Use Old Wine Corks To DIY A Garden Bed Border That Looks So Unique

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Corks are one of those items that feel a little too handy to simply throw away. However, if you're not sure how to repurpose wine corks around the house and garden, they can often end up collecting dust in your junk drawer until the right application comes along. Well, here it is! You can actually utilize old wine corks to create borders in your garden which are not only practical but also unique and visually interesting, too.

Borders are an important element of garden design for a variety of reasons. They can help keep unwanted grass sprouts and weeds from invading your flower beds or vegetable plots.  In addition, borders can help slow the erosion of garden beds, which is helpful if you've just spent a bundle on new soil or mulch and don't want to see all that washed away in the next rainstorm. While garden edging and borders can be made out of wood, plastic, metal, or bricks, used wine corks make for a great alternative that is both inexpensive and easy to install. In addition, because the corks come as single pieces, the locations and shapes you can use them in are almost endless. For example, they can be placed around a flower bed to separate it from a nearby lawn, or you can use them inside the garden bed itself to separate out different vegetable plots and help them grow independently. Finally, leftover wine corks usually have a lovely purple shade on one end, making them a great way to add a fun pop of color to your garden, even in the bleaker winter months. So, how can you do this in your own garden?

Crafting DIY borders out of old wine corks can be done a few different ways, depending on the state of your soil and the shape of your beds. If the soil is relatively firm or the garden bed butts right up to a walkway, then you can simply press the corks into the soil without worrying too much about them falling over. This option is handy because the corks can be put down one by one, meaning they can be used for corners, curves, or to bolster existing beds.

If, however, your soil is very soft and pliable, then the corks may need something to give them a bit of extra support. Try drilling a hole horizontally halfway down each cork and threading something like this Hillman galvanized hobby wire through each one. This will create a line of corks which you can then press down into the soil as the wire holds them upright, even where the ground is less solid. Just make sure to anchor the ends of the wire down to ensure that the corks are secure and won't float away in heavy rain. Also, make sure to only use natural corks because synthetic ones have plastics that can damage the soil and surrounding ecosystems. While natural corks are biodegradable, they typically take years to fully break down, meaning that your charming, unique garden borders will be in place for a good while yet. And if they do start to break down, then you can simply replace them with new wine corks around the garden as time goes on.