When you first moved into your house the trees were smaller and the grass was green and looked great! Everything looked amazing! As time unmercifully marches forward you look up one day and say “What happened to my great looking lawn!”

Then the next thing you know, your friendly HOA is sending you a note about how terrible your front lawn looks and that you need to act now in order to get it into compliance!

Michelle (one of our clients since 2012) had this very thing happen to her last year. As you will read about her story below. Michelle and I hope that it will benefit others as we re-tell what happened.

Michelle had moved into her new house six years ago with fresh sod and a baby tree. Six years later the tree is nearly twenty feet tall and creates some amazing shade. This shade has some unintended consequences.

Michelle went to her mailbox and opened it up and removed her daily mail. She rummaged through the heaps of junk mail, like she does everyday, only to find a letter from her HOA.

She picked it up and thought, “This is strange, what could this be about?” She opened it up to only find out that out that she was out of compliance with the HOA rules and regulations.

Michelle received this message like many of us would. She was frustrated that the builder planted a sun loving grass under her large shade trees.

Once she was over her anger, she decided she wanted to make it right. She didn’t want to be out of compliance and hurt the value of the other properties in the neighborhood. Michelle and her husband took it upon themselves to install Bermuda grass in the spots under the trees.

After a few months they received an additional notice once again after bare areas developed under the trees. They grew frustrated that they had spent their time, effort, and energy to install grass that wouldn’t survive in the shade. They felt like their hands were tied.

They are required to have trees; they are also required to have greenery. Let’s face it we all want a thick lush lawn we can go barefoot in, so grass is the most obvious choice for that greenery.

After the failure of the Bermuda sod the second time, they didn’t know what to do. That’s when they called Purple Care.

Today Michelle and her husband have a thick green yard that is getting fuller each year. Thanks to the plan of attack that Purple Care Devolved.

The HOA is no longer sending them bad news and we are all looking forward to one day hearing how they went from a brown yard to yard of the month!

Fescue is the solution for shady areas. If you have had a similar experience or you are frustrated by the amount of dirt under the trees, use the following as a check list to see if you are a candidate for Fescue.

We live on the southern most latitude that will successfully support Fescue Grass. Because of that we have a few rules to follow for a sucessful installation.

Timing is Everything!

October is the ideal month for Fescue. We have had success, installing it as late as November.

Shade Is Required

This grass will grow in the fall, winter, and spring in sunlight. It will not make it though the North Texas heat if it is in the sun.

Very Little Soil Prep Is Needed

This grass seed has a very high Germination rate. The main concern is making sure the yard is free of leaf litter to ensure good contact with the soil.

Water Fescue Grass

The water requirements for Fescue are similar to St. Augustine grass. We have found that it blends in very nicely with St. Augustine Yards.

Parable of the Sower

Many of you have heard the story of the farmer who was sowing seeds. Some of the seeds fell on hard rocky ground and could not get established, because rodents and birds ate it up.

Other seeds landed in poor soil that would only support a shallow root system, and I could not hold up to the brutality of the Sun. While other seed fell on fertile ground and took root immediately and grew successfully. Installing Fescue is exactly this story. It is not an “instant” lawn.

We recommend that you repeat the process every year for three years for a thick full lawn.

This was a special installation and required our team of professionals to get it pulled off and to make the HOA happy. If you have an area that is driving, you crazy give us a call. We have a great solution for bare areas in your lawn.

Conclusions

Fescue is the number one go to grass for difficult shade areas. It will help you have a fuller looking lawn. It’s cheap and has a lot of “bang for the buck”.

Give us a call if you have an area you would like us to come look at and we can come up with a plan to turn your yard around.