Garden edging separates parts of the landscape. It defines their borders. It can separate a garden from a patio, a lawn from a driveway, different parts of the same garden, outline a sidewalk, a garden bed, or a single tree. Modern edging can be created using a lot of different materials, with concrete, metal, wood, and gravel being the most common. It’s characterized by clean lines and geometric forms. This beautiful selection showcases some of the most creative edging ideas suitable for contemporary homes, backyards, and gardens.
On this page
- 1. Add Seating to Your Modern Edging
- 2. Embrace Weathered Wood
- 3. Combine Timber and Pebbles
- 4. Surround Garden Beds With Modern Beauty
- 5. Put Concrete Pavers To Work
- 6. Manicure Shrubs For Privacy
- 7. Create an Industrial Look with Black Concrete Blocks
- 8. Use Small Size Pavers to Create Curved Edging
- 9. Make A Statement With Painted Cinder Blocks
- 10. Install Pavers Vertically to Create a Modern Edging
- 11. Use Gabion Cages for Creative Edging
- 12. Create Two Different Edging Designs with the Same Brick
- 13. Use Large Rectangular Pavers For Curb Appeal
- 14. Line A Garden With Steel Edging
- 15. Make the Corten Steel Edging the Focal Point of Your Garden
- 16. Include River Rocks in Your Design
- 17. Build Modern Edging from Wood
- 18. Combine Corten Steel with Wood for Style and Convenience
- 19. Embrace Repurposed Wood Features
- 20. Combine Garden Globes with Gravel for the Most Modern Impression
- 21. Mix Metal and Concrete for a Contemporary Twist
- 22. Create a Luxury Garden Edging with Marble Tiles
1. Add Seating to Your Modern Edging
A curved stone edging wall complete with wooden seats complements the gorgeous stonework driveway. Wood and stones work wonderfully together, creating an eye-catching modern design. This is the perfect landscaping idea – protect the garden and offer a convenient seating option at the same time.
This edging design would be elegant without the wooden seats, but this extra feature gives it a more modern and contemporary vibe. It’s amazing what happens when you use different materials to create one outdoor look.
2. Embrace Weathered Wood
Repurposed wood blocks create handsome edging for a modern, unstructured look. Each imperfect block is staged side by side to create a framework for the small rock garden. A line of hard-working pebbles below creates one more protective layer and captures water that might make it through the wall.
This is the perfect example of how using multiple natural elements can create one extraordinary eye-appealing design that works hard but looks beautiful too. Dark mulch enhances the green ground cover. The rock feature and ornamental grass pull it all together.
3. Combine Timber and Pebbles
For those homeowners who need to prevent erosion, but prefer a minimalist, more modern look, this unique edging idea is perfect. Create a trough-like container made of timber. Fill the timber trough to the top with pebbles or landscaping rocks to create a strong, durable, and decorative edging. You’ll be basically building an elaborate retaining wall, to separate the higher and lower tiers of your garden. It’ll take time and consideration to build, but it may be quite worth it.
4. Surround Garden Beds With Modern Beauty
Creative modern design can be colorful with a touch of whimsy. It’s the multicolored brick pattern that adds eye-catching interest. Each garden bed is edged with a smaller gray brick creating a modern beauty that ties the overall theme together.
Each garden bed features special plants that will grow and mature as time passes. The circular stone pathway complements yet another wall a few steps away with a very different eye-pleasing, almost traditional personality. This two-for-one idea is a great example of how two distinct design styles come together to create one welcoming entrance. In this case, the green grass and plants tie it all together and encourage homeowners to think outside the designer box, one colorful brick at a time.
5. Put Concrete Pavers To Work
A paver edging creates a modern garden bed that sets the stage for hardy plants. This red gravel-filled bed is a unique design that offers contrast and color. This idea would work well in a lawn or garden that needs a special focal point. This is the perfect canvas for modern lawn sculptures, bird baths, or decorative fountains. This concrete paver design is a go-to for easily edging any space.
6. Manicure Shrubs For Privacy
This unique feature is a monochromatic edging idea that creates privacy. Multiple boxwood shrubs are manicured to frame this garden with modern might. As far as the eye can see this greenery creates a special border that welcomes you inside for a personal walking tour. No frill, no fuss, just a beautiful nod to nature. This idea could be created on a smaller scale, but still provide a big modern, visual appeal.
7. Create an Industrial Look with Black Concrete Blocks
This idea is inspired by the industrial modern age of garden design. Perfect for a person who has a very small lawn and a big passion for polished landscape design. Individual boxes made up of basic black concrete blocks, create exquisite foundations for colorful plants to thrive. This look features multiple boxed-out beauties but would be just as fabulous with one or two placed side by side next to a fence, gate, or another special spot.
Take a modern garden to the next level. Stack black concrete blocks to create unique edging for raised flower beds. Black is the perfect background for colorful flowers and foliage. The complementing gray gravel inside blends beautifully and adds the finishing touches. Experiment with different shapes and colors to blend in with your modern home and garden.
8. Use Small Size Pavers to Create Curved Edging
This sweet idea reminds us why opposites attract, even in the design world. Let your heart inspire your individuality and gather together elements that make you happy. In this instance, different-sized gray and yellow pavers swirl with smaller size paver edging creating an illusion of movement. It’s an out-of-the-ordinary pattern that helps the mulched bed stay within its borders while capturing the attention of those passing by. It also adds interest to a formerly bland and boring corner. Use this idea for inspiration for a space in your outdoor oasis, and add charm to your modern style.
9. Make A Statement With Painted Cinder Blocks
No lawn? No worries! Cinder blocks create the perfect spot for adding green to any area that is grass free. This idea might inspire you to create your very own concrete jungle. Simply build square and rectangular-shaped beds and paint them white for a perfect contrast with the dark grey rocks. Then fill them with potting soil or fertilized dirt. Plant hardy green trees, grasses, and other foliage to add a touch of beautiful nature to an unexpected area. This idea can be implemented anywhere from a public park, business storefront, or private home.
10. Install Pavers Vertically to Create a Modern Edging
If an area is sloped, uneven, or needs a tall edging to prevent erosion, creating different levels using cement pavers and crushed rocks is the way to go. Using matching color pavers and rocks creates a modern minimalist design. Each and every element is easy on the eye creating a natural flow that is as functional as it is beautiful. Manicured green shrubs coordinate with the nearby green lawn continuing the carefully designed landscape pattern. Gray rocks are always a perfect addition to any modern landscape because they add a contemporary feel.
You will need to get long rectangular pavers and bury them partially, in order for the edging to stand.
11. Use Gabion Cages for Creative Edging
This idea takes modern edging to the next level. Metal cages, called gabions are filled with oversized rocks and are traditionally used for preventing erosion on stream banks and places where steep slopes are common. Here, multiple gabions decoratively create a magnificent edging for a spectacular garden and driveway. White stone fills in the angular corners leading the way to the home’s entrance.
Gabions are available in different sizes, so if your needs are on a smaller scale, you can recreate a similar style, too.
12. Create Two Different Edging Designs with the Same Brick
Very few plants are common in the modern minimalist style garden. This amazing backyard design is proof that you can create a beautiful landscaping feature just using bricks and rocks. Can we really call this a garden? Maybe not. Can we call it a rock garden? Maybe. It’s a beautiful idea that is somewhere in between. The dark gray rocks create a canvas for the centerpiece – an oval-shaped garden bed edged with bricks and concrete. The overall space is framed with a geometric brick pattern that offers a clean edge. This is a nice contrast to a less is more design approach.
13. Use Large Rectangular Pavers For Curb Appeal
Achieve a spectacular curb appeal impact with tall vertical pavers, stacking them up like dominos. Large rectangular blocks and natural rock flow together to separate the lawn from the street level beautifully. Each block is perfectly scaled providing clean lines and exact edges for a majestic, modern look. The darker color landscaping rocks are chosen for a nice contrast. I wonder how did they make the pavers stay in place. I suspect they could be anchored under the soil.
14. Line A Garden With Steel Edging
Corten steel adds an unexpected look that lines and separates garden beds. This modern element not only adds an interesting color it provides a stunning and durable edging. Go all in and line the entire yard with metal or downsize the effect and surround the base of a tree or potted plant with a single border.
Whether you are looking for a contemporary setting or a re-purposed original, Corten steel will steal your garden show. Complement the look with a line of ornamental grasses and prevent weed growth using pebbles instead of mulch.
15. Make the Corten Steel Edging the Focal Point of Your Garden
This photo (above) is proof that corten steel, also called weathering steel, is a perfect option for modern garden edging. It provides such a clean and rich contemporary look. Thanks to its bright earthy color, it creates an eye-pleasing contrast with the white fence and greenery, especially with the purple lavender. The dark grey pebbles play an inconspicuous role in creating the perfect background for beautiful edging, flowers, and greenery.
16. Include River Rocks in Your Design
When you combine a mixture of Mother Nature’s wonders into your garden, magical things begin to happen. At first sight, they may not seem to work together, but when you mix corten steel, white rocks, river rocks, and oversized pavers together, the outcome is one breathtaking scene! Explore the types of materials you like and get inspired to create a unique, out-of-the-ordinary modern design by combining them in creative ways.
17. Build Modern Edging from Wood
The beauty of this idea is the minimalist design that uses natural wood, stone pavers, and limestones to create an absolutely elegant, architectural edging. The edging itself curves in and out, which is a flattering concept that could be applied in other ways. You’ll have to find a way to fasten the wood blocks into the dirt.
18. Combine Corten Steel with Wood for Style and Convenience
One of the most functional and modern-looking materials to use in an outdoor garden design is corten steel. It brings a warm and welcoming color that blends beautifully with nature. It is also easy to work with and with a bit of creativity and engineering can transform into beautiful outdoor delights like retaining walls, garden edging, water features, and planters. The ideas and possibilities are endless. Here it serves as a garden edging and the base of an outdoor bench. You get two for one here while it doubles as clever seating and an eye-catching element.
19. Embrace Repurposed Wood Features
Wood is the perfect material for creative modern-designed gardens. It naturally blends beautifully with other materials like metal, rock, and stone as well as flowers, and foliage. Create unique out-of-the-ordinary designs to separate and edge different areas. From walkways to flower beds to outdoor seating, wood is a go-to staple for a sophisticated, modern style.
The repurposed wood makes an especially great statement as it adds warmth and charm to any cold-looking concrete or stone setting. You can see that this particular front piece was repurposed from what probably was a barn. There are still spots visible where the cross beams used to be attached. And this makes it look authentic.
20. Combine Garden Globes with Gravel for the Most Modern Impression
Gravel is today’s go-to for everything from covering an entire grass-free yard, to creating walking paths to enhancing flower beds and gardens. Create a stunning focal point by lining different-sized round concrete balls along the center of gravel edging. This layering effect adds an interesting texture and creates a transition from a patio to the lawn.
BTW, this is not just any gravel. It’s actually Tumbled Lava Rock. Lava rock enhances the look of your edging with a classic spotted appearance.
The cement garden globes are my favorite feature. The combination of globes and grey gravel is why this garden edging design is immediately recognized as modern. They are the defining elements here. Remember modern landscape design is all about minimal features and geometric shapes and these stunning round adornments fit the bill.
21. Mix Metal and Concrete for a Contemporary Twist
Finding the perfect look for your modern-inspired landscape is easier than you might think. If the area you wish to enhance is sloped and needs a retaining wall, think of different levels and mixed materials to get the job done. For example, mix durable concrete blocks and metal sheets to create a gorgeous geometric wall that both edges the lawn and frames a bank full of hardy plants and rock features. Create a pathway with concrete stepping stones that lead to an outdoor deck. The sky is the limit with the uses for mixed media in an outdoor scene.
22. Create a Luxury Garden Edging with Marble Tiles
Large marble tiles are perfect for bigger areas creating an elegant, luxurious flow. This garden edging is tall enough to have built-in lights in it and a built-in bench. It separates a lush garden from the stone-clad patio. The marble color selected is very earthy and warm, making the entire patio more welcoming. A circular floor pattern created with stamped concrete is as modern and magical as can be. This magnificent landscape is the perfect way to enhance the backyard. Use this grandeur as inspiration to recreate on a smaller more intimate scale. It’s the beautiful elements combined that provide a modern feel.
