Use leaves to kill grass in new beds

Last fall, I found a good use for fallen leaves before adding them to the compost pile: They helped kill the grass that was growing where I wanted to start a new flower bed. Using a hose, I outlined the space where the new bed would be and filled the space with a layer of leaves thick enough to completely block light from reaching the grass. I wet the leaves down with a hose initially to keep them in place. In the spring, the grass had died and the bed was easy to dig.