Added a grid.margin option

API.txt

@@ -667,6 +667,7 @@ Customizing the grid
     aboveData: boolean
     color: color
     backgroundColor: color/gradient or null
+    margin: number or margin object
     labelMargin: number
     axisMargin: number
     markings: array of markings or (fn: axes -> array of markings)
@@ -694,6 +695,17 @@ You can turn off the whole grid including tick labels by setting
 "show" to false. "aboveData" determines whether the grid is drawn
 above the data or below (below is default).
 
+"margin" is the space in pixels between the canvas edge and the grid,
+which can be either a number or an object with individual margins for
+each side, in the form:
+
+  margin: {
+    top: top margin in pixels
+    left: left margin in pixels
+    bottom: bottom margin in pixels
+    right: right margin in pixels
+  }
+
 "labelMargin" is the space in pixels between tick labels and axis
 line, and "axisMargin" is the space in pixels between axes when there
 are two next to each other.

NEWS.txt

@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ Changes:
 
 - Tick generators now get the whole axis rather than just min/max.
 
+- Added processOffset and drawBackground hooks (suggested in issue 639).
+
+- Added a grid "margin" option to set the space between the canvas edge
+  and the grid.
+
 Bug fixes
 
 - Fix problem with null values and pie plugin (patch by gcruxifix,

jquery.flot.js

@@ -122,6 +122,7 @@
                     backgroundColor: null, // null for transparent, else color
                     borderColor: null, // set if different from the grid color
                     tickColor: null, // color for the ticks, e.g. "rgba(0,0,0,0.15)"
+                    margin: 0, // distance from the canvas edge to the grid
                     labelMargin: 5, // in pixels
                     axisMargin: 8, // in pixels
                     borderWidth: 2, // in pixels
@@ -1023,12 +1024,20 @@
         function setupGrid() {
             var i, axes = allAxes(), showGrid = options.grid.show;
 
-            // init plot offset
-            for (var a in plotOffset)
-                plotOffset[a] = showGrid ? options.grid.borderWidth : 0;
+            // Initialize the plot's offset from the edge of the canvas
+
+            for (var a in plotOffset) {
+                var margin = options.grid.margin || 0;
+                plotOffset[a] = typeof margin == "number" ? margin : margin[a] || 0;
+            }
 
             executeHooks(hooks.processOffset, [plotOffset]);
 
+            // If the grid is visible, add its border width to the offset
+
+            for (var a in plotOffset)
+                plotOffset[a] += showGrid ? options.grid.borderWidth : 0;
+
             // init axes
             $.each(axes, function (_, axis) {
                 axis.show = axis.options.show;