Emily and I had little choice but to rip up the dead turf, reseed, and hope for the best. It turned out to be a bigger job than we anticipated; we were only able to get to the worst portion of the back yard. Here's the area we worked on last October:
We weren't sure how it would turn out. Strong storms washed away our first attempt (the back yard is on a slight slope that the pictures don't reveal well), and it was early November by the time we were able to put down seed that had an opportunity to take root. But, on the whole, we're pleased with how it turned out. Here's the back yard as it currently looks:
I think you'd have to agree, that's a significant improvement. It's not great, but now it looks like your run-of-the-mill, poorly maintained lawn rather than a gasp-inducing wasteland that calls to mind nothing so much as military-grade defoliants. We're pretty happy with our handiwork.But don't trouble yourself with thoughts that we might get cocky and rest on our lawn-growing laurels. There's still much work to be done, as a glance at the side lawn makes clear.
