How to Stop Grass Growth in Your Flower Bed Without Killing Your Flowers

When you notice unwanted grass living free in your flower beds, you might be tempted to spray some weed killer to treat the area. And while this may kill the grass, it will also destroy your flowers.

If you recently planted grass and some of the seeds ended up in the wrong place, or couch grass got in between your begonias, here’s how to stop the grass from growing in your flower beds (while still keeping your flowers alive).

How to prevent grass from growing in flower beds

Instead of killing the grass that ends up growing in your flower beds, you can prevent it from getting there. Here are some options :

1. Mulch flower beds
2. Plant groundcovers that shade the soil and act as a natural mulch.
3. Install landscape fabric
4. Create a barrier between lawn and flower garden using bricks, stones, or metal edging.

How to get rid of grass growing in flower beds

If you already have grass growing in your flower beds, here are a few ways to get rid of it:

1. Pull it out manually . It is time consuming, labor intensive and only a temporary solution, but the price is right.
2. Create a sun barrier . It doesn’t look good, but you can cover the grass growing in the flower bed with cardboard or black cling film to keep it out of the sun (and keep it growing). Leave it for a month to start, and then evaluate your progress.
3. Use a selective herbicide. If you really want to use a weed killer, choose a weed killer. The label should indicate which plant the herbicide is targeting, but if not, pay attention to the ingredients: Cletodim, Setoxydim, or Fluazifop-r will kill the grass but not damage the flowers and bushes.

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