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Seeding Some Bare Dirt Spots To Grow Grass

Back on this hosta post I left a not-so-subtle indication that we were planting some fresh grass ’round these parts.

Mailbox 12 Grass

Though as pretty as superimposed text looks in that area (not), we’ve been working on getting the real thing for a while now and it’s finally (mostly) photo-ready. But let’s head back to the beginning, which is actually one step before the photo above… when it still looked like this:

Grass 1 With Liriope

Yep, we still had some weird liriope lingering to the right of the brick path, so we dug that up (to the point where it was even with the stone border on the other side) and called this area ready for grass seed.

Grass 2 Liriope Gone

Here’s the strip from the other side of the house. If you recall, this is where we used to have a line of boxwoods making the pathway look very, um, boxed in.

Grass 3 Front Porch Before

The area near our front porch wasn’t the only spot in need of grass seed. We also had a stripe of dirt (and ivy) where our “bush fence” once resided at the front of the property.

Grass 4 Street With Ivy

So once we ripped out all of the ivy, this area was also ready for some serious seedification.

Grass 5 Ivy Gone

Because this is not a good look. And we’ve been living with it like this since last fall. And we’re pretty tired of being “the house with the dirt path to nowhere.”

Grass 6 Street Cleared

As for actually spreading the seed, we didn’t use our usual routine of starter fertilizer followed by grass seed in a broadcast spreader (detailed here). Since we were getting towards the end of the grass growing season (once it gets really hot the seed can burn before it begins to grow) impatience got the best of us and we bought this “seeding mixture” that has fertilizer and seed in one. I think it was about $20 per bag (sorry, lost my receipt to double-check).

Grass 7 Seed Bag

I worried my broadcast spreader would waste a lot of seed by tossing it way beyond the bare strips. So instead I just tossed it by hand – kinda using the motion I imagine one might use to feed a bunch of chickens. Not that I’ve ever done that, so maybe I’m way off.

Grass 8 Seed Sown

Once it was all spread, I got my water on. Again, since it was such a small area I skipped our usual sprinkler routine and broke out the hose. So picture me out there once a day (usually in the evening or the early morning, so the sun wouldn’t just burn it off) soaking both areas.

Grass 9 Watering

Now, to force a little bit of delayed gratification in this story (since it there was about two weeks of daily watering that delayed any real life gratification) I’m gonna switch gears momentarily. Let’s talk about these random ferns that pop up under our magnolia tree.

Grass 10 Ferns Before

We both like ferns. Just not in this spot. It just looks messy to us and we have other plans for under this tree someday. So we dug them up.

Grass 11 Digging Up Ferns

They were actually a bit of a pain to get up – and there were lots of them too. I filled two whole wheelbarrows full of them (which I hauled to our naturalized side yard, where I’d be happy for them to take root). I also like how this photo unintentionally looks like our West Elm ceramic speaker-pig is trying to escape up the tree to avoid the wheelbarrow. #PigProblems.

Grass 12 Fern Wheelbarrow

Now it’s a big empty round of dirt – but at least it doesn’t have those gangly ferns creeping all over the place anymore. And someday we’d love to plant some green low-lying groundcover for a more seamless look (that screams big-ring-of-dirt-under-a-tree-where-grass-won’t-grow a little less). Someday.

Grass 13 Ferns After

Okay, now back to grass mode. It took about 10 days for any hint of grass to start showing up. A bit longer than our past experiences (which were usually seven on the dot), but we chalked it up to being late in the season when it was a bit warmer out.

Grass 14 Starting To Come UP

Here’s a farther-away shot of the area just starting to get a subtle green tint to it around ten days in.

Grass 14 Starting To Come Up Far

Fast forward another week or two and things are finally filling in pretty nicely:

Grass 15 After From Driveway

You can still see the distinction between the fresh grass and the mature grass, but once the new stuff starts to grow out of its neon green newness it should be less obvious.

Grass 16 After From Street

We can’t tell you how much this excites us just to see a carpet of grass here, totally unobstructed by bushes, ivy, or dirt. Kinda wish it hadn’t taken 18 months of living here for this to finally get done!

Grass 17 After From Street Angle

It’s also much easier to mow now that I don’t have to weave around a bunch of bushes (these pics were taken right after mowing, which is why you can see some fresh wheel lines in some of the shots).

Grass 18 After Close Up

The stripe closer to the house is having a bit of a rougher go at filling in. The area by the street is lower, so water runoff seems to go there – which makes all of the grass down there a little lusher. We might end up overseeding this path area another time this fall, just to help it fill in more evenly.

Grass 19 After Front Porch Angle

Here it is from the other side. Again, not perfect…

Grass 10 After Front Porch Liriope

…but definitely an improvement!

Path2

And while we’re looking at old before photos, let’s take a peek at how the view from the front has improved. Here’s a before shot taken about a week after we bought this house (even before Sherry trimmed up the magnolia).

Magnolia Before1

And here we are today.

Grass 16 After From Street

It’s pretty grass-tastic if you ask me. And thankfully since it’s only a three-foot strip of grass out front and next to the path that we added in place of all those bushes, it only takes a few more runs of the mower to get ‘er done (five more mowing minutes are definitely worth the curb appeal that we gained).

Has anyone else played the grass seed game yet this year? Or have you had any past triumphs (or trials) with planting grass around your home? Are you slowly inching along with outdoor improvements? It used to make us so sad that outside things seem to take forever, but we learned with our first house that a lot of little updates over a few years can definitely make for some dramatic results. So keep the faith. And make sure your ceramic pig isn’t trying to run off…

Comments

  1. Courtney says

    Looks fantastic! What a difference a strip of grass makes. :) I can’t wait to finally get grass in – I’m sure our neighbors look sideways at our weed filled corner lot. Granted, it is a new build so these things take time but I’m impatient. And, with a busy 3 year old, I just want a space for her to run around in.

    Once we have a good stretch of no rain (please, please, please) we can till, rake out the weeds, and level. Then we are going to hire a hydroseeding company to come spray. We are going this route instead of sod because the hydroseed is a mixture of a variety of native grasses with fertilizer and mulch whereas all the sod around here is Kentucky Bluegrass which a) is not native and b) is a water hog.

    So, long story short, I love your yard! :)

    Reply

  2. Jenny says

    Looks great–a big improvement. I am actually doing the reverse at my house…”de-grassifying” the front yard. It’s fairly shady and the grass doesn’t grow well anyway, about half the area was garden already, and my husband does not enjoy mowing. So I am replacing the grass with low-maintenance perennials and ground covers. It’s a slow process but already looks much better–every weekend I make a little more progress!

    Reply

  4. Jess! says

    I broadcasted Corn Gluten on my front and back lawns this year, and it’s really made a difference. People told me it didn’t work, but I insisted on trying, and it worked.

    Reply

  5. Kasey M. says

    We ripped some rail road tie and gravel steps to nowhere out of our back yard recently and seeded the area. At first the grass was doing great but as soon as it hit 90 the grass in the full sun areas of the steps started to wither and get patchy. We’re trying to save it with more water STAT but I have a feeling we’ll be seeding again this fall. Bummer.

    Reply

  6. Staci @ My Friend Staci says

    We planted grass last fall and it came up pretty quick, and it was neon green like you were saying! The brand new thin blades are hard to mow too–very strange! It seems to be normal now, though! We took a page out of your book and embarked on some mulching endeavors. Got our flowerbed half done on Tuesday after work, and we’ve got a date with the un-mulched half this evening (if we don’t get rained out!) http://myfriendstaci.com/2012/05/30/mighty-mulch/

    Reply

  7. Anne says

    Looking great! That expanse of green is so pleasant to look at. You’ve also inspired me to look for the type of seed that you bought. I’ve got a couple of areas that need grass, and I think I’ll give your method a whirl! (I don’t have one of those push-and-the-seed-flies-out-jobbies anyway.) I learn so much from you two!

    Reply

  8. Courtney says

    Hey guys – quick question – what happened to your light post that is in your ‘before’ pic? Our’s has not worked ever since we moved in so I want to just get rid of it – didn’t know if you guys had done that or I’m just not seeing it in your ‘after’ pic!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh the lamp post is still there! It’s just slightly out of frame in that after picture, but you can see it in a few other photos of this post!

      xo,
      s

  9. Allison says

    There’s been lots of grass planting at our house (almost an entire acre of seed). Long story short, we planted rye grass in the fall because the house was still under construction and we didn’t want a mud pit all winter. It was lush green and growing all winter. We planted fescue in early spring, but there was too much to keep watered so nothing came up. The rye grass is nearly completely dead now :-( So no pretty yard for us this summer. We’ll try again in the fall.
    http://mattandallisonkelly.blogspot.com/2011/11/we-finally-have-yard.html

    Reply

  10. Loren says

    It looks great you guys! But every time you post a photo of your house ‘before’ I wonder if the previous owners were nudist or something… There is just SO MANY ‘privacy bushes’ up in front of your house.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I think it’s a function of having an old house! Things get planted when they’re small and cute and over decades they’re suddenly giant and you can’t even see the house!

      xo,
      s

  11. Karen F says

    wow, guys, massive improvement overall on the curb appeal front – great job! We had a concerete path that went from the sidewalk in front of our house to the front door (dissecting our front yard in half) – we had some landscaping work done and it dawned on me that we needed to rip that sucker out – so glad we did – the grass is still a bit uneven but it looks so much better to have an expanse of grass across the whole yard!

    Reply

  12. Shelley @ Green Eggs and Hamlet says

    A couple of months ago my fiance seeded some areas of our front lawn with similar stuff as you all (the seed and fertilizer in one). It grew in really well in one area but the other area totally flopped – no growth. We’ve decided we’re in DIRE need of aeration so until that happens we’re not re-seeding.

    Reply

  14. Kristin says

    Looks great!

    It feels like you’ve moved a ton of stuff to the “naturalized” area since the last updated picture. New pics soon? Or is it one of those “can’t really tell the difference yet” situations?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s pretty much a jungle down there, but we’re planning to make an annual video tour of the outside of the house, so we’ll have to document all parts of the lawn for you soon!

      xo,
      s

  15. Laura @ DMHB says

    Oh man, it’s looking so good! Something about grass just makes everything look better. In my area we have sooooo many trees, grass just wont gross! We’ve got tons of moss though, but its definitely not as plush and beautiful in comparison!

    Reply

  16. Christie says

    Those last two pictures show what an amazing transformation you guys have made to the yard. Congrats on all your hard work paying off!

    The hubs and I have lived in our home for a little over 2 years and we are just starting to get our yard together. We have been so busy doing projects inside that the outside remained neglected for quite some time. Last spring we began working on the yard and it has been a slow and steady process but now we can at least sit out in the yard without feeling ashamed. :-)

    Reply

  17. Lindsey d. says

    It’s always a work in progress, isn’t it? At least, I keep reminding myself that when I look at my yard. It still looks terrible to me, so I have to remember that I:

    – got rid of the rotting deck, rusting swing set, fugly bird bath and random gate to nowhere.
    – cut back the invasive bamboo once
    – cut back the bamboo even more (someone put it up at a privacy fence instead of fencing and now it’s everywhere in my back yard – hate it)
    – cut down the dying mimosa tree that threatened the power lines
    – removed the fugly chain link fence that separated the two parts of the yard, tilled up a new bed in its place and planted azaleas, citronella and herbs
    – continue to remediate the front bed that gets too much runoff to grow anything by lily pads (trying lily bulbs next).

    Whew, I feel better putting that in a list! Of course, I still have a lot of work to do… including digging out the boxwoods that the previous owner simply cut back to the ground when they planted azaleas in the front of them. Suffice it to say that the boxwoods have come back and are angry!

    Reply

  19. Bethie says

    The before and after is amazing! Good work!

    As for the grass growing back and blending in, we tried that when we lived in DC (before we moved to London!). The new grass wasn’t the exact same species (species?) as the original batch of grass and we could always tell the difference. The new owners (who have been sweet to keep in touch) eventually had the entire plot of grass replaced with shiny new grass and, I have to say, it looks much better! We would have done the same if we’d had the extra cash!

    Reply

  21. Meredith @ La Buena Vida says

    Oh yeah, we are playing the new grass game this year FOR SURE. We brought in 800 yards of topsoil and then many, many, many pounds of grass seed to finally do our .25 acre backyard this summer (which we’ve been putting off for 3 years!). It’s been about a month since we planted, and it still feels like it’s going to take FOREVER to be “real” grass that we can lounge and play on!

    Reply

  22. Lindsey says

    I have wondered the same thing (as some other people have mentioned)about your neighbor’s taking notice of all your hard work. It is a MAJOR improvement and looks FANTASTIC!! The house we are in now was rented before we bought it. The renters would throw their trash in the yard, left random odd junk in the yard and had no less than 10 dogs running around. We are on the slow (VERY SLOW) road to improving the curb appeal but our neighbor’s are super glad that we are not throwing trash in the yard, leaving out random junk and we only have one very sweet, well behaved dog. We have a very large (2 acre) lot that is very wooded so I dream of ferns and hostas covering parts of our wooded hillside.

    Reply

  23. bdaiss says

    We’d been playing the grass seed game for 3 years. (Built a new house in ’09.) But up here it’s so stinking hard to get grass to grow from seed in a large area in less than, oh 10 years. Oy. So my hubby was totally fed up this spring and decided to order sod. Best decision ever to this barefoot grass loving girl and her 2 kids who have inherited the shoe hating gene. Now if it would just warm up enough that we could really enjoy it…

    Lookin’ good Petersiks, looking very good.

    Reply

  24. jennT says

    the yard looks great!! in fact, that luscious green wave of frontage has me wishing I was in the states right now running through it with my shoes off!! it’s so hot and windy and salt-spray-y here in the VI that not many yards have beautiful grassy yards…

    Reply

  28. Rai says

    Hi there, what are the grassy-looking plants that appear to be beside your driveway? (shown in the picture with your mailbox)

    I love that type of plant but never know what they are called!

    Reply

  29. Katherine says

    The grass is always greener………

    I just wanted to take a minute away from your posts about flooring, colour decisions on chairs, etc – to tell you that your house and property looks so nice. As I scrolled down the pictures today I couldn’t help but smile at the beauty of the tree’s around you. You’ve done a great job to simplify the look of the house {it really was running away when you first moved in}, and to take advantage of the natural beauty that surrounds you.
    Enjoy !

    Reply

  30. Sandra says

    I love ferns too! There are so many natives ferns that are hardy to grow. I just planted a few in my front yard. We have heavy clay, and hot hot summers so if it isn’t hardy, it’s dead.
    http://thehouseofbing.com/plantemonium/
    Since the ferns already like to grow under the tree, have you considered planting a woodland type of garden as opposed to growing ivy?

    Reply

  32. mary says

    I appreciate that you guys went with “The Rebels” brand of grass seed when you decided to “rebel” against your usual grass routine ;)

    Reply

  34. Teri says

    The yard is looking beautiful. It’s amazing actually how much you have accomplished in 18 months. Limbing up trees and pulling out huge shrubs is hard work! It looks so good now, I bet your neighbors are loving you! I tried seeding my yard last year, but it only took in some spots and then the weed grasses took in the other spots and then the ground moles tore it all up so this year I tilled, fertilized with Black Cow and pre sod fertilizer and bought a pallet of sod for 150.00 and did it myself. Thought my back would break but it was so worth it in the end.

    Reply

  35. Sarah says

    Nice work y’all!! The yard looks awesome and I am so impressed with all the labor and man hours this total transformation has taken. I feel especially tired when I look at the pics of the huge boxwoods in the front that y’all dug up. My hubs and I recently dug up some old not-so-hot-looking bushes ourselves and wowza, that was some SERIOUS work. Sweat equity is no joke but completely worth it when you see awesome results like you two have! :)

    Reply

  37. Stacey says

    nice work! looking great.
    if you’re open to plant suggestions, perhaps planting a mini mass of some yellow daylilies in a small area to play off your front door color (maybe around your mailbox area, or on some sunny edge of naturalized area, etc?). I find they are like hostas and ferns and on the non-destructible side. stella d’oro are the typical ones found in big box stores, but there are a bunch of other yellow daylily cultivars that are great too and slightly bigger and bloom for a long continuous season.

    Reply

  38. gina says

    I love the way the house looks without the bush fence but it does make me a wish we had those bushes when our sons (now 11 and 5) were toddlers…I used to play goalie between them and the street. Our neighborhood has always been a play in the front kinda place with kids running from yard to yard with parents dotted along the sidewalks. My husband and I always planned on planting a “bush fence” or putting in a 4 foot fence but never got around to it. But, they are older now so I don’t have to “herd” as much.

    Reply

  39. Sarah says

    The grass looks wonderful – so lush in your neck of the woods! Good job – the yard has come a long way. I just love your property, so wooded and shaded!

    Reply

  40. Tom M says

    Good luck with the grass! They key will be getting it to survive the hot and dry summer. You can always overseed in late August-early September (the best time to seed in our region).

    Also I highly recommend the Paul Tukey book, The Organic Lawncare Manual. Even if you don’t go organic, it’s good to at least think about the fertilizers you’re using and how you’re growing your lawn.

    My biggest tips are to keep the grass high to block out all the weeds and to find something like Leafgro to feed your lawn with.

    Reply

  42. Nikki Kelly says

    Your grass looks so good! My bf and I seeded this spring too! We did two rounds of seed with some top dressing after, maybe if we had used fertilizer it would have grown/filled in faster. But looking at this post about the grass makes me realize I am in desperate need of a grass update post. Oh, and your love of the little piggy and a sale at west elm inspired me to get my own little porker to keep me company.

    Nikki Kelly @ the ambitious procrastinator

    Reply

  43. Kelly Gulutz says

    I noticed you’ve got greenery growing between your pavers in a few of those shots. And if you were like my husband when he was spreading grass seed, you got some in between the pavers, and have grass where you don’t want it. I had a lot of luck with not weedkiller. I read online you can use vinegar, preferrably on a sunny day, and it will kill everything, moss, grass, mold and whatever else. A few days later I went back, and scraped everything out with a flat head screw driver. Granted, we were looking to redo the paver sand, so I didn’t mind scraping it all out. But it worked well, and as we say in our house, since I won without using harsh chemicals, organic hippie bs ftw!

    Reply

  44. Cynthia says

    Your new grass looks amazing! I can’t believe the transformation – it looks 200% better and you guys aren’t even done!

    On a side note – I read where you ripped out the ivy, and immediately winced. It’s a *&^%$ isn’t it? I’ve been tearing it out at my boyfriends house – his father planted it there 30 years ago, so it’s well established and climbing three sides of the house. At the advice of the Extension Agency, he took Roundup to it twice and his words were, “it didn’t even turn yellow, the leaves lightened just a little bit, and within two weeks were green and kicking again.” I researched online that you have to be careful to dig out every single root, if you leave behind even one runner, the devil plant will keep coming back.

    After two weekends of tearing it off the side of the house and pulling up the roots that weren’t to thick, I finally decided to wage a strategic battle – I started cutting all the really thick branches. I checked last night and I could see where clumps of the leaves were starting to dry out. My thoughts are that I can pull out those dried and died vines and start thinning it out. By the time August comes around (which is the best time to apply Roundup to fresh cuts in the branch) I should be able to see where the main plants are. At least, that is the plan.

    Reply

  45. MegP says

    I LOVE your before and after pics. Everything is coming along so well!

    On another note, I’ve always secretly lusted over a white ceramic pig speaker of my own…so I finally broke down and bought one today. Seeing yours “climbing the tree” pushed me over the edge, haha.

    Reply

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