Varieties of borders for garden paths and rules for creating a border with your own hands
Garden plots are usually divided into several zones. Each area is planted with a certain type of crops. Between the zones, special garden paths are created, which, for convenience, are decorated with borders. Fences help keep garden paths neat and tidy, and also prevent growing crops from breaking through the boundaries of the allotted area. Garden paths are lined with different types of materials, the choice depends on individual preferences.
Varieties and features of borders
The types of curbs and curbs are classified according to the distinctive characteristics of the materials from which they are made. While garden paths are usually lined with stone, curbs and curbs can be made from various materials.
Plastic
This material is the most common due to its affordability and ease of use. Main Types:
- collapsible structures, represented by the same sections;
- tape types, characterized by increased flexibility;
- solid fences imitating stone or wooden products.
The plastic borders are easy to use, easy to clean and can be quickly removed when needed.The disadvantage of plastic material is considered by gardeners to be a tendency to cracks, chips and various damages.
Concrete
To create a concrete fence, the pressing or casting method is used. This type of fence is often installed to delineate highways and sidewalks. In the design of gardens, concrete curbs are used if the garden paths are made of paving slabs and in the future it is not planned to transfer them to another place.
Metal
Metal garden fences can be ribbon and sectional. The curbs are buried by 10 centimeters, which constitutes an obstacle to the growth of the root system of various cultures. Metal edging is durable, effective in delineating areas, but it has a significant drawback: the material that lies underground is prone to rust and corrosion.
Drink
The wood edging offers a variety of installation options. Stakes, small logs or boards serve as a decorative element to decorate the site. The material is environmentally friendly, looks impressive and is able to revive any area. The disadvantage of wooden curbs is the need to additionally process the elements with special fluids that protect against rotting.
Brick
One of the most practical and durable design options for garden paths is the use of facing bricks. The elements are placed along the entire length of the garden path on the edge, at an angle or on one side. Brick fences are durable, strong, resistant to temperature extremes and excessive moisture.
Rock
This type of borders is classified as decorative.Various compositions are arranged with a stone, it depends on the imagination of the owners or landscape designers. Stone is most often used to decorate ponds, flower beds. It will take a lot of expensive materials to cover garden paths all over the site with natural stone.
Green
An effective option is the design of concrete or gravel paths with a green border. For this, boxwood, cotoneaster, lavender, sage are suitable. Creating a green border takes time, from planting to getting the necessary grass height takes 1-2 months. At the same time, the cutting of the sidewalk should be weekly, so that individual elements do not violate the overall composition.
The green border is a decorative element of garden design, it does not perform the practical function of preventing the growth of grass.
From scrap materials
The budget option is the design of the track with improvised means. Demarcation using plastic bottles, glass, pieces of shingles is common.
Fences for flower beds
The flower areas are separated from the main area using rubber wheels and cork structures. It is convenient to use stone or brick fences, then flower arrangements will look more impressive.
Network
Fences woven from thin rods are most suitable for decorating flower arrangements. Some types of flowers require additional support, which can be created from twigs, while forming a fence.
lumps
Thick wedges are installed near the flower beds, on which tall bushes of flower crops are planted.It is customary to update these types of borders seasonally at the same time as the renewal of the flower bed.
Unusual options
Gardeners on their own plots show imagination. The approach to the design of fences depends on individual preferences and site characteristics. One of the options for an unusual design is the installation of ceramic plates with the same ornament, elements of antique iron beds and much more.
Information! One of the unusual options for decorating the border of flower plantings is planting in decorative buckets, carts, car frames.
Rubber
Over the past decade, rubber edging has become common. Benefits :
- sustainability;
- strength;
- convenience of use;
- moisture resistance.
Information! Garden paths made of all materials are made with rubber edging.
How to choose the right one
When choosing the design of a path for a summer cottage or a garden, they are guided by the main characteristics of the material from which the curb is made:
- stone paths are fenced with stone, brick or rubber curbs;
- to decorate flower beds, plastic tape or sectional metal borders are used;
- the ideal option that prevents the growth of grass is a metal tape with a depth of 10-12 centimeters.
Installation features of different types
Before installing the borders, outline the contours of the future garden path, then proceed to the installation of the border. Plastic curbs are installed without prior preparation. For concrete or stone curbs, trenches are additionally dug, insulating material is laid.Wooden fences are installed with preliminary processing of the material and laying on the bottom of the agrofiber trenches. The main nuances when installing curbs for garden paths:
- contour marking involves the laying of pegs with the obligatory tension of the construction cord and the alignment of the upper part according to the level of construction;
- when filling gaps with cement when installing concrete, stone or brick curbs, it is necessary to control the entry of excess moisture. If excess water remains in the grooves, then in winter it can expand under the influence of low temperatures and destroy the integrity of the curb.
How to do it yourself from concrete
Concrete curbs are often made independently, for this they use one of the following methods:
- Shaped concrete.It is an option when the mixture is poured into prepared forms, and then the resulting element is installed along the planned contour. When using this technique, it is necessary to take into account the ratio of the dimensions of the track to the prepared forms.
- Foundry. The concrete mix is poured into prepared formwork trenches.
Complete solidification in both cases occurs in 5-7 days. During this period, the upper part can be decorated according to your taste: supplemented with shells, lay out a small pattern of river stone.