How to Landscape to Eliminate Weed Eating

Dig a trench along landscaped areas to act as a separation between plants or mulch and grass. Put on gloves to protect your hands while working. Cut a straight edge along the border of the lawn with the blade of the hoe to define where you will dig the trench.

Pull dirt toward you, using the hoe, from the straight edge so that it forms an angle of around 45 degrees. Remove small amounts of dirt at a time until you have a trench at the desired depth. Use a trench that is 4 to 6 inches deep as a rule of thumb. Run your mower along the edge of the trench to cut the full area of your lawn with no need for a weed eater.

Extend landscaping to eliminate grass altogether. Kill the grass in one of several ways - either skim the grass off the surface with a shovel, cover it with a dark colored tarp until it dies. A quicker but toxic alternative is to spray the lawn with a liquid herbicide, such as glyphosate. For the spray, add 2.3 ounces of glyphosate to 1 gallon of water in a garden sprayer. Place the lid tightly on the spray tank and shake to mix. Spray the mixture over the grass to kill it. Allow the tarp or herbicide to work for several days to a week, and reapply spray if necessary to achieve complete die back. Read the herbicide's warnings and ensure children and pets are not in the area. Allow at least 7 days following the last application of glyphosate before installing new landscape plants or allowing children or pets into the area.

Rake or shovel the dead grass, if desired, and add landscape plantings to the area, preferably plants native to the area because they will compete the best with weeds. Cover the area with a 3 inch thick layer of mulch such as wood chips or pine needles to keep weeds choked out.