x 6' beds) I intend to plant garlic in this one and marked out the corners with bricks. I am going to plant the edges with chives to make a wall (so to speak).

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'd say that 6' beds are too wide, MrsC - unless you have 3' arms, that is!

I'd make 3 off 6' by 3-4' beds, if you have the room by the concete base.

I'm edging my beds with wooden gravel boards.

[MrsC]

Well maybe just under 6', but I'm pretty tall and got long arms and can reach the centre of the bed from all sides. I would like to edge some beds with boards, but want something a bit different as well, eg - herbs.

[Two_Sheds]

I edge mine with wine bottles (have a look in my 2009 album)

[carlseawolf]

i use the same gravel boards as hazel but two high with wire bracers between the posts, sorry i have no pics on the compputor at the moment to show you but there is some in my web site albums you can look at.

[MrsC]

I edge mine with wine bottles (have a look in my 2009 album)

I like that idea TwoSheds! Pretty cool in my books, I'm a very arty sort of person and want not only to grow veg etc but have lots of quirky sort of stuff on the plot (if you know what I mean)

I want a mixture of different edges for the beds which is why I posted, interested to see what other people use. Although I am hooked on the idea of edging with herbs etc, but will try the wine bottle idea, I like it! Thanks

[MrsC]

btw I have lots of slate and other types of stone in my garden (done lots of dry stone walls at home) hoping to use this too!

[Snadger]

Well maybe just under 6', but I'm pretty tall and got long arms and can reach the centre of the bed from all sides. ....................

Wait until you get older and the rheumatics kick in! Lol

You can plant box (buxus), chives,thyme,rosemary or lots more herbs or shrubs around the edges ...............but they won't retain the soil which is the knux of raised beds.
Mine are edged with a mottley selection of scrounged timber for the present, just tpo delineate where they are and get a feel for the finished look of the beds. Eventually I would like to edge them with bricks. I'm gathering the bricks up now and having just built my cold frame from scrounged breeze blocks, once the milder weather weather comes I intend starting with the bricklaying!
Other materials i've seen used are scaffold battens,stones,steel plates,plastic (linkaboard),railway sleepers,exterior plywood cut into strips,timber edging made from small pieces of half round joined together with wire., corrugated green lawn edging and a host of other materials as well.
Let your creativity run riot and you'll be amazed what can be used for raised beds!

[Jameslovell]

Wickes  – Timber – Sawn Timber – Sawn Treated – Sawn Treated Softwood

This is great stuff. I have used this for all my beds.

[MrsC]

Thanks for your response, it's not so much they have to be raised, just edged

[Eyren]

I have Link-a-bord beds in the back garden to keep things neat, but on the lottie I use the "planks" from the garden fence that was damaged in last spring's winds - rather than creating raised beds, I've sunk them into the soil narrow edge down to make life a bit more difficult for the couch grass

[vegnut]

I haven't done this myself, but iv'e seen a bed that was edged with old flat roof tiles, stuck in the ground at an angle. It looked quite nice. Just need a good supply of old clay peg type roof tiles . If you have a lot of slate, then that would look good as well

[Mike and Louise]

We have one big 12'x14' bed.
This is edged all around by 8" gravel boards. This big veg bed is then divided into 3 by 1' wide planks of wood. This gives us 3 beds, each 12'x4' with a 1' walkway between each of them.

When it comes to digging them over, we just take up the planks, and netting supports, then rotovate the whole lot in one go.

Pics on our site but here is one of them.

[IgglePiggle]

I would love to use wood as edging in my garden, but don't drive so hard to get hold of stuff

[MaureenHall]

I love the idea of the wine bottles so I'll have to get all friends and family to start saving theirs for me For my raised beds at home I've used gravel boards, 2 high, but I'd like to make some raised flower beds in the front garden using large cobble stones