Uglyhead

When we bought our house two years ago the fine bladed fescue sod that the builder had installed looked great. However, between poor soil, high summer heat and periods of drought it has since become patchy, weed ridden and as crunchy as crisped rice. It is not conducive to our weather or our kids. Now that the fall is almost here, I am ready to do something about it. Just what that “something is” proves to be the difficult question.

Several of the homes in our subdivision have Bermuda lawns. Then there is the house with a lush carpet of Zoysia grass, which has inspired another homeowner to tell me that he is going to install Zoysia plugs in the spring. Both of these varieties are thick, hearty, weed choking, drought tolerant, stand up to foot traffic, and do not need much in the way of fertilizer. And while it sounds perfect for us, there are minuses. For example, Zoysia is hard to cut, needs dethatching every other year, browns during the winter and greens up slowly in the spring, and chiefly, like Bermuda, will encroach on your neighbors’ properties.

This last part is the main thing keeping me from joining the Bermuda club. Am I being overly sensitive of the lawns that border us? Do my neighbors care? Would it create a domino effect? It sure would be a lot easier if our subdivision had something it its covenant like, “Thou shalt only plant [insert hybrid here] grass.” The other alternative is to continue to overseed with a blue/fescue blend, fertilize and water the heck out of it and hope for the best. Perhaps this will yield a more neighborly lawn down the road, but it may not be as cost effective or time freeing as the more short term expense alternatives. I will continue to graze on the idea for a while, but any thoughts or suggestions you have are welcome.