I've used untreated pine 2x4s in Houston to keep out Bermuda. Just a simple 2 board border wall on all sides (so about 8 inches in height) - used nails about 6-7 inches in length put down through the top. Drill starter holes to keep the boards from splitting and the nails from shooting out the sides. They didn't look great but they lasted for years, are cheap, lightweight and uniform, and kept out the Bermuda. Eyeball the 2x4s to make sure they are as straight as possible, used screws to join the wood where the grass might shoot through runners. I built some simple jigs to hold the boards in place so I could drill/nail them. Built the jigs out of 2x4 as well. Just make sure you shallow trench the border before you lay down the 2x4 walls, that should be all it takes to keep out the Bermuda.

cheers,
J

at kew,i noticed they dug a rather deep and wide running border around the formal beds.i'm sure it was in the initial stages of what was to be...but the concept rang a bell when i read your question...try the same thing.it was deep,round 6"and5"across.don't know what they filled it with...some kind of decorative deterant of life.

Thanks for the suggestions...I appreciate any help I can get! I spent more than $100 on recycled rubber w/fakish mulch on top. A disaster. That Bermuda grows through everything. This time, I've gotta dig down, I think.

geoju, you describe a worst case scenario; Bermuda grass on sand, adjoining beds. There are two deterrents to Bermuda grass; shade and barricades.

To enhance shade in the beds, amend the soil physical properties in the beds to achieve a deep active root zone. This will allow you to closely space plants selected for their shade value. Success will be had when the plants block all sun from the soil level.

Barricades can be effective where the soil is a dense clay. On sand Bermuda grass can reach depths of two feet to find a way under a barricade. Bermuda grass will also find it's way through even small breaks in a barricade. Few will find it practical to go that deep with a barricade. Barricades of less depth can be more effective if the Bermuda grass is kept very short at three quarters to one inch in height, where the grass will need and develop only a shallow root depth to sustain itself.

Few barricades work as well as poured concrete. Were it me, I would consider a 3.5 inch thick by 16 inch high concrete barricade with 12 inches below ground, 4" above. A piece of rebar in the concrete will keep the concrete tightly together where cracks occur. This can be a DIY project.

Thank you, PLS. Someone on here posted a pic with a concrete border, and it was very pretty. Last year I went through bottles and bottles of weed/grass killer and bags and bags and BAGS of mulch. That *(#)@* Bermuda doesn't have many enemies. My beds are so large and irregular it's an impossible job left for us from our landscaper. I'll definitely give your suggestion of planting close together a lot of thought. I'd much rather do that than keep pouring poison in my beds! Thanks again

This was before: and in summer, lot's of trimming and difficult mowing.
{{gwi:9688}} after tken in winter and not quite finished{{gwi:9689}}
Before:taken for frost this winter:{{gwi:9690}}After taken yesterday:{{gwi:9691}}

Susieq07 - nice job! I copied the photos to show DH that things *can* both look nice and be low-maintenance. Did you have the concrete custom finished, or was that all pre-poured?

This curbing is mixed on the back of the big truck, and laid down with a machine, as seen on pic. here, one guy shovels the mix in and one runs the machine, it only took these guys about and hr. and a half to do 5 trees and the fencing, we have our entire home done this way all around and a huge berm/island too, there is fiberglass mixed into the concret mix for strength, and it comes in other colors.
Pic. of men working:{{gwi:9692}}
pic. of rear of our home, before these trees were done.
{{gwi:9694}}
P.S. We got the 5" wide you can get different widths..