14 Modern Garden Edging Ideas [Inspiring Ideas & Pics!] - Grow Your Yard (2024)

Modern garden designs incorporate a variety of different elements to create both a functional and stylish outdoor space. For this, it’s important to include some garden edging in order to separate elements of the outdoor space that you’re trying to create.

Here are 14 modern garden edging ideas and designs that you might like to consider, to create your own perfect outdoor space.

1. Simple Lines Using Basic Materials

This lovely modern garden design uses simple lines and basic materials to create different garden spaces. In this design, the raised timber deck provides a nice neat edge between the white graveled areas.

These graveled areas are then separated from the flower bed using simple pieces of treated pine that are placed upright on one side. This forms a nice clean edging that does not detract from the overall design. You’ll also notice that the plants in the mulched garden bed are designed to form a screen between the back of the house and the decked seating area.

This is one of the most effective ways to create different garden rooms in your outdoor space.

2. Raised Deck With Blue Bricks

Here’s a similar idea that uses a raised timber deck to define the garden’s seating area. This time, the garden edging consists of blue bricks that are set into ground. The same blue bricks are used to enclose the bottom of the deck and also for the retaining wall of the raised garden bed.

This same color scheme is carried over to the fountain feature and also incorporated into the blue gravel that serves as a base for this.

3. Concrete Paving Stones

In this modern design, a low timber deck is used to define the seating area. You’ll notice that the turf goes right up to the edge of the timber. However, to separate the area from the rest of the garden, large concrete pavers are used on either side of the turfed area.

In addition, a slim, raised garden bed has been created using the same type of paving stones and filled with gravel. Then, to screen the area from the rest of the garden, some tall timber posts are placed upright in the gravel bed.

You could add even more interest to this design by placing some tall, square pots in between the timber posts and fill them either with a nice bushy plants, some colorful flowers or even some nice aromatic herbs.

4. Flat Concrete Edging

There’s no denying that this molded concrete edging provides a lovely modern look to the garden design. These days, there are machines available that can create lovely molded concrete edges around your garden beds and along the edge of your lawn.

The nice clean lines are further enhanced with the white gravel that tops the garden bed and the symmetrical plant growing in this bed.

5. Rendered Concrete Wall

Although not strictly a garden edging, this lovely modern rendered concrete wall does help to define different spaces in the garden. You could easily use the same idea to build a similar low concrete wall around your garden beds.

The beautiful blue raised garden bed adds another dimension and this too, could be incorporated into the edge of a garden bed.

6. Another Concrete Wall To Create A Separate Garden Room

Here’s a similar idea that uses a rendered concrete wall to create a separate garden room. You could build on this design by incorporating a garden bed behind the lower section of the wall and then, use the same type of wall around other beds in your garden or even to separate your lawn areas from the pathways.

7. Flowing Design Using Colored Stones And Molded Concrete Edging

You have to love the low-maintenance aspects of this modern garden design. The different sections are edged with molded concrete and then the garden beds are topped with different colored gravel or stone. You’ll notice that even the drain is edged with the same molded concrete.

This type of minimalistic design calls for simple plantings of low-growing shrubs and small trees to compliment the flowing lines of the different sections.

8. Large Concrete Planters And Limed Decking

This impressive ultra modern design uses large concrete planter boxes and limed timber decking to separate the different garden areas. The planter boxes are clean and neat and can be used to grow any type of plant that appeals to you.

The limed decking matches beautifully with the style of the outdoor space but also adds a touch of warmth. The modern aspect of this design is further enhanced by the gravel topped garden section that features just one solitary plant surrounded by large pieces of quartz.

9. Gravel And Bricks

You just have to love the simplicity of this modern edging style that separates the decking from the lawn. The bricks are laid into the ground adjacent to the lawn and then the space between the bricks and the decking is simply filled with gravel.

This type of design could be varied in so many different ways. You could use bricks in brighter colors or perhaps even red bricks. Then, swap the gray or bluestone gravel for white river stones.

10. Paving Stones And Gravel

Here’s another simplistic design that uses paving stones and gravel. You’ll also notice that the gravel section is separated from the lawn with a thin piece of timber which provides the edging.

The paving stones provide a neat path from the driveway to the front door and the gravel separates the pavers from the lawn and the simple garden bed next to the garage.

11. Use Tall Planter Boxes Instead Of Low Garden Beds

To add a more modern touch to your backyard, why not install tall planter boxes rather than having garden beds in the ground. This is a great way to separate your growing areas from your lawn and reduce the maintenance required to keep the grass out of the garden.

The large planter boxes are made simply from pieces of timber and then painted to compliment the outdoor furnishings. To add to the low-maintenance aspect, this design also uses large square paving stones to create definition in the outdoor seating area.

This idea is ideal for small backyard spaces and would also be great in a courtyard.

12. Simple Molded Concrete Edging

If you already have established garden beds and you’re frustrated because you have to spend all weekend keeping the grass out of the garden beds, why not consider installing some simple molded concrete edging.

Generally, this can be made onsite using a special machine and laid at the same time. It provides a nice clean edge between your lawn and your garden beds and doesn’t need any maintenance except to trim the grass back every time you mow.

13. Replace The Lawn With A Brick Pathway

Many people these days are replacing their lawn areas with brick, stone or concrete pathways and lovely large garden beds that are heavily mulched or covered with gravel. This basically eliminates the need for garden edging because the paths provide a nice separation between the garden beds.

If this is an option for you, consider drawing up a design on paper where you want the path to be and how large your garden beds will be. Do this before you rip up the lawn so that you’ll know exactly what to do next.

If you’re going to remove the lawn, it’s best to dig it up so that you can get most of the roots out. Otherwise, you’ll spend hours of your precious time removing the grass from your garden beds.

You might also want to lay down thick pieces of cardboard over the garden beds and cover these with a thick layer of mulch before you start planting. This will stop any remaining grass from making its way through. If you can leave your beds unplanted for a few weeks, you can easily spray any stray bits of grass that may try to grow.

During this time, you can lay the paved paths or hire a contractor to come in and do it for you. Then, it’s just a case of heading to your local garden center to select all the lovely plants you want to grow in your newly established garden beds.

14. More Paving Stones, Bricks And Gravel

Here’s another modern design that uses large paving stones, bricks and gravel to separate the lawn from the front entry of the home. Notice that the bricks are laid in a lovely straight line adjacent to the lawn to give a crisp and clean edge.

The rest of the bricks are then laid around the paving stones in what seems like a random pattern. Then, there are a couple of small garden beds that are also edged by the bricks and topped with gravel or white river stones. The only maintenance that would be required in this modern design is that the lawn would need to trimmed off the bricks every time it’s mowed.