Edge of patio - help!

[Jubilee2012]

We are going to lay a new patio in our back garden. The layout is such that there will be a steep drop off edge on one side of the patio - which is obviously not safe or practical. Due to the size and area it would be a huge job to fill in the edge with soil or to try and bank it. Has anyone else had the same problem or can anyone suggest what we can do with this?
Many thanks in advance!

A fence - or steps?

Thanks AbsolutePleasure. The issue is that the boundary of our garden is only about one or two metres away from the edge of the patio - so to put a fence on the edge of the patio would look odd. The same with steps - the steps would simply lead to the fence for the perimeter of our garden.

Put your shed in the gap?

Terracing boarder

Shrubs that will grow up and then form a border around the patio. Grisilinia would be relatively fast growing.

I have a similar situation in my garden but the drop is quite small, 6 inches or so, I've been filling it with all sorts of plants and flowers and it's looking ok now :)

Depending on the size of garden, patio etc, could you do a kitewinder stair/s to create a set of steps?
Failing that, something large which looks like it is there on purpose, eg bike storage, rain butt, keep the barbecue there until needed etc.

Planters along the edge and shrubs in the gap behind

That’s really helpful - thank you v much everyone. I really like the idea of planters in the gap - thank you

What are people’s views of sleepers versus white rendered planters?

Sleepers need less maintenance. Personally I like my planters to not stand out so that the plants dominate. Cascading plants over the edge are nice.