7 Captivating Plants To Use For Beautiful Garden Borders

by John Griffith
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Your garden is a little slice of heaven that you get to create and tailor to your tastes. This means you have plenty of options to dress up your landscape. And your choice of garden edging and borders can really help unify the garden while adding color, beauty, and showcasing your personality at the same time. Garden borders can be created through many materials – plastic, metal, stone, etc. But our personal favorite is through flowers. A living edge not only helps you to define your borders but also helps you keep the natural appearance of your garden. Flower borders are also great for wildlife and pollinators. They add color, motion, and soften the edges of your garden. So, if you are interested in adding such a border to your outside space, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some of the best plants to use for beautiful garden borders.

Your garden is a little slice of heaven that you get to create and tailor to your tastes

garden borders flowers alongside path

A living edge not helps you to define your borders and keeps the natural appearance of your garden

beautiful collection of garden flowers

Plants To Use For Beautiful Garden Borders

Garden borders really help to polish the way your garden looks, creating a finished and coherent garden space. And when it comes to border plants, a good one needs to have a couple of redeeming qualities. It must be of scale, it should stay in place without constant pruning, it should be the right choice for the location and your zone, and it should fit in aesthetically with your overall garden plan. We’ve chosen plants that all have these amazing qualities so that you can create stunning borders without much hassle.

Garden borders really help to polish the way your garden looks

border plants alongside lawn

#Astilbe

A perennial that has long-lasting color and loves a good partially shaded border. Its green foliage and beautiful pink, white, purple, or red blooms create beautiful color and textural contrast to other border plants like the hosta. Some varieties of these flowers come with either straight or arching stems and make great border plants. The astilbe loves well-draining soil that is fertilized. It grows best in shadier areas and only needs around one to two hours of sun per day. If you’ve got an area with this description, then make sure to add this plant to your garden.

A perennial that has long-lasting color and loves a good partially shaded border

astilbe flowers in the garden

#Dahlias

Oh, we love dahlia season. It’s so colorful! From bright oranges to vibrant reds, and magnificent purples, these plants are breathtaking. A feast for the eyes. They come in a couple of different rights, textures, and colors, so you can easily choose the right ones for your garden aesthetic. They are also perennials, so they will pop up year after year. Dahlia’s height varies from 12 inches to 48 inches depending on the variety. They have a long bloom time, which means you can enjoy them for longer and make great colorful borders. While they do need some tending, it will be worth it. Put them around your garden path for a splash of color.

From bright oranges to vibrant reds, and magnificent purples, these plants are breathtaking

multi colored dahlias in clump

#Veronica

Also known as speedwell. This flower is a low-clumping perennial that loves the sun. It comes in a variety of different colors including blue, pink, purple, and white. Depending on the variety this plant can grow from 6 inches to a foot tall. The Veronica spicata variety provides your borders with beautiful spiked blooms from spring through summer, so you can enjoy its beauty all the way through the warmer seasons. And since it is a perennial, you won’t have to replant it every year – it comes back on its own! This plant does need well-drained soil and a neutral pH, so keep that in mind when planting.

This flower is a low-clumping perennial that loves the sun

veronica purple long flowers speedwell

#Hosta

If you are looking to add a little bit of green to your garden borders, then Hostas are a great choice. This plant loves partial shade or full shade and excels in such areas of the garden. It has beautiful leaves that come in a variety of patterns and sizes for you to choose from. Some hosta varieties can grow up to 2 feet, while some stay small and under 10 inches. This gives you a lot of flexibility for creating different garden borders. Different varieties also come with different leaf designs. Hostas also produce large stalks that produce flowers in white, blue, and purple, which attract butterflies and hummingbirds. In general, when it comes to hosta remember – the darker the leaf, the more shade it needs.

If you are looking to add a little bit of green to your garden borders, then Hostas are a great choice

hosta flowers for border

#Lavender

Lavender is a wonderful choice for a border plant. With its beautiful bursts of color, this plant is the perfect choice for a narrow border. A part of the mint family, lavender smells amazing and is pollinator friendly, so you can be expecting plenty of little bee guests in your garden. Its clumps of flowers offer a very visually appealing experience, as well as a sensory one. This plant does require dry and well-draining conditions as it is a Mediterranean native and is used to warmer climates. Oh, and it is not pet friendly, so it’s important to keep that in mind.

Lavender is a wonderful choice for a border plant

purple lavander flowers

#Moss Rose

If you live in a dryer climate, this flower is a great choice. It doesn’t need a lot of water, it’s super drought-tolerant, and loves the sun. If this sounds like your garden, then the moss rose will make an amazing addition to your garden borders. Another plus of this bright-colored, vibrant flower is that it doesn’t spread outside of where it was initially planted. This makes it a reliable edging plant, as you won’t have to be constantly pruning it to keep it in place. Gardeners recommend it mainly for pathways or smaller flower beds, as it grows around 6 inches, and is good for edging low-growing plants. The moss rose is, however, an annual, so you will have to replant it yearly, but it is definitely worth it.

If you live in a dryer climate, this flower is a great choice

garden borders yellow red flowers

#Creeping Thyme

Creeping thyme has beautiful purple-pink flowers that will border your plants. And if it happens to be crushed it gives off a lovely, fresh fragrance. This ornamental herb is also great for keeping weeds at bay and deers. It is perfect for lining steps or placed between pavers (on terraces or patios). Creeping thyme likes both full sun and partial shade, so it gives you planting options. Plus, you can also use it for your cooking – bonus!

Creeping thyme has beautiful purple-pink flowers that will border your plants

creeping thyme as garden border

These were some of the best plants to use to create beautiful garden borders. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can choose your favorite flowers and start planning your garden border layout. Soon you will be able to enjoy beautiful borders everywhere.

These were some of the best plants to use to create beautiful garden borders

flowers used as a garden border

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John Griffith

John Griffith is a young, passionate journalist. Writing has been John’s hobby ever since he was a boy. He has worked in some of the UK’s most successful news portals over the course of his professional career but found his forever home at Archzine.