If you have an excessive supply of glass canning jars, drop some tea light candles into them to line borders or walkways. Likewise, these can also be filled with small, interesting items, such as seashells or vintage buttons.

How about implementing a bottle tree into the border instead? Simply hang the bottles from a small tree or use an old coat rack. Coat racks can also be used to hang birdfeeders and plants as well.

Even if you don’t live near the beach or have as seaside garden, you can still enjoy its peaceful atmosphere by putting all those carefully collected shells from past vacations into the garden. Seashells as edging for beds and borders can be beautiful. Use the larger ones as focal points throughout the inside border.

Using stone and rocks to create landscape and border edging provides you with freedom for creativity, as there are endless styles, shapes, and colors to choose from. Using pieces of old concrete is another way to liven up borders. They can be stacked like bricks to create natural-looking edging. You can even place plant pockets throughout for additional interest. Local dump sites are great places to find these throw-a-ways.

Take a walk in the woods or along rural roads and you’ll find a host of edging materials for the garden, from rocks to interesting logs. Use long and unusual looking branches from trees or shrubs. These can make wonderful borders and edging as well.

Damaged vintage plates can be given new life by setting them slightly in the ground to form unusual, yet interesting, garden edging.

Creative Types of Mulch

Add a bit of sparkle to your beds and borders with recycled tumbled glass. Tumbled glass works well for landscaping, especially in the garden. While this can be expensive, tumbled glass is definitely a conversation piece in any garden and can be used in several different ways. Tumbled glass makes excellent, colorful mulch in beds and borders. It can also be mixed in with other materials, like pebbles or gravels, and used in walkways and paths.

Although tumbled glass is available through many landscaping suppliers (at a hefty price), in some areas it may be offered free to the public through local recycling centers. Therefore, prior to running out and buying what you need, try checking out recycling centers in your own area. Hey, it never hurts to ask. Of course, there’s a strong likelihood that their tumbled glass won’t be as varied with regards to colors and sizes, but if it’s free, who cares. Tumbled glass, or even mosaic tiles, can be used in walkways, in stepping stones, or as creative edging around ponds and fountains or garden beds and borders.

Pottery shards can also make interesting mulch or border edging. These are usually available at garden supply centers for next to nothing. Alternatively, broken pieces of stone can be acquired and used much the same way.

An ordinary garden can be given the ultimate makeover, full of character and history, simply by using objects that can be found just about anywhere. You can even make use of your own personal items that are difficult to part with.