Path edging ideas: Create a stunning garden walkway with these smart designs

Keep your garden routes clear with these path edging ideas — suitable for a range of garden sizes and styles. 

Be it brick, stone or concrete, path edging helps to keep weeds, grass and creeping plants at bay and away from places where people will be walking. Although it might seem like a small element to consider, when deciding on garden landscaping ideas, details like edging and a continuation of materials will make all the difference towards a well-considered plan. 

Take a look below at out favourite garden projects for inspiration and find out how to avoid any missteps. 

Path Edging Ideas

Plan path edging alongside your overall garden design and keep materials consistent or at least complementary of one another for a neater, more professional-looking finish. 

While this is a task which can be done on a DIY basis, sometimes it can be best to call in the professionals. Hardscaping such as this seems simple, but will always take more time and effort than you anticipate. 

1. Use simple concrete edging alongside a gravel path

Match a pale gravel pathway with an almost invisible concrete edge to reduce the chances of grass and weeds infiltrating the stones. 

This option is cost-effective (the Marshalls Round Smooth Edging Stone from Wickes costs just £5, for instance) if budget it high on the list of priorities. 

Also, concrete edging is a low maintenance choice alongside front garden ideas, such as lawns or simple decking, as shown here. 

2. Use stone path edging in a traditional garden

If your home is of a traditional or period style, take inspiration from the materials used in the construction. 

This home featured existing stone retaining wall ideas, so the homeowner continued this theme alongside the path through the grassed garden when extending the house. 

While it looks simple, it creates a unified garden design well suited to the traditional cottage. 

3. Zone a garden with pathway edging

Sometimes gardens with border flower beds and a single expanse of lawn can look a little uninspired and under-served. Break up large grassed areas with a carefully curated path — which also helps to protect the grass from being stepped on in the winter months.

In this garden a large pergola creates a secluded border at the beginning of the path, creating a feeling of destination and purpose. 

Small red bricks line the gravel pathway in order to mimic the hues used in the home's roof. 

4. Find low-profile metal path edging for easy mowing

For lawn edging ideas that will sit alongside a path, try to choose low-profile products so a neat edge can be created. 

Even the best cordless lawn mower in the world can't butt up against a raised border to get a tidy and crisp cut and rather than having to get the strimmer out every week during the summer, make it so the lawn mower can bridge the edging. 

5. Use raised planters to line paths

Raised planters are a great path edging idea when the garden is requiring some shape and interest. 

Not only will they add colour, but if you're planning an accessible garden design, this is also an opportunity to garden at waist height. 

The mixed colours of this gravel path both complements the timber of the planters and of the house cladding as well as the red brick central fire pit area. 

6. Utilise curved path edging ideas

Fill your outdoor space with low maintenance garden ideas from the off, to save you time and effort later down the line. 

One of the most annoying aspects of pathways or patios is encroaching grass and weeds and this is where path and patio edging ideas come into their own. 

7. Keep to a budget with DIY edging

If you're looking for the most cost-effective path and garden ideas, you can't go too far wrong with this design! 

Gravel is one of the most budget-friendly materials to use in your garden and can be matched to pretty much any style of house. Be sure to lay a weed membrane down before installing on a DIY basis, or even a grid to keep all of the small stones where they're supposed to be. 

Simple yet beautiful lavender flower beds create the edging for this path, creating a pared-back but stunning cottage-style garden. Note the bench which lines the stone wall — these little details will transform any outdoor space. 

8. Avoid trip hazards with low-level brick

Use recessed bricks to line a garden path for a style which mirrors the most popular cladding type. 

The key to the success of this design is that there is no difference in level between the brick and path material to prevent tripping — especially when bricks are used to create a 'bridge' to the lawn areas as in this home. 

What is the easiest edging to install?

The easiest edging to install is simple flower beds alongside a pathway, although some boundary products can simply be staked into the ground to create a neat edge. 

What is the cheapest edging?

The cheapest edging to buy is plastic edging, but this might not always provide the best quality finish (although it can be bent to create curved paths and beds). Sleepers are more expensive but last longer, as do as bricks.

Keeping an eye on local websites for cheap bargains is a smart idea, or take advantage of what neighbours are throwing in skips (with their permission, of course) as timber, bricks and gravel can all be found unexpectedly.