Bermuda grass is the most invasive plant on earth. Nothing you plant as an edger will keep it out, except maybe a concrete barrier 2' deep and a foot tall. I had some bermuda grass grow up behind the siding on my garage, grow up through the wall and come out of the light switch by the door. I've pulled bermuda runners out that were 10' long. I have a 36" wide path around my rose garden, and bermuda growing outside the path. Around the north side of the garden I have a retaining wall 2' high. Bermuda runners grew under the path and came up in the garden mulch. Anything you plant won't stop bermuda, the grass will just come up in the middle of it. That concrete barrier I mentioned, it won't spread, but it's not guaranteed to stop bermuda grass either. Cheryl

Overly hopeful I guess? I know! Bermuda grass is evil in plant form.

I grow variegated liriope as an edger around some of my beds, and it has proved to be pretty non-aggressive, has gotten bigger but doesn't spread. It's been there for some 10 years so far.

I agree, Bermuda is evil. It will actually come up in a concrete drive, not sure if it takes advantage of cracks or makes them. I believe the latter.

Not sure about competing with the bermuda grass, but what about dianthus? (No idea how it does in your zone, of course)

how about lambs ears? At least you can see the grass easily to pull it. I grow a bigger leaf variety that doesn't spread quite so much. Helene Von Stein is the variety. Does not flower, either!

Dianthus do well here, and I've found a source of plugs. I'm also considering Carex 'Evergold' as an option for the shadier beds. Mind you, I have lots of really big flower beds so this will be an ongoing process. I can't afford hardscape or plants to edge them all right now.

As soon as I install an edge I'll want to change the size or shape of the bed, which is another reason I've held off.

Thanks for the recommendations.

herblady49 posted a message in the Potager forum with pictures of several herbs that she uses to edge her gardens. They all look lovely. After you see the initial pictures keep scrolling and see the santolina edging picture that is lower down in the thread.That is gorgeous too. Here's the link

Here is a link that might be useful: Edging Thread

Oooooh, I really like that! The sage would be a viable option here, and I love cooking with it. The homemade seed tape gave me an idea, and I think I'm going to order a box of paper tape (it's made for first aid kits and is thin with a low tack adhesive) and make some for lettuces and such. I'll try it out and post the results here.

Thanks for all the ideas so far!

Jennifer

Next year I'm going to try lots of different border/edger plants using homemade seed tapes, which I'll get ready this winter. I'll keep you posted. I found a blog with an excellent tutorial on making seed tapes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nice Seed Tape Tutorial