Edgings

Edgings are indispensable to neatness in gardening, except where parterres are cut out of a lawn, but more especially to separate gravel-walks from cultivated ground. They are sometimes made of stone, or of deal, of ornamental wire and cast-iron work, and very frequently now of terra-cotta tiles in elegant patterns. Living edgings are, however, always to be preferred where they can be adopted, because they are almost invariably most pleasing and characteristic of gardening. For this purpose many low-growing evergreen shrubs are used in Britain, such as dwarf box, Cotoneaster, Pernettya, Erica, ivy, and latterly some remarkably neat and pretty dwarf Veronicas from New Zealand. Among herbaceous plants commonly used for edgings may be noted double-flowered daisies, thrift or sea-pink, gentianella, saxifragas, and many others which when in flower are highly beautiful. The only drawback in connection with these is that they require frequent, almost annual renewal. Turf-edgings are sometimes employed for wide flower-borders.