You don’t have to settle for ugly black plastic to define your landscaping. While you’re at it, forget trudging around home improvement stores trying to find the perfect decorative border. You don’t have to wonder about whether the color is right for your home, figure the linear footage needed, decide whether you want stone or pavers or brick or concrete.

You don’t have to settle for ugly black plastic to define your landscaping. While you’re at it, forget trudging around home improvement stores trying to find the perfect decorative border. You don’t have to wonder about whether the color is right for your home, figure the linear footage needed, decide whether you want stone or pavers or brick or concrete.

Instead, pick up the phone and have an expert bring you a choice of 19 colors, 10 patterns, three textures, edging shapes and custom work. Red, green, rounded, angled, brick, stone? You decide, at your home and in your yard, what decorative border would look best. Professional installers make it happen, usually in one day. Border Creations, Inc. has installed more than 6,200 feet of curbing since April this year — a continuous concrete curb, custom colored and designed to match each customer’s home décor. The company has a motto, “Adding curb appeal … one foot at a time.”

Pete Summers and Eric VanDerWal, owners or Border Creations, explain how the process works. It’s simple: You decide where you want to edge your landscape and what you want it to look like ... then they make it happen. While you relax, Border Creations prepares the ground, digging a small trench to lay the curb. The concrete is then mixed on site, in Border Creations curbing trailer, and placed in the concrete machine. No large concrete truck will drive into your yard.

When the mix is ready, the concrete is shoveled into a professional curbing machine, which creates a continuous landscape border. Trained professionals use specially formed hand trowels to quickly smooth the concrete. While it’s still wet, the team makes owner-specified impressions and textures with stamping tools and rollers and other techniques.

“The crew lays about 15 feet and then reloads,” Summers says. “They’ll have it rolled and stamped by the time the next load gets here. There is no limit to shape. This border can go anywhere and do anything with any kind of curve.”

The concrete can also be laid in straight lines and angles.

“It can be installed at new construction or existing,” VanDerWal says. “It’s an excellent replacement for black plastic edging, wood landscape timbers, and unsightly metal edging.”

Borders can be created to look like single bricks, random stone, custom stone, cobblestones, tile pavers, flagstone and more.

“When we get a call for an estimate, the border is custom colored and designed to match the home,” Summers explains.

Justin Wright, a crew member guesses he’s laid seven to eight miles of curb per year. He’s been to class to learn the latest advances. VanDerWal and Summers believe their crew is top caliber. They know what they’re doing, work well together and get the job done right. The concrete takes two hours to set up and 28 days to cure. Don’t bother it for a week, is what Border Creations advises homeowners. But once it’s set, even if you hit a Border Creations edge, there is no risk of a piece of concrete popping out and leaving an ugly white chip showing – the color is solid.

Border Creations was purchased last fall by Summers and VanDerWal. Each has another business: VanDerWal owns Picture Perfect Lawns, and Summers owns Fairway Lawn Care, Inc.

Not sure what you want to do? “We have a beautiful portfolio of our completed work to view and help with decision making, as well as a list of addresses of jobs that can be viewed in person,” VanDerWal says. For more information or a free estimate, call Border Creations at 553-4320.