Low and edging plants (under 40cm)

Compact plants for the front of a border or edging a path.

Front-of-border and edging plants, broadly those under 40cm, soften the line where a bed meets path or lawn and stop the planting looking like it stops abruptly at a wall. The job is to flow over the edge a little, blurring the boundary, so favour low mounds, spreading mats and front-runners rather than stiff, upright plants. Plant in continuous drifts or repeated groups along the front so the edge reads as deliberate, not patchy. Keep these the shortest layer, with the bed rising in tiers behind, or you lose the sense of depth. These plants are chosen to furnish the very front of a border, from neat clipped mounds to loose, tumbling spreaders that knit along the edge.

Border Builder is a garden border planner for iPhone and iPad. Pick from the 247 plants below and it works them into a full plan: how many of each, where they go, and how the bed reads through the seasons.

247 plants for this