Lawn Curb A Battle On Devil Grass
Here is a suggestion for keeping that old devil, devil grass, out of the flower beds. It’s a simple cement curb, which any amateur can make.
In certain localities, Bermuda grass or devil grass, as it is most appropriately called by many people has been seeded in the lawn. Usually, if there is even one lawn seeded with this grass, in a matter of a few years an entire block will be taken over by the Bermuda. Most gardeners soon give up trying to fight it and let it run rampant.
One woman in San Jose, California, dug up her lawn two years in succession, planted flowers instead, seeded her lawn the third year with a Bermuda-free mixture. The following year she was already yielding ground to the Bermuda seeds blown into her lawn from one across the street.
Although the Bermuda makes a strong, thick lawn, choking out most weeds, its long roots have a tendency to choke out the flowers as well. For those of us who have Bermuda in our lawns and like to keep a border of flowers around the house, there seems to be one good solution to the problem. This is to make a flower curb to enclose the bed going all the way around the house.
The garden border or curb will not entirely eliminate your devil grass. It will, however, keep this satanic weed at a minimum and save hours of deep digging.
It is possible to get ready-mix cement for making the curb yourself. The ready-mix comes sacked in 60-pound packages, small enough for you to carry out to the car yourself and transport home from the local store. All you have to do is mix the cement with water in a wheelbarrow.
With the ready-mix, the cement work can be done at leisure, a little at a time during spare moments. To begin, have the flower bed as completely free of the devil grass as possible. Make a cement wall at least 3 inches deep and 6 inches wide below the lawn. The curb should be 3 inches wide and high, above the level of the grass.
If a 3-inch cement walk is made between the curb and the lawn, mowing and trimming will be simplified. It will also be an added obstacle for the grass, and will further discourage this pernicious pest from getting into the flower beds.
