You need to remove the metal edging. Kimmsr is correct, there is no effective barrier. Any form or artificial edging will just give you a false sense of security. you then need to cut in a deep v shaped trench along the line in your photo. Hand weed out the grass in the tree bed. Religiously maintain your cut edge to the lawn. Trim it once a week without fail, preferably with sharp long handled lawn edging shears. Here is a link that might be useful: Bahco Lawn Edge Shears

Munkos, I didn't mean to be so touchy. I think that's a sore subject w/ me; I really mind that I have so few friends. I'm the one who would gladly go help a friend make shelves, anchor them to the walls, fix the caulk, etc. But I don't even have any friends here anymore that *I* could go help *them*--they've all moved away, and I find it harder and harder to make real friends, as I get older. there's way too much rust in the medicine cabinet, I think, to paint over it--and the idea is for it to look NICE; it wouldn't look that good once I finished with it. I think I'll take a stab at finding one the same size. At the very least, I want to thoroughly investigate that possibility before I tackle the overwhelming task of sanding away all the rust and spray-painting the medicine cabinet. I live in an apartment, and there aren't that many easy places to do a messy task like that. I'm trying to help my DS learn some of the handyman type stuff. He's very intrigued by it, and he's finally old enough that I feel he can tackle some of those things w/ supervision. In our household, I'm the handy person. I'm the one who owns the power drill, the electric screwdriver, the saber saw, the belt sander, etc. I'm going to get DH to help me draw up the master list again; we had one earlier, but we need to start over.

Here are some paths and designs that I like... obviously very large gardens, but I think you can take these ideas and place them in a smaller garden... ..in this photo the shingled path is straight but softened with edging plants, and the path is tapered towards to end, which draws the visitor to it, I think... ..the same view 10 days later..... I like the way the blue Geraniums have now been replaced by the pink ones... but the yellows still draw me to the end of the path... ..another garden, another example of how I like to be drawn forward.... the very straight path narrowing in the distance to what appears to be a pair of dark green pillars.. ..but it is in fact a Hop covered archway, the path softened and the gazebo enticing the visitor forward... I like this one very much... and I think could be replicated in a small garden... ..with a grass path, I like to see curves with plantings that hide the view ahead... and absolutely no spillage onto the paths... I don't like to see that with grass... preferring a nice clean sharp edge.. ..with high straight walls, I think it's important to bring the borders outwards towards the centre... but I don't like these island beds here... although they serve a purpose in this particular garden... ..finally, I rather like the way the hedges here have been shaped to invite the visitor to take a turn right or left... it flows and I find it relaxing... and I wouldn't like it if it was sharp... ...hope you found something of interest in those...

Update: I stopped at the kitchen cabinet maker today. It's a well known and reputable company in my area. I picked my counter top sample actually in his showroom. The counters were ordered through him. He already knew about the mark and that they were coming today to try and fix it. I showed him before and after photos. I explained when you walk right around the perimeter of the kitchen island you don't really see it so I thought it was fine when they left.......BUT the reason is because they dulled the finish. When you enter the room and you aren't standing right at the counter you can see the dull spot. The owner of the cabinet company has been in the business over 35 years and I trust his advice. I'm just not sure if it will matter to me as much in a few weeks as it does today.... He told me I can wait to decide. He sent my photos over to the counter top company so it's documented. He said in a month from now once I am using my kitchen (and my pendant lights are in) if it's still bothering me we will address it. He also said he does a large amount of business with them (about 100k per month) so he will make sure that they make it right if I choose to revisit the issue. So glad I went with this company. Love the owner. He's great to work with.