Experimenting with Grass

By SKEETER Last Fall we tried an Experiment with Grass in our Georgia Gardens. I had seen on other blogs how some gardeners sowed their lawns with Rye Seed for a green lawn in the winter. We decided to give it a try and see what would happen for us. With rains the day of the sowing process, it sprouted quickly for us. Then the ice and snow arrived.
I was concerned about the grass with the inch thick ice covering it for about a week. Yes, we had ice and snow sticking around for almost a week! That is so unheard of around these parts. It was a very cold and strange winter in Georgia. Soon after the thaw, I could see the grass was fine. Along with those willow oak leaves that are the last to fall from the trees.
Look at that beautiful green lawn today!
We are so pleased with the outcome that we plan to sow more rye seed next fall.

If you look beyond the brick wall, hedge and driveway, you can see the front yard which we did not seed. This grass is dormant and blah looking to the eye compared to the lawn around the house. The Tri-Angle Planter has been cleaned and should reseed with Perwinkle. I also planted some Cleome Seeds I collect last fall. We had one inch of rain last night so I am sure the seed liked the drink.

Which would you rather have, Green lawn or Dormant lawn? By the time the annual rye dies out, hopefully the Centipede and St Augustine grasses in our yard will be green.

We had one issue with the seed...The Saint used the broadcast spreader instead of the drop spreader around borders. Yikes, I was not happy when I saw the grass in the Drainage by the house. I had redone that area last spring and it was a difficult job.
On our first nice warm day, I started plucking the sprigs. As I plucked I was thinking about the way the Saints brain operates. After 23 years together, I find it fun to try and figure him out at times such as this. I had my ideas as to what he would say about this mishap and I had to see if I was correct in my analogy. I asked, "Honey Why did you use the broadcast spreader instead of the drop spreader?" Yep, I was correct. The Broadcast spreader did a faster job. But he saw no big deal as Rye Grass is a annual so it will die right? Yep, I knew that was coming also. He cracks me up that Saint of mine.
He redeemed himself by joining me in the plucking of the sprigs. We sat on our tarp and filled the bucket with grass sprigs.
The drainage area looks all pretty once again.
Now I shall move on to the Rock Garden and start plucking. (Can you see my little chipmunk?) Then to the Angel Trumpet Garden and start plucking and so forth and so forth.. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr....

We had success EXPERIMENTING WITH GRASS, In the Garden...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Making Turf Interesting and Stable

From In the Garden

Once upon a time a teen aged boy who drove a very big gas guzzler of the 80s era lived here with his wife. The gas guzzler was a huge ole black monster called Pontiac Grand Prix (circa 1980) and had big tires that made driving it very difficult for the wife. It was always a battle between the wife and car with the lawn winding up in the middle of the fight. You see, starting and shifting the car was most difficult for the wife and the car would sometimes lurch and move around on its own-while in its parking place. Old antique cars tend to do these sorts of things:) One such time the Pontiac made it into the section of turf you see pictured above-in the middle of a very wet season. Can you guess how deep the wounds were that the turf suffered? Six inch deep 10 feet long ruts come to my mind-okay maybe not that bad but pretty bad. Do you have any idea how much soil it takes to fill in such ruts? My daughter-in-law found out when she gamely sought to repair the damage caused by her battle with the Pontiac. I, on the other hand, sought to figure out how to lessen the damage to the lawn when errant automobiles tend to migrate to this spot.

The idea I came up with has been most pleasing. I took some plain concrete pavers and dug them into the turf area in a checkerboard pattern. It was my hope that should a large Pontiac (or other gas guzzler-er-antique much beloved old car) travel into this area that the concrete pavers would help to lessen the damage, all while providing some nice interesting patterns in an otherwise boring spot of turf. So far, my trick has worked and ruts have been kept to a minimum, actually they've been non-existent. Hmmmm, that might be due to the fact the Pontiac has been relegated to a storage area waiting for more glory days.

Mom-any ruts in your grass?:)

in the garden....



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Mechanical Aeration Versus Liquid Aeration Revisited

I think it is about time for an update on mechanical aeration versus the liquid aeration. Daron has indeed updated me on the results of his attempt at chemically (liquid) aerating his lawn. The results are not good. According to him (and me by observation), there is no difference in the lawn; no improvement and no worsening of the compaction of his soil. The lawn is still struggling, and what grasses Daron has growing in his lawn are not doing any better than they were before he used Liquid Aerify.

That being said, can I say for sure that mechanical aeration would have worked better? We shall see on his lawn this fall because Daron and Nancy purchased a mechanical aerator and have aerated their lawn on my advice. They then reseeded it and did not overseed this year.

I use mechanical aeration on my lawn and I can tell you that I still stand by this method of reducing compaction in lawns and improving the lawn's growing conditions. Why you ask? For me the plugs that are removed when the lawn is aerated add good top soil on top of the lawn AND the holes left behind by removing the plugs enables amendments to reach further into the soil. Additionally, my cool season fescue lawn requires re-seeding fairly frequently to stay looking good, the holes hold the seed in place in order for them to take hold and grow. Liquid aeration cannot do this. This is the big difference between liquid aerify and mechanical aeration. Can you see the removed plug above? No-this is NOT doggie doo! And the hole left by removing the plug? This is where the seeds and fertilizer will fall into and reach the roots of the grass much quicker than if they are just spread on the surface of the lawn with no plugs removed. Do not overseed and fertilize at the same time. Most fertilizers have additives that prevent germination of seed, this includes grass seed!

Liquid aerify, while it will not hurt the soil, cannot reach down far enough to allow other amendments and even itself to get to the deep roots of the lawn grasses. When I say deep, really most lawn grasses growing in clayey soil have roots that only reach about 2-3 inches deep. This is not deep at all, but without the removal of plugs, most amendments will work down to this area only after many years.

My suggestion to viewers is to save your money, mechanically aerate your lawn and apply a good top dressing of compost instead of liquid aerify. In life we know the easy way is not always going to work and most always never works. Go ahead and make the investment of an aerator (about $200) and you'll be set for at least 20 years, if not more if you take good care of your aerator.

Do any of you gardeners out there have experience with Liquid Aerify or a personal opinion of the effectiveness of it over mechanical aeration?

in the garden....

Lawns-Ah the Sweet Grass and Happy Birthday!

Lawns, oh the sweet feel of soft cool grass underfoot. How many of you can relate? Growing up in Maine was a real treat because the Kentucky bluegrass which commonly grows up there was always soft and sweet underfoot. One of my favorite pastimes was to lay on the grass under a clear blue sky with a few white fluffy clouds to occupy my attention, and a nearby oak tree to shade me.


As much as I love lawns, I have a love/hate relationship with mine. Most really smart gardeners know to do away with the lawn all together. Forget about conventional wisdom that says you have to have a lawn. No! Just get rid of all the maintenance hogging chemical loving pain in the butt grass and go to flower beds! No flower beds? How about going native with your lawn? Anything is almost better than cultivated grass.


Why you ask? Well here in Tennessee and most of the mid-south we have a little problem. We are in a transitional zone. A transitional zone for lawn grasses is an area where either cool or warm season grasses can grow. Cool season grasses grow during the cooler months and tend to go dormant (read brown and dead) in the hot summer months. Warm season grasses grow during the warm summer months and go dormant (again read brown and dead) in the winter.


One would rationally think that we could grow both warm and cool season grasses in our lawns and have the best of both worlds. Nope. It doesn't work that way. Oftentimes lawns around this area are growing both types of grasses. You can always tell because in the winter there will inevitably be areas of brown patches amongst the green, indicating warm season grasses. In the summer it is harder to tell when a homeowner has both types of grass unless you look closely at the lawn but you can tell due to the differences in textures of the two types of grasses. Warm season grasses are generally finer bladed and very competitive with cool season grasses. Both usually remain green in the summer unless there is extreme heat and/or drought. Last summer just about everyone's cool season grass went dormant. Both types of grasses compete with each other and together do NOT make for a nice lawn in my humble opinion.


One of the major differences between the two grasses, besides their growing seasons, is the cultural care requirements of the grasses. The two grasses require different heights in mowing, and also need to be fertilized at different times. Trying to grow both types successfully in the same lawn would be a nightmare. It just will not work. One will be harmed and die out. Therefore, the homeowner is left with a choice: warm or cool season grass.



The choice is simple and based solely on the homeowners desires and ability to properly care for his or her lawn. If you want to be assured of a nice green lawn during the summer months and be assured it will turn brown in the winter, plant warm season grasses. If you prefer a nice green lawn year round with the possibility of it turning brown and thinning out in the summer, plant cool season grasses.


Whatever the choice you make, make an informed one and be prepared to adjust as the situation warrants. Both types of grasses have their advantages and disadvantages. I did a lengthy post on lawn care last fall and will not re-hash the information here, but whatever you decide to grow; choose wisely. Reestablishing a lawn is not an easy task.


Today is my youngest sister's 40th birthday. I am posting a picture of one of my favorite flowers, the camellia. Partly in honor of her birthday and partly because I like them so much. I wish this were my shrub, but it is not. My friend Lola E. grows it in her garden here in Clarksville. It is a good birthday flower and a pretty color for my sister. I don't do cards so I hope this will suffice for birthday wishes.







Happy 40th Birthday Terri-Lynn!


P.S. What type of grass is growing in the picture above? Cool or warm season? And what type of grass do you grow and why?

in the garden....

Lawns

Okay, I will start talking about lawns, specifically what works for me and my lawn. When Mr. Fix it and I moved here almost seven years ago there was no lawn. The house had been empty for more than four months between the months of May and August. No one thought to have anyone cut the lawn. What a nightmare. When we finally moved in the owner (or someone) was ready to spring for a lawncare man to come and cut the grass. The lawncare guy was so worried he might run into trees, debris and equipment buried under all the weeds that he did a long recon first. I thought it funny. But only as long as it took me to realize that jungle formerly known as a lawn would be my mess to clean up. Six and half years later I can honestly say it has come a long way.

We started with way more yard than we have now. Also, way more trees. Despite cutting down about 50 trees, we probably have that many still in the yard. Why do I mention trees? Well, with trees comes shade, grass does not like the shade. I like the shade though, so together the trees, us, and the grass have come to an uneasy peace which suits all. It works because I fortunately have the time to baby the grass.

Fescue does the best in shade over all other grasses. Though you can't tell that to the errant Bermuda grass which self seeds into my nice green fescue lawn. I hate Bermuda grass because it is so invasive. But, that being said, I do not begrudge anyone their warm season grasses such as Bermuda, Centipede, St. Augustine (more common further south than here), and Zoysia, they just aren't for me. Since I only grow fescue, what works for me will be tailored to my fescue lawn, but the same basic principles apply to warm season grasses with the exception of mowing height, winter color, and seeding. I will try to mention some differences as we go along.

Fescue is a type of grass that clumps rather than runs with stolons, which is what warm season grasses do. Warm season grasses are so much more forgiving and quicker to establish because they do run. Since fescue clumps, it tends to get thin during the year, not just in the summer when it is likely to go dormant due to drought. I have seeded my fescue every year for the past four years. The best time to overseed a fescue lawn is in late September, then you should plan to add fertilizer or amendments such as lime in late October or mid November. I have done it many different ways and experimented with the timing so believe me when I say this is the best way to overseed. Overseeding is really the only way to have a great looking and thick fescue lawn. I don't mind really. It is all a work of love because I do love my lawn, you might call me a desperate lawn wife as I spend an awful lot of time on it. So, first tip for fescue, overseed each year.

The next and very, very important tip is to soil test! I was always a gardener who thought that with good cultural practices I did not need a soil test simply because my soil would be good. Yeah right. When I had a soil test done two years ago it showed a ph for the front yard was something like 5.6, and the backyard was like 4.9. Very low and acidic. Lawn grasses like a ph somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0, with about a 6.5 being ideal. The soil report recommended that I add 100 pounds of lime per 1000 feet. My front yard alone is 4000 square feet of grass so that would translate into 400 pounds of lime just for it. QUITE a bit of lime in my little Buick and too much for me at one time. I instead opted for 50 pounds per 1000 square feet that year, and this year I applied the other 50 pounds. It takes a long time for the lime to change the ph and I wanted to see if adding lime would make that much of a difference. It actually did and this year I expect even sweeter things from my lawn. I had tried to use chemical fertilizers and weedkillers to get the lawn grass growing fast and that had been my mistake. Chemical fertilizers, when used over time, have a tendency to acidify a soil, so they are best used in moderation. Say, once per year in October for fescue, in April or May for warm season grasses. So, tip number two for a great lawn is to soil test and adjust for ph if necessary. Use chemical fertilizers sparingly.

Prior to overseeding I always aerate my lawn, front and back. Lawns are one of those gardens where cultivation is not really an option. But we walk and play and garden on our lawns which causes damage to the grass and compacts the soil. Compacted soil is not a good situation for any growing thing. The ideal mix of your soil should be 25% air, 25% water, and 50% soil. Compaction drives out the air so plant roots are not able to breath or move through the soil. Grass growth is stunted. Aeration, while not a perfect solution to compaction does helps the situation. Small core aerators are that can be attached to the back of a riding lawn mower are very reasonably priced and are a great help when striving for a nice lawn. I use mine about three times a year and ALWAYS before overseeding or adding amendments. Aerating in the winter works best as the wet cool soil is easier to aerate than when it is hard and dry as the soil usually is in the summer. I leave the plugs on the lawn to be washed down by the rain and weather. It is extremely muddy for a week or so, then you would never know I had aerated the lawn. The holes left by mechanical aeration help to hold seed or lime or fertilizer and to get the amendments closer to the root system of the existing grass. Also, aeration has saved me from losing all of my newly laid seed one year when we had an unexpected thunderstorm. I was sure all the seed washed away and was delighted when I saw it sprouting in the little holes left by aeration about a week later. Tip number three for a nice lawn, aerate regularly and always before overseeding or applying amendments.

Another very important part of lawn maintenance if you are starting from scratch or worse, like I did, is to get rid of the weeds. Easier said than done. I have spent countless hours all throughout the year with a fishtail weeder in hand, a wheelbarrow in tow, bent over pulling those dastardly weeds! This winter is the first winter I have not had to literally spend hours each week and I finally feel my hard work has paid off. The weeds I most have to dig are: dandelions (you really need to dig deep and dispose of the weed-don't compost it!), plantains (I love hostas but minature hosta like plants in the lawn are not what I had in mind), goose grass (the absolutely worse-see the two small pictures above), nutsedge (likes the shady moist areas in my lawn). I feel you need to remove the weeds prior to them going to seed to prevent the next season's crop, and removing weeds helps ensure you lawn grass can compete on an unlevel playing field. In the shade lawn grass needs all the help it can get. I also have problems with wild strawberries (very difficult to deal with because of the runners), and wild violets. I am still mad about those violets. I had no idea they would spread so doggoned much into the lawn when I purchased that innocent looking violet at-of ALL places-a master gardener sale here in Montgomery County. I still sting to think I bought such an invasive plant from this plant sale. I learned my lesson almost to the point of being fanatic about invasive plants like obedient plant and artemisia being sold by master gardeners. I usually don't say anything but I will definitely NOT buy any plants there. There are perhaps easier ways of getting rid of weeds, but I like to try to be organic and don't like pesticides, therefore I have not used chemical sprays or such to get rid of the weeds, instead preferring to hand dig them. This is not for everyone and if you use pesticides that is certainly your right, just be sure to read the label and follow instructions to the letter. So, fourth tip to a great lawn, remove weeds.

Another important chore for a great looking fescue lawn is to remove leaves in the fall. The warm season grasses are better equipped to deal with excess leaves since they run, but fescue will smother under leaves and debris and will not bounce back. Weeds will set in and you will be back at square one. Tip number five is to remove leaves from your lawn in the fall and compost.

The last tip is probably the most MOST important tip. It is also the easiest and simplest way to ensure you have a great looking lawn even if you don't follow the first four tips. Are you ready?! Mow your lawn properly and often. These two simple tasks are where most homeowners fail in their endeavors to have a good looking lawn. Even if they do all of the above it is all for naught if they don't mow properly. For fescue lawns it will mean mowing AT LEAST twice weekly from early March well into November. If you have a lawn person mowing your lawn, I understand it is VERY expensive to do so and you may not want to spring for an extra mowing, this would be the time to supplement the mowing with your own mowing. I can't stress this enough. In the past four years that I have been intensively gardening (since I retired from the Army), I have faithfully mowed my lawn at least twice a week with the exception of this past summer when my lawn finally turned completely brown and went dormant. In that case I only mowed about once a week. Fescue should never be mowed lower than 3 inches in the summer time. Additionally, you should never mow more than a third of the grass blade off at any one time. Therefore you need to mow the lawn when it has about an inch of new growth. This doesn't take long, especially if you fertilize and if we have plenty of rains. Even in the shade my lawn tends to grow quickly. For fescue, I do mow a little lower in March and April to encourage tillering. Once the weather starts getting hot though, the cutting heighth of the mower comes up. My lawn probably always seems like it needs to be cut but for fescue you truly want it long. The length helps to shade the grass roots and the soil. Sometimes weed seeds are not able to germinate because of the shade provided by long grass, additionally water is not lost as fast when the lawn is cut long. Now, for warm season grasses you can cut them much shorter but you still want to cut regularly and not let them get too long. Bermuda should probably be cut to a heighth of 1.5 inches or so. You can plan on cutting it when it reaches about 2 inches or so, keeping in mind that you do not want to cut off more than one third of the grass blade in any one cutting. When you cut your lawn frequently and properly, make sure you leave the grass blades on the lawn, they will quickly decompose and add much needed nitrogen to the soil. I recently heard or read somewhere that when you leave a season's worth of grass clippings on your lawn, it adds the equivalent of 1 pound of nitrogen to the soil! Now, if you don't cut properly and have gabs of grass, make sure you rake the grass clippings up for your compost so it does not smother the grass. This is not the proper way to mow and you will have many weeds and weak grass if you mow in this manner. The last and final tip of this very long post, is to cut your lawn frequently and in the correct manner prescribed for your type of grass.

If you follow these tips you will be sure to be the envy of the neighborhood (never a problem for me since most of my neighbors can't see my lawn-the way I like it!). Yes, lawn grasses take a lot of time, but it is worth it to have the beautifully maintained house with super curb appeal. Additionally, great lawns really set off the gardens. Believe it or not, in my yard even with all the gardens, the thing that takes the MOST amount of time and maintenance and money IS the lawn. That is one reason I try to take out lawn and put in gardens (hubby doesn''t agree-but then again, he does not maintain the yard-I do!). Lawn mowing, overseeding, fertilizing, raking, and weeding all take a tremendous amount of time and sometimes money, but lawns require it.

Enjoy the video. I thought it fitting since cows also like grass, not to look at, but to chew! They do a great job of fertilizing the pasture too and I really enjoy my neighbor's cows out back of my garden. I have included a couple of pictures of my lawn grass. The first picture was taken in August 07 and even without watering you can see the grass (fescue) is a lovely shade of green! I do think the shade may help, but proper mowing is the biggest, simplest, easiest thing I do for my lawn. The second picture was taken in 2004 and the lawn was not quite where I wanted it to be. It was well on its way though after having been infested with 6 foot tall pokeweed and who knows what else just three years before. Like I have said before, gardening takes time and anyone who thinks they can create an ideal garden overnight either has an awful lot of money (then the garden only looks good for a short time because you still have to maintain it!) or is a bit naive about the nature of gardening.

in the garden....enjoying the green, cool, soft grass underfoot.

Where Does All that Sod Go?

I have two basic ways to create a new garden. One involves hard back breaking labor and the other I call the lazy gardener's method. I have only voluntarily used the lazy gardener method once. The other times I have used this method are because I was gardening under trees with close to the surface roots.






I first lay out the new area with a hose as an outline for the new garden bed, then I begin hand digging all of the sod out of the area with my trusty shovel. Some people have better luck using a flat shovel, but I find the curved shovel works best to dig into and remove the sod.




Once the sod is all removed I place it in a wheelbarrow or my lawn cart for transplanting elsewhere in the garden. I estimate I have transplanted about 10,000 square feet of sod in this way. Sometimes I wind up moving sod more than once! The reason why I end up moving so much sod is I continue to make the mistake of planning new gardens too small. I am finally beginning to realize it is best to go ahead and go large to begin with, and save myself work further down the road.

The hardest part making a new garden for me is removing and transplanting the sod. I get so impatient I sometimes start planting before all of the sod is removed. It is a bad habit I have had to work on. I am doing better and enjoy it so much when the garden is done all at once and is completely ready for planting and planning.

Then the fun part begins with designing and planting. I almost never plan a garden on paper. I used to diligently plan the vegetable garden on paper each year, but now have a procedure of rotation which does not require and in depth plan. Thank goodness because I really just want to dig. Flower garden plans ALWAYS change once planting begins anyhow, so what is the point?

The garden in the pictures was created in 2006. I found it was too small to adequately circle around the oak, so I decided to enlarge it this past fall. It really would have been so much easier to have made it big to begin with! I would like to say I learned a lesson and will plan big from now on, but realistically I know that I won't. I think that the beauty of gardening is change. Reworking a garden is change so I am trying to go with the flow. Really, what I am trying to say is even if I plan big, it is likely I will change the garden somehow at some point. That is just the way I garden. I once heard you are not truly a gardener unless you move plants around, but I don't fully believe that because I know people who actually do plan well and never move plants. They are few and far between though as I KNOW most gardeners move plants around. Trees, shrubs, decks, bulbs, vines-you name it and we have moved it!





Once the sod is safely removed and replanted, I then use my shovel to hand turn the soil. I give the soil a really good working over and when I am done, my soil is raised about four inches above the surrounding sod. Making sure the soil is good and moist helps in this endeavor. I then add some compost (if available, if not then just a layer of good mulch), greensand, and plants. Greensand is an organic amendment which helps change the composition of clay soil. Something we have a lot of in Tennessee.



Once all is done, I mulch with either shredded wood mulch from Bi-County or with leaves and/or pine needles. If the garden is next to the house the mulch will never be shredded wood mulch. It takes a few years for the garden to grow in but I find the time is passing rather quickly, and I try to be very patient.



The far garden in the top picture was created in February 05. The mulch still showing on it is the initial mulch I used when creating this garden. I purchased it from Bi-County for just $10 a pickup truck full. I think it took about three truck loads. What a chore on my poor back! I will not mulch it again in this way, preferring instead to use leaves and pine needles once the garden is set in.




The second method I have used in creating a garden is the lazy gardener's method. It requires no digging initially. This time of year is the best time to make a new garden using this method. All I do is layer a bunch of newspapers (5-6 layers) over the sod in the new garden area, then cover the newspapers with a thick layer of shredded leaves. The garden sits all winter, then come spring I turn over the whole area and re-mulch. I don't like this method as well as the first because you wind up with many more weeds as lawn grasses are tough to kill, even under a deep layer of mulch. It takes about two years to get this type of garden established to the point the first type is in just one year. By being established I mean with very little weeds left to grow through the mulch and with the soil being friable and workable.




The number one mistake I see people make when creating new gardens is to rototill or turn under the soil without first removing the lawn and/or weeds. It is pointless to begin a garden in this way because you will spend more time pulling weeds than you do enjoying it. If you are digging under a tree and there are roots close to the surface, you should not remove the sod. I usually lay sod down over the area upside down, cover with newspapers and lots of mulch and use the lazy gardener method to garden in this type of location. Plants I use close to trees and roots are going to be different than what I would use in another garden further away from the tree. I do try to balance the trees needs with my need to cultivate and grow beautiful things but this can be tricky. I will talk about gardening under trees in another post sometime.



No garden will be truly weed proof, but ensuring you properly prepare the garden prior to planting will prevent much heartache later on. The double benefit of removing the lawn is you have new instant sod to replace thin areas of your yard. If there are only weeds in the new garden area, then put them directly in the compost bin and don't bother transplanting them. Sometimes I like it when I have only weeds to remove because it saves on the labor of transplanting the sod. Even with all of my hard work on the sod I do still have thin and weedy areas so I always try to create gardens here first. So where does all the sod go? it goes....


in the garden....expanding my gardens and moving sod.

Liquid Aerify vs Mechanical Aeration

A friend (Daron) asked me to give my opinion on a product called Liquid Aerify, a product sold by Nature's Lawn and Garden, Inc. Stuart Franklin is the President. The product claims to loosen and aerate our tight clay soils and is all biological. This is the first I have heard of it and was wondering if anyone had ever used it and if it produced results. The website has several testimonials from satisfied customers. I think if the product is all biological and the homeowner has time to wait for it to work then it might be worth trying.

I would still aerate my lawn though. I think mechanical aeration is beneficial for lawns because not only does it pull out cores of soil which then allows seed, fertilizer and rain to reach deeper into the soil, but the pulled cores of soil stay on top of the soil and mix back into it-essentially building a small layer of soil on top of the grass. I like this for my challenged lawn. I have a little aerator which has saved me a lot of time and money because I can do the job myself. I aerate my lawn about three times a year, when it is wet and prior to reseeding or liming. So, in short I don't think Liquid Aerify would hurt, and might help but mechanical aeration is still an important lawn maintenance step as well. Do any readers have experiences with Aerify?

in the garden....

What to grow in a front lawn with only 2 hours of sun?

From In the Garden

Hi there clks ant. You asked a question in storychat and the editor forwarded it me. I hope this answer reaches you. You said you get about two hours of sun in your front yard as the house is blocking the yard and what can you grow there for color? An easy and obvious choice for the green color to replace the grass is Lirope spicata also known as Creeping Lilyturf. (A picture of mine is above) You can buy creeping lilyturf at any nursery though I don't think it is commonly available in big box stores. You must be sure to buy liriope spicata and NOT liriope muscari if you want it to spread and replace the grass. Liriope is typically known as monkey grass and does extremely well in shade, dry or wet. The muscari type will not move around and forms a clump whereas the spicata type spreads fairly quickly and is an excellent substitute for grass. It will bloom with small purple flowers and usually forms small black berries and grows only about 6-8 inches tall. If you do not want to replace the grass and do not want the liriope to spread then by all means buy the muscari. Spicata should be mowed only one time per year in the spring BEFORE new growth is tall enough to be mowed off. Spicata and muscari are evergreen and no maintenance once they are established. I have both spicata and muscari growing in my garden. I planted the spicata under a silver maple tree where the maple roots prevented mowing of the weeds since no grass would grow there. I put only one sprout every foot or so apart and it completely filled in within two years. It does spread but not like ivy or vinca. If you dig edging in at least 3 inches where you do not want it to grow then you should be fine. That takes care of the grass substitute.

As far as color it is hard to beat hostas, heucheras and pulmonarias-all of which I grow in my garden. There is a tremendous variety of hostas and therefore, no shortage of color. Some of my favorites are: Sun Power (gold in color), Sum and Substance (Lime green and the bloom is fragrant), and Albo-Marginata (a variagated variety). Hostas look best grouped together.

Heucheras, also known as coral bells are commonly available. Heucheras are evergreen and come in a variety of colors. I grow about a dozen varieties in my garden and have found some do better than others. Peach Melba is a peachy colored coral bell but did not do well in my garden. The purple heucheras do much better. Purple varieties include: Palace Purple, Cathedral Bells and Silver Haze. I purchased all of these at a big box store. Heucheras can be divided in the fall but it is best to always start with at least three of any one variety for the most impact. Heucheras do great in shade and are not too picky about soil moisture requiring only the regular moisture rain would provide. Heucheras bloom in the spring by holding dainty flowers well above the foiliage. They do make a big impact and my favorite blooming heuchera is the plain old red one.

You did not say what type of moisture other than the soil is on brick and clay. If the moisture content is average and not too dry then pulmonaria is a great plant. This plant is evergreen and I grow the variety 'Trevi Fountain' which is silver leaved with spots on the leaves. In February or March it will bloom with a multitude of small pink, purple and blue flowers. It is a show stopper and everyone who sees mine loves it. I purchased it mail order about three years ago where it is not too expensive and readily available.

If your soil is dry then Epimediums are supposed to be great. I do not personally grow them but am looking to find some! Epimediums do bloom and are supposed to be versatile. Another plant to try for dry soil which is a green with white varigation low ground cover is Aegopodium podagraria also known as Bishops Weed. I do grow this in my garden. Sometimes people have a terrible time with it spreading but I have not had this problem. It would prefer a moist soil but I have it in dry soil and it does well-sometimes dies back in a drought but always reappears after a rain. I am hesitant to recommend it because it is not always present but does work out well if you don't mind missing it sometimes. It is not evergreen.

Hope these suggestions help with the shady front yard. Some shrubs that do well in the shade are azaleas and hollies. There is a wide variety of hollies and one will surely suit your needs if you are looking for shrubs. I especially like the Helleri Holly. It is low growing, does well in the shade and never needs to be trimmed-my kind of shrub. Azaleas can be picky and I would not recommend them for you if your soil is brick and clay, stick with the hollies.

Please let me know if these work out and I loved it when you said, "Please do not suggest silk flowers!" Too cute and brought a smile to my face. Silk flowers have their place but in a garden in Tennessee is probably not one of them!

in the garden......