How about some pics for flavor? Do you have any way to provide some?

Well, this is going to be embarrassing. Here are some pics of my hideous yard. Only the last 5 photos are current, so click the link and then look at photos 24-28.

Here is a link that might be useful: Yard pictures

dchall, thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to post all of this! At this point, I am grateful for crab grass because it is green, so your advice should get me off on the right foot. I'm going to look into shade plants for the edge of the yard and buy myself an extra hose and a sprinkler, to start with.
Thanks again!

Your yard is bordered by trees and shrubs which make it a nice backdrop for you to take advantage of. The shady area in the back would be a perfect place to plant Brunnera Jack frost and Hostas. Some varieties of hostas can be quite tall so you can do a "stepping" layer. The Brunnera tend to be on the shorter side so you could place these in the very front area.

Here is my favorite sprinkler. I have used every type of sprinkler at least twice. This is the only one that gives me even coverage that lasts all week. This one carries the Melnor brand, but mine has a Vigoro brand. I've seen Ace Hardware brands on it, too. Shop around.

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Favorite hose is the Craftsman brand. They have a lifetime warranty so the one you buy now is the last one you pay for. I've returned about five hoses over the past 20 years for various reasons.
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Other hoses carry a lifetime guarantee but you have to keep the receipt and you have to return it to the store you bought it from and they have to still be carrying that line of hoses. With Craftsman you return it to any Sears and no receipt needed.

Katie,

You have a GREAT house. I think you need to grab a cuppa coffee and sit in the front yard and look at your house more closely. I'd incorporate an extra color into the window trim. It's the start of a Victorian style home. Is the house a greenish color or what it just the photos. Mustard trim on the windows. I'll have to think of the 3rd color to add. I'd give some thought to that color being one that you might use in the landscaping. You have no email through which I can send you pics of what I did with my house. E-me and we can chat. You've already gotten some good advice.

Your yard will be wonderful. Think of it as a clean slate and you can design it any way you want to. My first suggestion would be putting it all down on graph paper so you actually see its footprint. It will help you see exactly how much space you have for your plants.

With your trim being rust colored, you might want to add a similar fall color tree or ornamental. Consider some oranges. That would help to pull the house down into the landscape.

Think about a porch swing or couple of chairs. Put some bright colorful pillows for seats using some of the same colors. Window boxes hanging off the porch rail could also add some extra color for you. Can your husband do some light carpentry work? If so, he could building them out of something that would last much longer than the metal ones that I have.

Make your list and post it on the fridge of the sequence in which you are working with most important being at the top. Print your photos out and start a binder of ideas. You've got time. You can 3 hole punch pages from magazines with ideas that you like.

I hope to hear from you.
Xtal

xtal, my house is the color of a sinus infection with peanut butter colored trim, but I don't have $8,000 to get it painted right now. Haha. I could easily decorate with porch furniture, planters, etc, but since money is tight, I'm focusing on growing some grass/fixing bare spots for now. Thanks for your advice!

Slugkiller, I have some very full hostas growing in the front yard. I was wondering if I could thin them out a bit and bring some to the back yard. Would you recommend them as a border along the back? I'm not wild about the way hostas look, but they're free and easy to take care of so they might be a good solution for now.

Since my last post, I discovered that the "weeds" may actually be ground cover plants. There are little green things and some bigger things that look like ferns. See the link for a pic. Can the little green ones be moved/re-used in a better way? I don't care for the appearance of the ferns.

I also cleared out the shady corner. I might try to level it and lay some broken slate tiles down to make a mosaic patio/shade garden/reading nook. You can see the neighbor's scrap metal in the background, next to our trash can. I think some lattice with a climbing plant would cover that up nicely! What do you think of that idea? Pic of the cleared-out space: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cm2bjvseBlKKeE_1hXr4og?feat=directlink

After a good long week of rain, there is some green popping up where the dumpster was. Woohoo!

Thanks again!

Here is a link that might be useful: ground cover or weeds?

That is a ground cover weed called horse herb. It is very prolific and will cover your yard in one season if you let it. It is very easy to pull when you only have a few plants. You're beyond that already. If you like the way it looks, leave it alone. Otherwise use some Weed-B-Gone spray on it. You'll need a hose end type of sprayer to apply rather than a trigger spray bottle.

I think you should go with Kentucky Bluegrass Sun and shade mixes in respective areas. I'd go for early october (Ohio) Make sure you get a summer and fall fertizing in. And Let mother nature do her thing. The whole country is getting a lot of rain this year

I wouldn't be to eager to let the horse herb out as cover. Weed Killer can only do so much against extremely well developed plants (the name says it all)

Yes, you can dig up the hostas and split them to get more plants. Cut through the crown with a sharp knife and replant each section. If they are really big cut them into quarters. Best to do it in spring or fall but now is fine too. Just keep them watered. Also check out the grocery store for deals like 3 perennials for $10. You can probably pick up some variegated hostas to bring in some variety and astilbes are also easy and good in the shade and look nice with hostas. And you could ask neighbours who garden for divisions of any shade perennials they are dividing and don't need. (I have more hostas than I can use and they really need to be divided. I know I would let anyone who wanted to dig them up take them for free!)

DON'T TILL! Tilling destroys the soil structure that has taken years to establish.

There is one time to till: when the soil structure has been destroyed by compression. If the dumpster sitting there compressed the soil significantly, or if cars have been parking there, or if people have been walking back and forth on the area for years--that type of situation, where there is no natural soil structure to begin with--then that is the time when tilling is appropriate.

I don't know if that is your situation or not, but I thought I'd point that out.

Joining a garden club and making gardening friends is a great way to get free plants. Most gardeners are very generous and have more plants than they know what to do with. Offering to trade a little help for some plants can get you some good things.

Just one caution: some pass-along plants can be incredibly invasive and will turn into a pest. It's good to know what you are dealing with when someone gives you free plants.

if you are looking for something other than hosta that will do will in shade and give you significant weed-choking out powers in early spring I've found Wood Hyacinth to be very effective. Caution tho, the stuff spread like wildfire and WILL choke out most things in it's path.

I like it better than hostas tho, myself. And most people who have it are more than willing to share bulbs.

If you want to take up some space, try some burning bush planted around the border of your yard. They will have beautiful color.

Is it normally shady? What kind of soil? (Sandy, Clay, Moist, e.t.c.) If you have four to eight hours of sun a day, and you want to cover some of the patchy places then try some creeping juniper. It spreads a very nice coat of gorgeous green color to your yard.

Katie, what a lovely home you have chosen... things WILL take shape hon, try and be patient and optimistic :)
We all know how monies are scarce when in your situation (new home).... so I'd suggest this. 1- grab that cup of whatever 2- write down all the trees/shrubs, perennials etc that you LOVE 3-Figure where your shady areas are, and what best fit those spaces 4- do the same with the sun loving plants. 5- because trees and shrubs take longer to get to a decent size, I'd suggest you start there.... plant them first.
6-check to see if there are gardening groups in your area...walk about and look at your neighbours gardens. You'd be surprised at how many would LOVE to give you pieces of this and that
7- Read up on Lasagna Gardening...I swear by it! It may look unsightly for awhile, but it WORKS, and besides, its better than just sitting about doing nothing RIGHT girlfriend!
BTW, feel free to email me anytime

Great advice here.
Please do not paint - its a waste.
Save up money and spring for new siding.
Use trees to protect the grass.
Properties do not seem to have enough trees.
As others have stated -think-plan, think again, replan...this is where many foul up...
Plant some arbor-vita, if it fits, this is my favorite - its beautiful, low maintenance, takes little room..
And, often times, I consider "grass" itself to be a weed.
Plant sedum, another "border " plant - so easy - so cheap - I give it away ( the baby plants).

Your county agricultural agent or office can be of great help. Check (Web search engine or the good old phone book) and see whether your Mass. county has one and whether they help homeowners. In NJ many counties have volunteer groups ("master gardeners") trained by the county agricultural agent that answer questions; if the answer is not right on the tip of their tongues, they know how to find it.

Also, find out whether there is a college with an agricultural/horticultural school nearby; they will be able to guide you in finding local or regional resources to help you. Even 2-year community colleges can have horticultural programs and can be of help in guiding you.

You'll end up with a wonderful group of possible friends who are passionate about growing many things.

By the way, I loved the herb garden idea. It's actually a blessing to have dead grass if you want to do herbs or easy annual flowers, like marigolds, while you make up your mind! Marigolds aren't at all fussy; plunk them in, water them and they'll take off.

Herbs are pretty easy to grow, too. You can get or create a raised garden bed on top of the bare spot (see garden sites like Gardener's Supply - Their raised beds, pre-made, are too pricy for me but they sell "corners" that you can stick lumber into make your own.) Or just go to the hardware store or the local big-box home supply store and look for connectors that are used in construction; they'll probably do very well and be a lot less expensive than the specialized raised bed corners.

You just put good soil in the enclosure and plant your herbs, water and weed (or mulch) and watch'em grow!

And remember, If you change your mind, you can always move things around. (I know you don't want to hear that at this point; just keep in mind that this little, bare dumpster spon can become something truly wonderful!

Good luck and have fun!

Girl, you gotta buy a can of paint (well, many) and a roller and get started figuring out your colors. You do not need to pay someone else to paint your house for you, nor do you need to spend much money. Yeah, the sweat'll be dripping for sure, but not so bad if you do it in small bits. Great paint on your house--great colors--will just transform it and you will love it one million times more than you do now. That is what happened to me. I bought a little bungalow in a great part of town that was drab as all get out--not very inspiring at all compared to the adorable houses around it. However, it was all I could afford. I painted it all myself--over many years--and it is a knockout. I wish you the best. OkieRose

Hi their can any one help me ,, i want to know why dose my sir walter have lots of runners in it its only 14 month old and it looks yuk im starting to dis like it,,

I'm with DCHall & just down the road about 60 miles or so--do not till! To break up compacted soils, use cover crops. They are not expensive and easy to do, plus it's nice to have green in the winter. What about bamboo rather than a trellis? It's evergreen. As for grass--unless you like to mow, groundcover would be my choice. Best of luck--you will learn as you go.

I agree about painting the house yourself...and you can usually get goof-paint- the mixed paint that people have returned or didn't like, from Hardware stores and paint stores. I just got three gallons the other day for $15. Good luck!

Ok, I know ya all are saying don't till... However, Our yard was completely over ran by broad leaf, dandelion and thistle. I've done a complete burn down with Round-up and RD40. I have to do at least one more burn down, things are coming back, a few more thistles, as well as more broadleaf. Anyway, we want to amend the soil with compost since the soil here is pretty poor to begin with. Its got gumbo clay in some places, rocks in others that absolutely must come up, deep gully like areas that really shouldn't have ever been left there in the first place.(poor landscaping on the prior owners part)

We intend to yank the lightning struck tree from the back yard, bring in compost by the dump loads and till it into the current soil that is so hard packed you can barely get a shovel into the ground. Once it's all tilled, leveled at a proper angle away from my house, then I can redo the flower beds, garden plot and all of the other areas for plants and bring in the trees I have currently growing in pots up on the deck. There are only 3 items in this yard that will remain prior to tilling and amending. An American Basswood which is nearly as tall as our split foyer home, a 4ft tall 5ft wide spirea and a 2 and a half foot tall maple.

So I'm cringing at this coming fall, but I know next spring will be so fun to watch things thrive in my new yard after fixing the poor soil and reseeding the lawn. :D

So Sometimes, tilling it is a needed Evil. Unfortunately. And Ugly is what mine is at right now, I've had to explain to the neighbors why it's all dead! LOL

Katie,
One of the things you need to start, and it's practically free, is a compost pile and begin to compost your yard as you go along. As you cut your lawn, set your lawnmower on its highest setting and let the grass clipping remain on the lawn. This is the first step to amending your soil, feeding the worms and building up your soil.
As your begin weeding your lawn you have a few choices. I chose the more difficult route, weeding by hand, it's time consuming but in the long run easier on the soil and the health of the critters that grow there and work on your behalf. Using chemicals is a fast and easy way to kill a lot of stuff (weeds) quickly, but it's expensive and the drawbacks are sometimes significant. Instead I took each weed and threw it back onto the lawn and let it get 'mulched' by the lawn mower.
The same thing for produce, fruits and vegetables from your kitchen. I built a compost pile in my backyard and put most of my kitchen waste into this pile. I avoid any meats, bones and dairy, it gets rancid quickly and stinks - don't put any in your compost pile. I water the pile lightly once or twice a week and I feel the heat, well over 120 degrees, generating from the pile. In a few weeks, sometimes months, I get good rich compost which smells like rich soil, and put it back on the lawn.
Another thing I like to do is to feed the worms. 'Them thar critters' are the real saviors of my lawn, so I feed them. A few times a week I get some kitchen produce, say a banana peel and a few leaves of lettuce which aren't edible and I throw it in a blender, fill it halfway with water and throw the contents onto the lawn. Same thing for potatoes and most fruit. I blend it for at least 30 seconds and the worms love it. Now and then I throw on some corn meal, just as a treat. I've managed to tick off my wife and I take about two cups of rabbit food and run it through a coffee grinder a few times a week, making a nice powder which I throw on my lawn. My worms love it. I picked up a 25 lb bag at WalMart for $7 and it's lasted me a few months.
During the fall, when my neighbors rake up their leaves, I collect a bunch of those bags and store them over the winter, taking care to pull out any branches. I spray a little water in there and this makes a heckuva leaf mulch to mow a bag or two into my lawn in late fall. By the time spring rolls around the soil is nicely amended and is overseed ready! If you've saved a few bags and made the leaf mulch, you can sprinkle it over the overseeded parts of the lawn and it will help germinate the seeds, giving a richer, thicker lawn.
This approach is relatively inexpensive, the greatest cost to me was the black garbage bags I store the leaves in and then the space to store them. I got some old pallets to build the compost pile, free at my supermarket. Just don't forget to turn the pile about once a week to make a uniform compost pile.
If you keep at it, this isn't as much work as it sounds. In my lawn I've also used some more exotic stuff, all organic, avoiding the N-P-K approach as too commercialized (promoted by the seed and fertilizer companies). Take your time, let the worms do most of the work...

Ament. All I can say is after reading forums for 10 years, DON'T TILL THAT YARD!!! I don't care how bad the soil seems, DON'T TILL. Tilling is not needed and furthermore, it will chew up the roots on your basswood tree.

And I would strongly suggest you do not bring in yards and yards of compost to till into the soil. Compost can be amazing when used on TOP of the soil and can be a royal pain in the butt when tilled into the soil. If you are going to bring in yards and yards of compost, do it NOW and just lay it on top of the soil. Compost used as a mulch will do a couple of amazing things for you. The best thing is it will hold the temperature and moisture level of the soil at the perfect conditions to soften the soil underneath. That is a biological process performed by the bacteria and fungi that live in the soil. That process takes several weeks to accomplish but it happens without you lifting a finger - other than to fling the compost. If you use enough compost it will smother most of what is growing and give you a fresh start.

If you insist on digging, rent a guy with a tractor and box blade (photo to follow). The box blade is the tool used by professional landscapers to prepare THE SURFACE of the soil. He will bring in more soil or haul away what you do not need for proper drainage. He will also tell you what he can do around the basswood tree. I'd talk to three professional landscapers about fixing the problems left by the previous owners.

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The blue Ford tractor is pulling the box blade. The yellow machine is a skid steer which looks like a bobcat. You do NOT want that machine. The box blade on a proper tractor can fix an acre of land in a morning. The bobcat will take a full week (if not more) to do the same job.

I realize I'm just one guy on a forum, but in this case I'm one guy who has been reading/contributing/moderating on homeowner and professional lawn forums for 10 years. Lots of compost on top of the soil will fix everything you want fixed except the rocks.

I too have a yucky yard and after 5 years I think my tables are turning. IMO, Perennials are the way to go. I became obsessed with hostas this Summer and so now have an army of those to do my bidding.

Best wishes and good luck!

Hello y'all! I used Jerry Baker's lawn formula this Spring and my lawn is greener than anyone's right now - with hot hot temps in Michigan, too! Alot of lawns have yellowed out but my fescue grass is thriving and even the other grass/weed lawn is green and only a little dried out (didn't use weed and feed this year - not till late autumn I hear).
For Katie, I would use Jerry BAker's lawn formula. It even made some grass grow on the sandy-like area near the near neighbor's house - much to my surprise, really. Couldn't believe it.
As I was layed-off earlier this year, money was tight. So, I did the JB formula and watered and mowed and edged. Very pleasing and rewarding.
But even with his formula, weed and feed (or other brand) was still necessary I see now :-(
I would just continue concentrating on the lawn for the rest of the summer and start imagining what you'd like to do with the landscaping/garden beds for next year, get prices for the plants/tools you need for next year's project(s).
I would also start trimming back some of the lower foliage along the property lines - kinda opening it up.
Ask the neighbor if any of his scrap items can be recycled into yard art. For example, I had lots of misc. bricks and rocks all over (from previous owner's). My neighbor told me to take a hammer and break them up into small pieces and then put out with the trash. Well I did a few and put them in a small cardboard box and the trashmen did pick them up. Then I had a better idea. I broke up all the rest and kept them and put them in an "ugly" area - voila!!! Got a little nice 4' x 3' colorful rock garden that enhanced the bare area. Then I used some of the bricks and made a half-circle under the big tree in the backyard and transferred my hostas into that area, too. Recycled imagination works great! I'll paint the bricks next year.
Best of luck! Hope some of this was inspirational and helpful!

I used to be among the people who poo pooed Jerry Baker. Now I'm learning there was more to his formulas than met the eye. Which formula did you use? Was it the one with beer, coke, ammonia, and dish soap? As it turns out all those things are good for the lawn. If anything his spray did not go on heavily enough.

Hello San Ontonio! YES YES !! That is exactly the lawn formula I used! And, after a couple days it even s-m-e-l-l-e-d as if I put REAL fertilizer on it LOL. No kidding. It was great. Here's the trick, though. YOU MUST first sprinkle the Epsom Salts first on the lawn, then the Tonic, then WATER water water gooooood immediately afterward. It even filled in the other bare spot in the front lawn that I'd forgotten about LOL. I'm opposed to the weed killer tonics but will have to used it this late autumn, darn. Also, I even threw both Salts and Tonic under the shrubs and WOW - such food for free for them all. Amazing. Especially the yellow-green shrub (can't remember the name of it offhand) really filled out and seemed to come back to life this year. It was drastically fading away and thinning out previously it seemed and I was so afraid it was going to die. 14 days later, did another application same way. Few years ago I tried the whole application and didn't seem to succeed either. But this year, I followed the directions more thoroughly :-O and used one whole sprayer full of the tonic just in the front yard, then another whole sprayer full just for the backyard. It really really improved the backyard grass especially the shady areas under the big trees. Absolutely astounding to say the least. Soft plushy grass under barefeet was something I never expected back there. Wish I'd taken some before and after pics. Alas.