The 29 Best Edging Plants for Your Garden

Creeping Thyme (Thymus spp.)

• Zones: 2 to 9
• Water: Keep plants moist
• Soil: Sandy, well-draining
• Light: Full or partial sun

Creeping thyme has a low growth profile that spreads beautifully for ground cover in your garden. The flowers—in shades of pink, purple, and white—appear in late spring to summer, but the plant's tiny blue-green leaves are lovely all season long.

Coral Bells (Heuchera)

• Zones: 4a to 9a
• Water: Keep soil moist
• Soil: Rich, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

"This is a great option for filtered sun spots and comes in a variety of colors," says Cate Singleton, director of design at Tilly, an online landscaping design company. "I like to use a mix for cottage aesthetic, or stick with the lime green or dark purple options for a more modern look. The large leaves add great texture to the borders of the landscape beds."

Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

• Zones: 4 to 9
• Water: Prefers moist soil, but drought tolerant
• Soil: Well-draining
• Light: Full sun to full shade

This hardy perennial can handle everything from full sun to full shade, and is drought tolerant, too. It's a low-growing vine that produces blue, purple, or white flowers throughout the spring and summer.

Begonia

• Zones: 9 to 11
• Water: Keep soil lightly moist
• Soil: Loamy, well-draining
• Light: Partial or full shade

This shade-loving plant is perfect for borders, adding a pop of long-lasting color from their blooms. You can grow them as perennials in zones 9 to 11, or as annuals elsewhere.

Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera)

• Zones: 5 to 9
• Water: Requires weekly watering when first planted and can handle drought once established
• Soil: Rich, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

Consider creeping phlox the perfect filler plant for your borders and edges, as it grows to fill in and cover spaces with its bright green foliage and pretty pink, purple, and white blooms from spring into summer.

Angelina Sedum (Sedum rupestre Angelina)

• Zones: 5 to 9
• Water: Regular watering after planting, but drought tolerant once established
• Soil: Moist, well-draining
• Light: Full or partial sun

"This is a favorite of mine for the hotter climates," Singleton says. "The lime green color really adds a good pop to the edge of the landscape beds, while the foliage provides lots of texture. This is great cascading over walls, in rock gardens, and spreads well to fill in space in the garden."

Irish Moss (Sagina subulata)

• Zones: 4 to 8
• Water: Keep soil moist
• Soil: Sandy, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

This lush, emerald green ground cover can handle some foot traffic, making it a perfect pick for the edges of your garden. Don't let the name fool you—since it's not a real "moss," it needs full or partial sun to thrive. Irish moss is a bit like Goldilocks when it comes to watering—aim for a happy medium that keeps the moss moist, but not too dry or too wet.

Liriope (Liriope Spicata)

• Zones: 4 to 10
• Water: Regular watering when first planted, but drought tolerant once established
• Soil: Sandy, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

"While this may be overused a bit, it is a great bulletproof option," Singleton says. "It looks great as a border on more formal garden design and can be mixed in with daylilies for an eclectic look."

Hellebores (Helleborus spp.)

• Zones: 3 to 9
• Water: Keep moist, but avoid overwatering
• Soil: Moist, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial shade

These pretty shade plants produce beautiful blooms in the spring, making them the perfect edging plants for under a tree or in other areas where you don't get much light. They're also incredibly low maintenance, requiring just regular moisture and occasional cleanup.

Strawberry Plants (Fragaria x ananassa)

• Zones: 5 to 10
• Water: Water weekly
• Soil: Rich, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

Who says your border can't be beautiful and delicious as the same time? Strawberry plants make an ideal edging plant for an edible garden—or even a flower garden. You'll find varieties that flower and fruit in the spring, and everbearing ones that'll produce blossoms and fruit all season long. While the white flowers are most common, you can also find them in shades of pink as well.

Impatiens (Impatiens spp.)

• Zones: 10 and 11
• Water: Keep moist
• Soil: Rich, well-draining
• Light: Partial to full shade

These pretty, long-lasting flowers add a touch of brightness to shady spots in your garden border. They come in red, pink, coral, yellow, purple and white, and are an easy-care option that's usually served up as an annual in most of the country.

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

• Zones: 3 to 8
• Water: Keep soil moist
• Soil: Moist
• Light: Partial to full shade

This spring-blossoming native plant produces pretty blue blooms in spring. Plant them in the shady spots of your borders—they'll thrive under a tree, for instance.

Marigolds (Tagetes spp.)

• Zones: 2 to 11
• Water: Water regularly when first planted
• Soil: Moist, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

These boldly colored flowers are a time-honored annual to plant in gardens, as they will bloom all summer and into fall. (Just make sure you deadhead the plants regularly to keep the blooms coming.)

Bonus: Planting marigolds as a border around vegetable gardens and other plants that regularly get munched on by critters can help deter wildlife from snacking on your favorites.

Zinnias (Zinnia elegans)

• Zones: 3 to 10
• Water: Drought tolerant
• Soil: Well-draining
• Light: Full sun

Finding edging plants that bloom beautifully for dry climates can be difficult, but zinnias, with their bright, long-lasting blooms will be a welcome addition. Look for more petite varieties like Dreamland or Thumbelina that are the perfect size for your garden borders.

Dianthus (Dianthus)

• Zones: 3 to 10
• Water: Water when soil is dry
• Soil: Well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

Carnations and "pinks" are part of this family of popular edging plants, which feature ruffly blooms in an array of colors in the spring or summer. Carefully note the fully grown size of the varietal before you buy, as some can grow up to 3 feet tall—which may block other plants in your border from view.

Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides)

• Zones: 10 to 11
• Water: Keep soil moist
• Soil: Rich, well-draining
• Light: Partial sun

If you're looking for colorful foliage, the coleus plant will be the perfect addition to your garden border. While it can produce tiny blue blooms, it's the showstopping foliage that makes this a must-plant.

Catmint (Nepeta spp.)

• Zones: 4 to 8
• Water: Water regularly when first planted, but drought tolerant after established
• Soil: Well-drained
• Light: Full or partial sun

If you tend to be a black thumb in the garden, catmint may be your chance to have something thrive. These plants create a vibrant garden border, with blooms in shades of pink, purple, or white all summer long, and require little to no watering or upkeep once they're established.

Petunias (Petunia spp.)

• Zones: 10 to 11
• Water: Weekly watering when rain isn't forecast
• Soil: Moist and well-draining
• Light: Full sun

These uber-popular, trumpet-shaped flowers make an ideal and versatile edging plant for your flower garden. It comes in an array of colors, and blooms all summer long. (Just deadhead regularly to keep the flowers coming.)

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

• Zones: 5 to 9
• Water: Water weekly, with additional waterings during dry and hot weather
• Soil: Moist and well-draining
• Light: Full or partial sun

Alyssum has a particularly apropos common name—blanket flower. It grows very low to the ground and creates a sea of white, pink, or purple flowers in the spring and fall.

Lavender (Lavendula spp.)

• Zones: 5a to 9a
• Water: Water when first planted; drought tolerant once established
• Soil: Dry, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

For your sunniest borders, this perennial favorite produces fragrant blue-purple blooms all summer long. Lavender prefers dry soil and is drought tolerant once it's established.

Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.)

• Zones: 3 to 10
• Water: Water regularly for the first year, then only during dry spells
• Soil: Loamy, rich soil
• Light: Full to partial sun

Daylilies are an easy care perennial that come in a veritable rainbow of colors to brighten up garden borders all summer. Pop these in your sunny edges—and watch the floral fireworks happen as bloom after bloom opens, each for just a single day.

Dahlias (Dahlia spp.)

• Zones: 8 to 10
• Water: Water deeply once or twice a week
• Soil: Loamy, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

These sun-loving and bold blooms make lovely edging plants. (They're perennial in the hottest parts of the country, and annual elsewhere.) They'll add bright, bold color from the summer into the fall.

Ferns

• Zones: 2 to 10
• Water: Needs about an inch of water per week
• Soil: Rich soil
• Light: Partial to full shade

This native plant can add a lot of visual interest to your partial-shade borders, with their feathery fronds. They're perfect placed under a tree, as they generally grew under them in forests.

Astilbe

• Zones: 4 to 8
• Water: Keep plants moist
• Soil: Well-draining
• Light: Full sun to full shade

Astilbe are famous for their feathery, plume-like flowers in shades of red, pink, purple, and white. They're easy to grow, making them an ideal border flower choice if you're not a gardening pro.

Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)

• Zones: 4 to 8
• Water: Water regularly when first planted, then drought resistant once established
• Soil: Loamy
• Light: Partial to full shade

If you want edge plants that look beautiful all year long, the evergreen Japanese spurge will keep its foliage, even during a harsh winter. You'll see tiny white flowers on it in the spring.

Verbena (Verbena x hybrida)

• Zones: 8 to 11
• Water: Water regularly when first planted, then drought tolerant
• Soil: Moist, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

Verbena is planted as an annual in the northern states, but can be perennial in zones 8 to 11. Its tiny blossoms appear from spring into fall, and come in an array of colors.

Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina)

• Zones: 4 to 9
• Water: Drought tolerant
• Soil: Well-draining
• Light: Full to partial sun

If you're looking for a fast-growing, fast-spreading ground cover for your garden borders, lamb's ear may just be what you need. These plants features velvety, silver-hued leaves and purple flowers in the spring ad summer.

Hosta

• Zones: 3 to 9
• Water: Keep soil moist
• Soil: Loamy, well-draining
• Light: Full to partial shade

This pretty perennial features dramatic foliage and tiny purple blooms—and maintains a compact shape that's perfect for your garden borders.

Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora)

• Zones: 2 to 11
• Water: Drought tolerant
• Soil: Sandy, well-draining
• Light: Full sun

These succulents produce gorgeous red, pink, orange, yellow, and white blooms all the way from early summer until frost. Moss roses are perfect to brighten up arid areas as they're extremely drought tolerant.