How To Keep Grass Out Of Garden

grass growing among perennial plants — Grass is growing not just around this plant, but in between the stems, too. I may sacrifice some of the plant to get rid of the grass. Photo by Connie Oswald Stofko

by Connie Oswald Stofko

A gardener recently asked me how he could get grass out of his garden beds.

It's so difficult, he said, because when you pull up on the grass, you may think you've got it all, but the root just keeps going and going.

All I could do was commiserate.

I have stones lining my garden beds in an attempt to keep the lawn on one side and the garden beds on the other, but it doesn't work. The roots sneak under the stones. And if a single grass seed blows in there, it can take over.

The hardest part for me is when the grass grows in between the stems of my perennials. It's nearly impossible to remove the grass without destroying your perennial.

Many times I dig up a small part of the plant and remove all the grass, then replant it. I do that for other pieces of the plant until I run out of patience. Then I just get rid of the rest of the plant.

Is there a better way?

What have you tried? How do you keep grass out of your garden, remove it once it gets in there or deal with grass growing in the middle of perennials?

Please share your tip by leaving a comment below.

How to get your questions answered

Readers often contact me with questions that I can't answer. I'm not a gardening expert– I'm a writer by profession. I interview knowledgeable people in order to provide you with great articles onBuffalo-NiagaraGardening.com.

So when someone asks a question I can't answer, sometimes I post the question and rely on my readers to share their expertise.

Sending a question to me to post can be helpful if you're looking for a wide range of opinions and don't mind waiting for the answer. If you want to try this route, email the question to me at connie@buffaloniagaragardening.com and I'll pose it to my readers in an upcoming issue.

However,don't send me questions:

To find out what is wrong with your plant
To identify a particular plant or insect
If you need an answer quickly

To find out specific information like that, ask the Master Gardeners with Cornell Cooperative Extension or turn to your local garden center. They can give you the information you need.

If you're looking to buy a particular plant, it's best to contact garden centers directly. Every garden center carries different items, and what it has in stock changes throughout the year.

To find contact information for garden centers, you can:

Click on any of the ads on the emailed version of the magazine or click on the ads here on the Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com website.
The most complete list of gardening businesses is on our Gardening Directory.

And when you contact the garden centers, please let them know that you found them through Buffalo-NiagaraGardening.com!