Garden beds and landscape in general have always used a few standard border materials around any given building. With the innovation of new technology and the abundance of recycled materials new products have come on the market. With this post we will talk about the standard landscape trim products and then we will get into the new products on the market that are really taking over.

Normal garden bed trim was traditionally made of three different materials. The most common being the green metal trim that is staked into the ground with metal stakes. The other two were custom molded concrete borders and stone/brick borders. The worst of all was the most popular metal trim. With the exposed corner of the metal sticking out of the ground at the edge of every garden bed and landscape feature it can be a very hazardous place for bare feet and dogs. With a dog my self and having to take care of stitches in his foot from a metal landscape trim injury, i know first hand the headaches.

When you are building your landscape out or even in the process of a renovation on your landscape you should always consider anything other than the metal landscape border option if not for your dogs feet then at least for your kids or even yours. Getting your landscape border made with stone or brick is an affordable long-term option that is less hazardous to people and animals. With that said it is also easier on people if it is custom concrete border but that is harder to install and in turn a higher cost. With the ease of installation for brick or stone trim you could warrant installation of that landscape trim yourself.

Getting the landscape border installed with brick or stone is nice and you have a few options to get to a finished product. With some bricks they interlock to make a uniform surface when you are finished. In other cases it may be that an interlocking pattern keeps them stationary, which is fine. Others might need a small amount of mortar to keep the seams together. This is also easier than it sounds just slap on mortar before you connect another brick or stone in the pattern and make the top level and nice. Only thing left to do is mix up the mortar before you start that is about the hardest part.

With a custom concrete landscape border you would be more than likely in the neighborhood of calling a professional custom concrete landscape border installation company. The company that does this on a regular basis has a machine that runs along the ground and he fills it with concrete. This machine basically leaves behind a predetermined shape of the landscape border when it is finished. This machine is a specialty machine and is not available to rent and is very expensive. This is the main reason the we would not recommend installing this type of landscape border by your self if you are a homeowner.

Now we get into new materials that have just recently become commonplace. with the integration of recycled rubber products you have the option to make a rubbery highly durable product that will not deteriorate like regular materials. This product is also people and dog foot friendly because it is made of rubber it is hard to cut your self on the edges. This product is colored through and through and will last for an estimated ten years without noticeable deterioration. This is great because it takes a waste product that would normally fill a huge tire dump and take decades to begin the decomposing process. This tires are ground up into small pieces the metal is removed and then they are colored. The material comes in different colors for your landscape border to be beautiful in any application. Then then colored material is pressed at a high temp and pressure into a mold. When it comes out of the mold it is ready to be installed in your garden for a long lasting beautiful effect.