51 Pond Edging Ideas for a Beautiful Backyard Pond

by Tory Jon | Last Updated: January 01, 2024

Pond edging seamlessly blends the pond into the landscape around it (hiding and securing the liner and inner workings of waterfalls, skimmers, etc.).

It's one of those pond elements that you should know what you want and have a design laid out before adding.

Let’s look at 51 pond edging ideas to help you create a unique and beautiful backyard pond!

Pond Edging Ideas for All Pond Types

Small Pond Edging Ideas

With the right edging and landscaping, you can turn a small, boring garden pond into the envy of your neighborhood!

You'll notice the most visually pleasing designs incorporate a mixture of materials, like flat stones, gravel, plants, etc.

Tip: Click the image to enlarge it.

Large Pond Edging Ideas

One thing to remember with a larger pond is the amount of materials needed to edge around it. Depending on the size of your pond and your design, the price of materials can really add up quickly.

So, here are edging ideas for large ponds that fit all different types of budgets.

Natural Wildlife Pond Edging Ideas

The edging around wildlife ponds typically consists of more natural materials like plants, grass, gravel, or stones. This is opposed to using man-made materials like concrete or bricks to line the pond.

But, ultimately, the choice is up to you.

So, here are a few ideas for natural edging for backyard ponds.

Koi Pond Edging Ideas

Koi pond edging doesn’t necessarily differ from the edging of any other type of pond. But, some like to create a more zen or modern-looking pond to compliment their koi.

Another important consideration is that koi and other fish may eat any marginal plants you plan to incorporate along the outer shelf of your pond. This can be good if you have aggressive plants, as the fish will help keep their growth in check. But, it can also be an issue if you have plants you like for aesthetic and water-oxygenating purposes.

Raised Pond Edging Ideas

Even if you plan to design an above-ground or raised pond, you’ll want to consider the type of pond edging you use. Here are a few ideas using different materials like stone, wood, etc.

Preformed Pond Edging Ideas

Preformed pond liners are great for quickly and easily constructing a pond in your backyard. Check out our DIY guide on how to build a pond step-by-step, where we use a preformed liner as the foundation.

But, whether you use a preformed liner or another type of pond liner, you’ll want to seamlessly blend it into the landscaping around it with some edging.

Need more pond design inspiration? Check out these 48 cool backyard pond ideas to get those creative juices flowing!

Pond Edging Material Ideas

When applying landscape edging around your pond, you have many different options for the materials suitable for that specific type of environment.

Some of the more popular pond edging materials include:

Gravel
Stones
Pavers
Bricks
Plants
Concrete
Grass
Decking

If you want a more natural-looking pond edge, then gravel, plants, and grass are perfect for seamlessly transitioning your pond to the landscape around it.

Large edging stones create a dramatic-looking pond and are especially popular for creating beautiful waterfalls.

Concrete and brick ponds are low maintenance but require a bit of work and a typically higher upfront cost. These are especially popular choices for raised ponds.

Tip

Remember, you can always mix and match materials to really create a unique pond! For example, mixing a gravel edge with marginal plants, sprinkling in a few large stones, and even adding a deck that butts up to the pond is one of my favorite edging designs.

Stone Pond Edging Ideas

There are numerous examples of stone pond edging on this page, as it's an extremely popular edging material, but here are a few more for inspiration.

Gravel Pond Edging Ideas

Pond Edging With Plants Ideas

Pond Edging with Pavers Ideas

Concrete Pond Edging ideas

Concrete pond edge idea — verdell galeana / Shutterstock.com

Pond Deck Ideas

Check out our pond deck ideas and designs for more inspiration!