Hey everyone, I bought a house with my fiancé last summer and spring is here so I'm finally getting around to attempting to fix our HORRENDUS backyard. I attached a picture, and as you can see there are significant spots where there is no grass or thin grass covering. The backyard gets swamped during HEAVY rain and now after the snow has melted. I also have a crazy dog who tears around the backyard and messes up the already messed up landscape. How would you go about making grass present in this yard? It seems like seeding would be difficult because there is so much missing. I am considering sod but that's expensive ans I'd like to be able to fix this at the lowest cost possible, as I have other projects too (such as the lovely fence as seen in the picture).

In the way back there was a "garden" that had many dead bushes/large plants which I ripped out last year. The ground back in that area is littered with roots and raised soil. I want to make it all grass.

So all that being said, what do you think my best course of action would be? I appreciate all advice given!

 

I've had some luck with zoysia grass plugs, but it takes some patience to wait for the grass to spread throughout your entire yard. I was having issues with crab grass taking over a portion of my lawn, and once the zoysia had time to establish a good root system, it pushed out all of the crab grass. Zoysia is really hardy too, so it may be able to withstand your dog's energy pretty well. The only thing that surprised me was how brown the zoysia got in late autumn/early winter. Not a big deal for my backyard though.

 

Are you going to keep the dog off the lawn or restrict which parts he can access? If not, I don't think you're going to see much result for your efforts.

Personally, I think you're too far north for zoysia.

 

I'd like to not keep the dog from the backyard during this process but probably can if that what it takes. You think the grass plugs are not an option?

 

I think you should request quotes from several landscapers. That way you'll find out what kind of grass is best for your lawn. And, you may decide to go ahead and let them do it for you. Its SO much quicker that way.

 

Dogs and lawns can be mutually exclusive, this might be a challenge.