When we first moved into our house, the backyard was a dirt-track wasteland from the previous owner's dog. Nothing grew there, because the ground was hard-packed clay compounded by excessive shade from the neighboring trees. Over the last few years, I've improved the soil by digging in the fall leaves and filled the space with plants - mostly cast-offs I transplanted from the front yard. But, unfortunately, the nicer it got, the more work it became. This past spring, after hauling 2 carloads of mulch and still not covering all the plants, plus Bruce adding another 400 square feet when he moved the fence, we decided to turn the backyard into grass.
We didn't quite pick the hottest day of the summer, but it was close - 98 degrees. You would think that rolling out squares of zoysia sod would be easy, but those squares are thick and heavy! This is me at the start of the project, still looking fairly clean. By the end of the afternoon, Bruce and I were both covered in mud from the dirt on the back of the sod and our own sweat. Bruce is thrilled with the backyard; I think it looks a little fake - like we laid Astroturf over the whole thing. It's just going to take some getting used to, but it definitely feels great to walk across all that thick grass in bare feet.
