Please help me!
We moved into our house 6 years ago and have had one tragedy after another and our lawn has suffered for it. Every spring, I'm all gung-ho with "I'm getting this yard into shape"! and something comes up and some years, the best I can do is to pull the weeds out of our driveway cracks. So, it's March and I'm saying it again: This is the year I'm getting the yard into shape! The good news is: I haven't used any chemicals in the 6 years that I've been here. The bad news is: I've got more thistle than grass. I also have these weird woody-weed things growing in my most neglected areas. I have 3 areas that I cannot mow at all. One is about 4' x 5' and I have it covered in black plastic for 2 years. The other is quite large, between the driveway and the house (which sounds easy enough to mow, but it's not) and it's halfway covered by black plastic. Thorny stuff grows there. Finally there's an elevated area beside my garage that has not been mowed in 6 years. I once took my grass whip to it, tho.
In the years prior, we have had the worst luck with lawn mowers, but I think this year, we've finally got a good riding mower and a good push mower, so that should take care of 80% of the yard (almost an acre surrounded by a chain link fence). I don't mind mowing, but I hate weed-whacking, so that never happens. The fenceline is a disgrace!
I was drawn to this forum because I'm really lazy and dirt poor. The weather is supposed to be nice this week, so here I go... I'm ready to peel the plastic off the 4x5 spot and try my luck... due to a failed gardening experiment last year, I have enough compost and topsoil to cover said area with 2-3 inches of fresh stuff. Oh, I also have a pet rabbit and unlimited fresh, free fertilizer! So what would happen if I planted some fescue seeds on top of decent dirt with a layer of topsoil, compost and rabbit cage waste and just left it alone (I'm not so lazy that I won't water it, but that's as much maintenance as I want to put into it)?
I have birds and worms and bees and normal stuff. I'm in East TN, so it gets hot and humid but usually rains when it's needed. So, what can I do so that my yard doesn't look like the house has been empty for years... without spending a lot of money or effort (really lazy, remember?!)
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