I’m always looking for affordable ways to uplift my garden (and my home!), so it comes as no surprise how happy I was when I found that gabion baskets are making a comeback. Many people see gabion baskets as simply functional building techniques.

However, recently, some major architecture firms have used gabions as innovative architectural elements in museums, hotels and private homes, making me want to think again about adding gabion baskets to my outdoor space.

What are gabion baskets?

Also known as gabions and gabion cages, gabion baskets are cages often filled with organic materials, such as gabion stones. Sometimes misspelt gabien basket, these cages are designed for civil engineering and landscape features.

There are many types of gabion baskets, from different materials to different sizes. For instance, gabion baskets by Mainland Aggregates are Galfan 3mm welded mesh cages suitable for low retaining walls, erosion control and landscaping projects. These come in various sizes to suit a variety of applications.

Ways to use gabion baskets

Wannabe Princess commented that gabion baskets “seem like a great way to incorporate natural features” into outdoor areas. You can do this by creating pond surrounds, perimeter fences, garden edges, gabion walls, gabion planters and much more with gabion baskets.

Originally, gabion baskets were first used as military fortifications. Later, Leonardo Da Vinci designed his own type of gabions called a Corbeille Leonard which he used for the foundation of the San Marco Castle in Milan. Today, gabions are mostly used for landscape and civil engineering applications.

Gabion baskets can be used for a variety of projects, from small landscaping features to large projects, such as being used as retaining walls to support hillsides. Architectural Digest shared that gabions were used to “fortify the entrance to the wine cave at Trinchero Napa Valley, giving it the look of a guarded vault.”

Why use gabion baskets?

Gabion baskets are affordable, maintenance-free, easy to install and long-lasting. As Simple Parenting says, gabion baskets can “seamlessly tie your home and your landscape together, stabilise the soil and prevent corrosion”.

Plus, there are many types of stunning gabion stones to choose from to fill gabion baskets, from Scottish gabion cobbles to polar white gabion cobbles and many more. So, you will be able to choose the right type of gabion stones to suit your outdoor space.