Our Lawn Is Terrible (Austin, Universal City: HOA, house, landscaping)

[Hot Coco]

Can anyone recommend a lawn service near Universal City that is reasonable and know what they are doing, that would come and reseed all the dead areas which is now big erroding dirt areas in our huge yard? My DH is working most of the time, and it is just to much for me to do alone. It was a gorgeous lawn when we moved in, but between the drought, bugs, and DH not having a green thumb it didn't have a chance! Lol. I appreciate any advice or referrals. Thank you

[rd2007]

It's probably just asleep! What type of grass? Almost everything is brown here in the winter. Chill and put down some spring fertilizer made for this area and your lawn (at the right time of year, which isn't now). You might be surprised what comes back to life. Mine always has.

[habubak]

It is sleeeeeeping!

And if it doesn't wake up in the spring, don't replant grass - the first 1/2 of 2012 is forecast to be another bad drought.

See if Universal City will give you water bill rebates to XERISCAPE! SAWS does this. Xeriscape doesn't mean cactus - it means flowers and bushes and ornamental drought-tolerant grasses. You don't need a green thumb, because once its established, you can't kill it.

This is the edge of the great American southwest - your grass doesn't belong here and it isn't happy - it may be more merciful for it to be put out of its misery! ;-)

[The Black Irish]

Mine was okay and then overnight WEEDS popped up everywhere! I have pulled em, mowed em, weeded and feeded em and they are still everywhere! Due to the possibility of another drought I am not planning on putting down new sod. I might throw down some new soil/dirt though. I also need to replace some shrubs in the front that the drought destroyed despite my efforts to keep them watered and such. It was a rough summer sigh..........

[OzzyRules]

I would wait a year or so.

[mrstxcop]

Originally Posted by The Black Irish

Mine was okay and then overnight WEEDS popped up everywhere! I have pulled em, mowed em, weeded and feeded em and they are still everywhere! Due to the possibility of another drought I am not planning on putting down new sod. I might throw down some new soil/dirt though. I also need to replace some shrubs in the front that the drought destroyed despite my efforts to keep them watered and such. It was a rough summer sigh..........

OMGosh!!! Weeds are a'flourish here too!!! This past summer I spent 5 days in the backyard (our yard is HUGE) pulling them all up with the weed hound and things were great, albeit dry, thru the drought... And now all of sudden, they are everywhere... Hubs has treated them and nothing...

Then I started noticing the weeds are not only at my house, they are popping up everywhere, other peoples yards, the kids school, in landscaping, everywhere... UGH!!!

[CD's Only Mrs. X]

Originally Posted by mrstxcop

OMGosh!!! Weeds are a'flourish here too!!! This past summer I spent 5 days in the backyard (our yard is HUGE) pulling them all up with the weed hound and things were great, albeit dry, thru the drought... And now all of sudden, they are everywhere... Hubs has treated them and nothing...

Then I started noticing the weeds are not only at my house, they are popping up everywhere, other peoples yards, the kids school, in landscaping, everywhere... UGH!!!

YES! They are popping up in my lawn like cockroaches! ERRR so frustrating. Mr. X is pulling them out as I type this because we do not want our HOA giving us fines for weeds!

I am wondering for the spring, do we put some new topsoil on top of our bermuda grass and overseed and fertilize just to hopefully suffocate the weeds for the summer and fall? We already discussed xeriscaping in the front of the house just to diminish some of the lawn.

So frustrating because I think we are going to have a short spring and go into another hot drought summer quickly.

[Backliteyes]

Originally Posted by habubak

Xeriscape doesn't mean cactus - it means flowers and bushes and ornamental drought-tolerant grasses. You don't need a green thumb, because once its established, you can't kill it.

As someone that grew up in Tucson, AZ, I have to say there's nothing wrong with cactus. Especially saguaros. I do miss them.

As more and more people move to Texas and the water situation gets more dire over time (especially in places like Austin that don't have such a large aquifer) I believe people will give up on the grass mentality in greater numbers. At least I hope so.

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by Backliteyes

As someone that grew up in Tucson, AZ, I have to say there's nothing wrong with cactus. Especially saguaros. I do miss them.

As more and more people move to Texas and the water situation gets more dire over time (especially in places like Austin that don't have such a large aquifer) I believe people will give up on the grass mentality in greater numbers. At least I hope so.

I would be ok with giving up grass if my lot wasn't as big it is now. A 1/3 acre lot requires a lot of cactus and rocks!

[habubak]

MattTx:
So don't use cactus and rock.

Some creeping jasmine, mulch, drifts of ornamental grasses, and blooming natives will cover a LOT of ground and once established won't need a lot of water - at a very reasonable cost. I lost about 3 square feet of my western-facing creeping jasmine this drought - out of about 80 square feet. I didn't water. It didn't look happy with its situation, but it certainly bounced back (except for those 3 feet, which will get re-colonized certainly).

Full disclosure: I still have grass. It has survived despite me. I didn't attempt to save it this year. As a result, I have grass only where it is appropriate. If you're going to any length whatsoever to maintain your grass, it is in an inappropriate spot & you're only prolonging its misery!

Check out Watersaversfor the attractive xeriscape options - maybe your utility will even pay you a little to help with the cost! Or go visit in person.