I don't know a lot about lawn grasses, having lived in Laguna Beach where there are no lawns for the past 25 years. I did have a grassy section near the bottom of my slope that I tossed fescue mixed seeds around every year because there was lots of shade as well as sun in the area under large eucalyptus trees. It was green and shaggy and worked for playing with the dogs as well as giving the eye a respite from the overflowing gardens. When we moved to SJC I inherited a lot of lawn. I have removed more than half of it so far, but I do leave a large lawn in the front that is a favorite of the family for play. It was all Bermuda grass when we moved it which worked out well because it can take tough play and is drought tolerant. The only problem with this type of grass is that it goes dormant in the cool months and turns a sickly shade of beige. I am married to a New Yorker where it rains year round and who believes that lawns should always be lush and green and complains about the grass every winter. My job, to distract him until it greens up again because there are a hundred other things I would rather do than replace this large yard of grass.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Grass is Always Greener
I don't know a lot about lawn grasses, having lived in Laguna Beach where there are no lawns for the past 25 years. I did have a grassy section near the bottom of my slope that I tossed fescue mixed seeds around every year because there was lots of shade as well as sun in the area under large eucalyptus trees. It was green and shaggy and worked for playing with the dogs as well as giving the eye a respite from the overflowing gardens. When we moved to SJC I inherited a lot of lawn. I have removed more than half of it so far, but I do leave a large lawn in the front that is a favorite of the family for play. It was all Bermuda grass when we moved it which worked out well because it can take tough play and is drought tolerant. The only problem with this type of grass is that it goes dormant in the cool months and turns a sickly shade of beige. I am married to a New Yorker where it rains year round and who believes that lawns should always be lush and green and complains about the grass every winter. My job, to distract him until it greens up again because there are a hundred other things I would rather do than replace this large yard of grass.
Could you overseed it with annual rye grass? We have St Augustine grass here in Florida which also turns brown in the winter. It gives the lawn a luscious green appearance and dies back when the weather warms up again.
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Perhaps!
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