How to Remove Grass From Flower Beds – Win the Battle Once and For All With These Simple Tricks

You’ve got your spring and summer flower beds growing nicely and what should appear but aggressive grass crashing the party. When I bought my first home a few years ago I wondered how to remove grass from flower beds, and I am here to share my secrets.

My front yard had two tiny little flower beds right up against the front porch and the lawn was rapidly encroaching on the plantings. I decided to remove the grass for a garden using the no-till method and plant a pollinator paradise.

However, much to my chagrin, simply removing the grass in the front didn’t mean that the neighbors’ grass on either side wouldn’t try to invade. The battle has been long and hard, but I finally won with the help of these methods. Keep reading to learn how to remove grass from your flower beds, too!

No-Till Removal

My personal favorite method of removing grass from flower beds uses some newspaper and mulch. Smothering grass is incredibly effective at eliminating large amounts of it in your flower beds. I have used this no-till method in my front garden to great effect; I killed my whole lawn and planted native perennials and annuals for my local pollinators. You can also use cardboard, paper grocery bags, or a product like Ram Board for the same process. Ram Board can be purchased from Amazon or your local hardware store.

Lay a few sheets of newspaper or a flattened cardboard box over the areas grass is growing and wet them with your garden hose. This will keep your newspapers from blowing away in the breeze. Then layer 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) of mulch on top and say bye-bye to the grass! Be sure to overlap your paper products so there are no gaps the grass can grow through. The grass will be smothered under the newspaper and mulch and break down into the soil.

Hand Weeding

It’s annoying, but if you have grass creeping into your flower beds in small amounts, hand weeding does a good job. Use a hand weeder or trowel to dig out the root system. If the roots are still underground, the grass will continue to grow and spread. A multipurpose hand weeder like this Corona one is available from Lowe’s and will make quick work of grass and other weeds.

Chemical Applications

If manual grass removal or smothering the grass doesn’t work for you, there are some commercial chemical options available for grass removal. Fertilome Over-the-Top II grass killer, which can be found on Amazon, is a selective herbicide that will not damage most other plants. It can be applied around vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, and other ornamental plants safely when applied correctly.

Safety Note: As with all chemical applications, always be sure to thoroughly read the directions, wear proper protective gear, and do not use it on a breezy day. Always keep humans and animals away from chemical applications until they have dried.

Preventive Barriers

Now that you have successfully removed the invading grass from your flower beds, it is time to keep it out! A preventive barrier is your best bet at continued control. First, cut a nice edge around your garden bed with an edging tool like this one from Garden Weasel, available on Amazon. This will give you a nice edge for your new border. Then you can install plastic or metal edging to ensure the grass doesn’t grow back into your beds. Lowe’s offers a flexible edging kit with long stakes to easily secure the edging. If steel landscape edging is more your style, Lowe’s also has that.

Fill in your newly bordered garden bed with some fresh mulch to keep your plants happy and keep other weeds at bay. Keep an eye on your beds throughout the year to ensure the aggressive grass isn’t growing under or over your landscape edging. Like all things in gardening, maintenance is key. Use your edging tool in the fall to give your border any necessary touchups to keep the grass back.

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