You have lots of choices when it comes to landscape edging. Hardscape elements, such as brick, are often homeowners’ first choice for edging, but plants can provide a beautiful, blooming focus for the very front of flowerbeds, too. One of these Kentucky hardy plants for landscape edgers could be your perfect answer.
Edging your landscape creates a crisp, finished look. Beds and borders seem to sparkle when there’s a clear edge between the planting area and your lawn, driveway, sidewalk, or another landscape bed.
Alyssum
Compact and fast-growing, alyssum is an annual in most areas. It sends up dense, tiny fragrant white flowers (varieties with pink, lavender, and cream flowers are available, too) and, if cut back, will bloom fairly continuously throughout the growing season.
Barrenwort
A top pick for edging shaded landscape beds, barrenwort is a perky little perennial that blooms in spring with spidery flowers in shades of pink, purple, orange, yellow, and white. Many varieties have attractive foliage that turns bronzy in autumn.
Bloody geranium
It may sound a little scary, but bloody geranium picked up its colorful moniker from the bold red shades its leaves change to in autumn. It also blooms in late spring and sporadically throughout early autumn. Bloody geranium is a beautiful edging plant for sunny or lightly shaded spots.
Japanese forestgrass
One of the few grasses that thrives in shade, Japanese forestgrass forms compact mounds of gracefully arching foliage. It’s an amazing accent along the edges of a bed or border.
Lady’s mantle
Beautiful lady’s mantle has scallop-shape leaves covered in fine hairs. It gives the foliage a glistening effect in early morning or evening light and also catches dewdrops. Lady’s mantle blooms in early summer with clusters of chartreuse flowers and makes for an elegant landscape edge.
Sedum
Clumping, upright sedum varieties such as ‘Matrona’ add fall flair to the landscape and create a neat edge for taller plants behind them. Most sedum varieties are attractive to butterflies and hold up well to heat and drought.
Thrift
Thrift is a delightful perennial that offers tidy mounds of grassy foliage and little rounded clusters of bright pink or white flowers from late spring to early summer. It loves full sun and well-drained soil.
