It seems that getting our lawn to grow how we want it to can be a struggle, but getting grass to grow where we don’t want it is easy. Having grass pop up in the flower bed seems to be one of those things that happen in our yards with very little effort. So, if your beds are starting to look more like a lawn, then here are some ideas on how to prevent grass from growing in flower beds that could help. Let’s take a look.
Stopping Your Lawn from Entering Flower Beds (The Short Explanation)
To prevent grass from growing in flower beds, you need to create either some form of barrier that the grass can’t get past or you need to maintain the edge of the grass. These methods can include landscaping features such as edging and curbing, mulch and membrane, herbicides, and the use of tools such as edgers and weed eaters.
Best Way to Stop Grass Growing in Garden Beds (In My Opinion)
Now, my yard has taken years to get to the stage it’s at now. When I first started it, one of the things that would always bug me was grass continually growing in my flower beds. I wanted to find the simplest method that didn’t include having to carry out expensive landscaping projects.
So, I first looked at the different maintenance methods I was already carrying out. This is something that everybody can look at, even if you look after your own lawn or you hire somebody to take care of it for you.
Let’s go over how to prevent grass from growing in flower beds.
Edging the Lawn
The easiest way for grass to grow in your flower bed is to allow it to spread from the lawn. Lots of lawn grasses here in the United States, like St. Augustine and Fescue, not only grow upwards, but they also grow outwards. This is because they both have what we call runners.
These are parts of the grass that spread across the soil to increase the size of the plant, find more nutrients, and search for more water. Therefore, edging is a vital part of keeping your lawn grass out of the flower bed. A weed eater or an edger will cut back these runners and stop the grass from spreading out into the flower beds. This is just one of the benefits of edging your lawn.
Now, we can leave the conversation about weed eater v edger for another day, but the edger is really the best for cutting through and stopping any unruly runners.
Watching where the Grass Clippings Go During Mowing
I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to getting grass clippings in the flower bed. Now, this isn’t a problem if it’s just clipping, but if you happen to be shooting seed heads and a few runnings into the beds, then they will more than likely grow. So, I try to be more aware of where my lawn mower’s chute is pointing when I’m mowing.
Avoid Weed Whacking into the Flower Bed
When I weed whack, most of the clippings head straight for the flower bed. Typical. So, just like mowing, this potentially shoots seeds and runners into the bed. If I slightly alter the way I hold my weed whacker, the clippings fall onto the lawn instead.
Also, if you mow before weed whacking, then there is less grass that could be heading into the flower beds. Now I’m not a pro, but I do try my best to use my string trimmer like a pro.
Blowing Off Grass Clippings
Ok, so the last item I focus on when trying to find the best way to stop grass growing in garden beds is to blow all the clipping out of the flower bed. Now, this isn’t going to get every seed out of the flower beds, but it will definitely get the runners.
Always take your time when blowing out the flower beds. If I were to count how many times I’ve skipped on blowing out the flower bed because there was either a game on TV or it looked like it was going to rain, I would definitely need more than one hand to count on. Well, not anymore.
After I found a runner from the lawn taking root under a bush, I now make sure I take my time and do it every time. If there is a game on, then I’ll mow the day after.
How to Prevent Grass From Growing in Flower Beds (4 Additional Methods)
I have told you about the maintenance techniques I use, but what about the landscaping methods? Well, as my yard evolved, I started to incorporate a few different landscaping ideas, which really made an improvement in preventing grass from growing in my flower beds. Here are some ideas that you can use if grass growing in your flower bed is becoming a problem.
Decorative Curbing & Edging
An easy way to stop the edges of the lawn from growing into the flower beds is to install either some edging or some curbing. These landscape structures form a barrier that most lawns just can’t get past.
Mulch & Rocks
Grass needs dirt, water, and sunlight to grow in your flower beds. Mulch, rocks, pine straw, bark, and even rubber cubes are all different landscaping materials that can form a barrier between the grass and all the elements it needs to survive. So, a couple of inches of mulch is enough to take away the potential home that new grass is looking for.
Landscaping Membrane
Mulch and other materials in flower beds are a great way to prevent grass from sprouting up in your flower bed, but landscaping membrane is a level above. Membranes are sheeted materials that make a complete barrier between the soil and the surface above.
So, even with rock or mulch, runners and seeds can work their way down to the soil. If you have a membrane as a barrier, then the soil just isn’t accessible.
Plants & Shade
Another option to deter sprouting grass is to take away its sunlight. I had an area in my yard where grass would always try to pop out of a flower bed. Rather than using mulch, I decided to plant several plants that would grow and form a canopy over the soil and block out the sunlight. Now I have a flower bed full of hibiscus and no more new grass.
Things to Be Careful of When Trying to Stop Grass from Entering Flower Beds
So, the grass growing in flower beds could be looked at as a weed. Therefore, you could treat it as a weed. A go-to method for most people when it comes to weeds is to use an herbicide like Round-Up. Now, this is ok for that grass that is growing far from the lawn, but not for the grass growing close to the edge.
I discovered the hard way that spraying the grass growing close to the lawn edge can damage the lawn. It turned out that there was a runner under the dirt connecting both the lawn grass and the grass in the flower bed, and the herbicide spread to my lawn. I should have used an edger to cut the connection before spraying. So keep this in mind if you go the herbicide route.
Leave a Reply