Practical and pretty: This raised brick edge keeps loose material in the beds, nudges feet aside, and looks great in this traditional herb garden at Cranbrook House and Gardens in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
There are no plants surrounding these beds at the Detroit Zoo so there’s no reason to install a root barrier. Yet there is need for a foot barrier in a place so heavily trafficked. Weathered logs and dead branches are used because it’s readily available material that’s in keeping with the overall landscape, where wood from pruning or tree removal is used in exhibits as animal enrichment.
Metal can be longer lasting than plastic edging but it is just as likely to be forced up out of the ground if not set in well to begin.
Enjoy the look but don’t rely on small fence or edge sections to block weeds. Even if they are deep enough to thwart the adjacent lawn or groundcover, they’ll need help at the seams.