After overseeding the yard and tossing down some fertilizer to get things going, we quickly found ourselves with a full fledged jungle on our hands after a long span of rainy days.
You think I’m kidding…
But what a difference a little mowing makes.
We’re loving the newly coiffed backyard, and we thought we’d explain the quick and easy steps it takes to pull of a lush lawn of your own.
First grab some grass seed (we like tall fescue grass here in VA, but it varies regionally) and some starter fertilizer (meant to be applied when seeding or overseeding). We also like to use a broadcast spreader that you push around the yard to spread the seed and fertilizer. Easy peasy.
Then be sure to water it for at least 15 minutes every other day (or in our case, just happen to get lots of rain over the course of a few weeks). Usually on exactly the seventh day, some tiny green blades of grass will emerge, and within another two weeks the grass will grow to at least three inches, at which time it’s ready to mow. Then just water it as needed during any dry periods and otherwise you’re good to go.
And since we’re talking about the great outdoors, how about a gratuitous picture of our hot pink azaleas?
Anyone looking for the perfect flowering shrub, look no further. Azaleas border our house on all sides and we get about three solid weeks of pink and white blooms every spring. The rest of the year the bushes are just cute and green and since we’re far enough south they’re evergreens (which means they don’t drop their leaves in the winter) which is a major plus.
Oh and remember the table we built for the sunroom? We’ve been getting tons of use out of it now that mother nature has started showing off. We love eating dinner out there, and on one rare day John even got to work from home from that very spot. Tough life, eh?
Aimee says
It looks great! I love the pink too… wish they grew here as an outdoor plant. Lucky ducks! :)
Roxy says
Hi guys!!
Great job with the lawn!! That’s a project we need to start this weekend. One question that Dave and I had about your stained concrete floor in the sun room, what preparations were done before you applied the stain. Our sun room has nasty blue carpet from the previous owner and we would like to snazzy it up a bit by adding a stain in a cool color.
Thanks
Roxy & Dave :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Roxy & Dave,
The sunroom floor was a pretty easy project actually. First rip up the old carpet. Then asses the concrete floor under it. Is it stained? Cracked? Peeling? If so, you’ll want to pick an opaque concrete stain (which will completely cover the concrete- as opposed to a transparent stain, which partially covers the floor like a whitewash). We were lucky enough to have pretty good concrete under the previous owner’s nasty carpet, so we went with a transparent stain for an imperfect and casual finish.
You’ll also want to pick up TSP (a floor cleaner that will prep your concrete for the stain, kind of like primer does with paint). Then use a roller to apply the TSP followed by the stain as directed (but make sure you get all the loose fluff off the roller with tape beforehand). We found both TSP and our “Tuscan Gold” concrete stain at Home Depot. Good luck with the sunroom… and be sure to send us before and after pics!
xo,
Sherry
Jennifer says
Here’s hoping our grass comes up as well as yours did! We had reasonable success last fall, but it’s still falling below freezing here at night, so I can’t leave the sprinklers and timer on yet!
Gina says
Whats the difference between seeding and overseeding?
Feeling stupid here… :o)
Gina says
oh by the way, you have one of the most gorgeous yards!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Gina,
Thanks! We didn’t know a thing about yards until we got this house on almost an acre of land. Then boy did we have to learn fast. Seeding is when you lay down grass seed for the first time on dirt or top-soil to start a lawn from scratch while overseeding is when you apply a smaller amount of grass seed over an existing lawn to make it more dense and lush (or in our case, to cover the bare spots).
We plan to overseed at least once a year to keep the yard looking nice and thick. It’s really not much of a project and Burger seems to enjoy our efforts.
xo,
Sherry
p.s. Jennifer, our fingers are crossed for your lawn… I bet it’ll be green and jungle-esque in no time.
Dan says
Sherry,
I’m glad you explained the difference between seeding and overseeding – I totally thought that meant you had just put way too much down!!
Beautiful lawn, I’m so jealous. Except that I wouldn’t take care of one myself.
Dan
Kelli says
Wow, I’m surprised the lawn mower was able to get through that! It looks so lush now. And all the azaleas and flowering plants look so beautiful. Like a woodland paradise! :P
YoungHouseLove says
Dan- You’re totally right about the overseeing thing. I went back and reread the post and it sounds like we just dumped too much seed on the yard and the jungle sprung up as a result. Too funny.
Kelli- Yeah, we were surprised the mower could handle all that grass, too. It was so thick in some parts John had to do the whole forward-backward-forward maneuver to unclog the mower, but we’re just glad to get that jungle back under control.
xo,
Sherry
Katy says
Your lawn does look DREAMY! Great job.
Question — did you have to do anything to prepare the lawn before you “overseeded”? (and, yes, I too thought that meant you’d gotten a little frisky w/ the grass seed :-)
Our grass looked terrible at the end of the season. We live in a neighorhood where people keep their lawns looking like ‘Augusta National,’ and I refuse to be the sad lawn on the street again this year!
My funds are limited, though, so I need to find the most economical way to do it.
Thanks to you two loveable cheapskates in advance!
XO, Katy
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katy,
All we did before overseeding was cut the grass pretty low (not too low or you’ll have a bald lawn, just a good pass with the mower on a slightly lower setting will do). Then your bare spots are exposed and the seed that you put down will have more places to take root (instead of bouncing off your grass and landing in your garden- which is so annoying!). If you have any particularly compacted areas of dirt (where it seems rock-hard and it might be difficult for a seed to penetrate) you may want to use a metal rake or shovel to rough up the dirt a bit for seed traction. You don’t need to go deep or anything, seed just lays right on top of the dirt. Then just overseed and water lightly to get things going (being sure to water 15 mins a day each day after that for at least 2 weeks to a month). Mowing the grass when it reaches three inches is recommended but of course we missed that bar in the pictures above. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
Teresa Bristol says
Hey guys – Love your hot pink azalea! I have never been a fan of azaleas because the put on such a beautiful show for such a short time and then the blooms are gone :( However- I planted 2 ENCORE azaleas (brand name) this past spring and I had beautiful deep pink flowers from spring until the first frost. Talk about a lovely plant for color and vibrancy. Give them a shot – they come in array of colors and are disease & pest resistant. Only need a little water each day and some acidity to your soil :) Teresa, Virginia Beach VA
Priscilla says
just curious how big your yard is and how many people you had for your wedding? we’re planning a backyard wedding as well for about 75 people and it looks just about your size perhaps slightly larger.
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we have almost an acre of land, but the area for the ceremony was probably about 80 feet long by 40 feet wide and the area where we had the reception was probably around 50 x 40. Hope it helps!
xoxo,
Sherry
Rachel says
Thanks for the ideas! We have lived in our house for about a year and our back yard butts up to a wooded area. The back yard is in horrible shape; we have so many weeds from the wooded area. We put weed-and-feed down, but it doesn’t seem to help. We basically have no grass just weeds in the back. Any ideas?
Thanks (as always)! Love your blog and your tips and tricks!
YoungHouseLove says
Eeks I have no idea! Maybe weeding sections at a time to make it more manageable or even renting a roto-tiller from Home Depot and churning up the dirt and then planting grass seed in the fall? Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Joy says
My yard needs major help! What brand grass seeds and fertilizer do you guys recommend?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, good question. I think we just used “Scott’s Starter Fertilizer.” Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Lauren says
Your yard is absolutely gorgeous. So I started reading fairly recently and love your blog and seeing how happy you guys are to answer questions. You two are just so incredibly helpful and talented! My hubby and I have a lot of work to do in our yard, and I was wondering if you knew of a more natural fertilizer to use on the yard? I know you guys are eco friendly, so thought I’d ask if you had any tips. Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually have gone totally chemical free the last two years, so other than using compost from our bin (if we’re seeding small patches to fill them in) we don’t do anything but mow and occasionally water our grass (only in drought conditions when it’s parched and dry). It really looks just as green as it did with all that fertilizer so we’re wondering what the heck fertilizer really does (maybe it’s a big marketing scam or something- haha). Oh and one tip is that we still overseed the yard every spring and fall (without any chemicals or fertilizers) just to keep things green and dense and lush. That really seems to do the trick!
xo,
s
Kim says
My husband and I are planning to work on our sad backyard this weekend, and if our “after” looks even close to as good as yours does, I’ll be thrilled! My question for you is whether you did this seeding/overseeding on your front lawn as well, or if you laid down sod, or used some other process. Any advice you can give me will help!
We were planning on sodding, but I am terrified to spend that much money on grass because if it dies I will feel like it was a big waste of time and money. I’d like to try to grow it from seed first, especially since it seems like it doesn’t even take that long to grow!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re cheap! We never buy sod! We just raked all the mulch that used to make up our front yard and got down to bare dirt, then seeded it (according to the directions on the big bag of $50 grass seed we picked up) in the fall and continued to overseed it the next spring and the following fall. It was pretty lush looking right away (it sprung up in 7 days or so, and really filled in within a month), but continuing to overseed it for a few planting seasons has made it super hardy and very easy to maintain (we just mow it now, that’s it). Good luck!
xo,
s
Kim says
That’s why I love you guys! :o) We’re cheap too, and we’re becoming increasingly hesitant to spend all that money for sod…our families told us that sod was the only way to go (we didn’t get our cheapness from them haha), but I’m going to show my husband how it worked out for you guys and hopefully he’ll agree with me to give seeding a chance first!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, it’s definitely worth the 50-100 bucks in seed. As long as you water water water (at least 15 minutes a day in every corner of your seeded yard) your results should be amazing- and starter fertilizer works wonders too. Good luck!
xo,
s
Emily says
Our front yard is EXACTLY like yours!! (Our kitchen and only full bathroom is also identical to yours, so we’re feeling quite inspired).
Do you have sprinklers watering your lawn for 15 minutes or do you use a hose?
YoungHouseLove says
We just use a hose with a sprinkler head attached. Worked like a charm. And now we don’t have to water it at all (we just did that the first season to get it established). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Ashley says
So, I just found your site tonight and well have spent the last 3 hours exploring it!! My husband and I are trying to get motivated to do landscape/fix our backyard. We back up to a big open field, and we keep getting new types of weeds popping up in our yard faster than we can get rid of them. I have been reading all your comments here on seeding and relaying them to my husband. We have 2 large labs and a little dachsund who are in the back yard a lot…so we were thinking of seeding an area at a time, so that it can grow and develop without the dogs running all over it. What do you think of this idea? Also, when is the best time to lay seed? Thank you so much and I am sure as I keep exploring I will have more questions!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Great idea to do different zones at a time! And as for the best time to seed, spring and fall generally are the prime times. Just read the directions on your seed bag for exact temperature guides. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Callie says
Thanks for the info and pictures on your lawn – WOW it looks gorgeous!!
We moved into our first house last fall and I’ve been looving your blog as we have redone most of the inside. So this spring we are turning to the lawn which looked sooo bad last year. Worst lawn for blocks around (we got a steal on the house though!). I got Scott’s fertilizer and seeds, and raked everything up to get down to dirt, roughed it up, even used a hand-held aerator to try to rough up the ground more. It’s been a week now and no green sprouts :( Perhaps I didn’t water enough? After reading this (I love that you used Scott’s too! Hurray I’m on the right track ;) ) I am wondering if I should overseed again and then water like crazy. We’ve had some 70+deg days already so maybe some seeds got burnt.
Also, our lawn is really shady because we have a lot of trees (almost as crazy as your “before” lawn, but not quite) – I’m wondering if the grass will have a hard time growing because of all the shade. Thoughts?
YoungHouseLove says
It might just still be a bit dormant so we’d give it a few more days (maybe up to 12) with some water before reseeding. It it gets cool it takes longer, so it might be about to sprout! Good luck!
xo,
s
Callie says
Good point – thanks, I have hope! I will keep watering faithfully :) So encouraging to see your photos!
Sprinkler System Store says
Great photos! That is a beautiful lawn! Mowing the lawn really did make a difference.
Louise says
Hi,
We just moved into a house mid-summer and the lawn is covered in weeds. Should we wait until the fall to try over-seeding and if so, what would you recommend we do to deal with the weeds? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I would try to pull as many weeds as you can leading up to the fall, and then overseed and water it then (hopefully with fewer weeds the grass seed will do well and fill things in ).
xo
s
Becky says
Thanks for the tips on overseeding. I have been fighting this particular battle for a few years now.