A New Use For Used (And
Broken) Tile
By Eileen Church
Have you ever heard of using tile in your garden? Here are
some ideas of how to "recycle" your used and broken tile.
The edging of a garden is almost as important as the garden itself. It's
like a picture frame. The picture can be interesting and beautiful, but it needs
a frame to really enhance its appearance.
There are many different types of garden edgings. Many people prefer to use
something heavy and permanent, like a low brick wall, or rocks set together with
mortar. However, not everyone is physically capable of creating such a
structure.
Bricks set freely can be just as effective. They can be placed in a simple
line, end to end, or stacked in a double row, with gaps in between. They can
also be set diagonally, leaning against each other for support.
Another attractive idea is to decorate short lengths of board with old
tiles. Tiles can often be purchased very cheaply from re-cycling places. Glue
your choice of tile along the board using an outdoor glue. On each end of the
board, tack a peg with one end pointed. This will be used to push into the soil
to support your board and keep it off the ground.
Bush rocks are another easy idea to give your garden that finished look.
They need not be too big, unless you have plenty of muscle or help. You may be
able to gather rocks from a friends farm, or from the bush if that is legal in
your area. Otherwise, garden suppliers usually have plenty to choose from.
Yet another idea is to create a living edging. Choose a plant that will be
suitable for your climate and conditions. The pretty pink of alpine phlox is an
attractive border and the plants can be divided and planted again and again.
Many other plants can be propagated in this way, thus reducing the initial
costs. Of course, your border will take a little more time to get established
than if you bought all the necessary plants at once.
Gazanias are another hardy border plant that can be divided many times.
Bulbs might seem like a good choice too, but remember that they will die down
and leave your borders looking messy for ages. Also, they remain dormant for at
least six months, so if you plant anything else there you risk damaging the
bulbs. Of course, you can dig them up and replace them with something else, but
you may prefer a more permanent border edge to save on the workload.
If you have a larger garden, comfrey is a plant to consider using for an
edging plant. Its thick growth habit will prevent any grasses intruding into the
garden, and the leaves can be pulled for excellent mulch around roses or other
plants. It has delightful, dainty flowers in season too. However, a small garden
could be overwhelmed by more than one comfrey plant.
In a small garden attractive annuals like sweet alice, pansies, violas or
petunias make great borders. For something a bit different, try an herb border.
Then you can go out and pick your herbs any time you want. Chives have a crisp
green color that would make your garden sparkle while strawberries will entice
the kids out into the fresh air to have a healthy snack.
Some people prefer to simply bevel an edge around their garden with the
shovel. This is a good option if your lawn has the sort of grass with runners,
like kikuyu. Those runners can be kept under control by chopping them off every
so often with the edge of the shovel.
Whatever option you choose, it will enhance your garden to have a beautiful
edging.
Eileen Church is the webmaster at
http://cttile.com and loves the almost unlimited versatility and beauty of
tile. Please visit
http://www.cttile.com for some great resources about tile.