Yardvaark said "Whatever you do ... whatever lines you make, you must make some simple, clean artistic geometry out of them. If you want more lawn on the west side, you can do it ... but adjust the lines to reflect simplicity, s m o o t h n e s s and the boundaries of nearby objects." I concur. Yard and bed edges that are squiggly remind me of group of people all talking over each other with no one saying anything of importance. It's confusing, distracting, and generally unpleasant. There is also the element of scale, the balance of area size for plants to that allotted for yard. I like to size the plant area to something no less than half the area of the sum of lawn and any hardscape devoted to people. And the plant area should not be more than twice the 'people' area. The size of landscape elements should be compatible with the overall size. For large areas use at least some larger shrubs, trees, walks. and decks. For smaller areas, scale down everything. To begin this discussion I selected a single objective you gave, that of making "the yard look deeper instead of a shallow and wide rectangle". There are an infinite number of desirable arrangements you might choose. In the end you may want to discard this idea in favor of developing some other idea. I admit I had my own motive in selecting that one goal for review. Landscaping is a blend of science and art. Years ago on this forum there were regular participants that made their living doing landscape design along with a host of others that had long studied the academic principles involved. I miss those discussions we had. The implementation of "making the yard look deeper instead of a shallow and wide rectangle" could have led to such a discussion even though it may of had limited benefit to the homeowner.

Solarization will kill off the top growth, but it will also kill off the soil bacteria you need to convert organic matter into nutrients that feed the plants you want to grow. A far better method of cleaning up starts with a good, reliable soil test along with taking a good, in depth look at what you have with these simple tests; 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. Once you know more about the soil you have you will be able to determine what to do to make that soil into something healthy so anything you plant there will grow strong and healthy.

I believe you could rake a fair bit of the pine straw off wood mulch. If it's fairly coarse, there would be a clear delineation between the smaller/narrower pine straw and the wood chips. I think I would try to get most of the pinestraw off, it's a LOT slipperier. I understand the cheapest wood chips would be something called "hog fuel", and no, I don't know why. It is commonly used as a play-yard surface - get a load (or several) that are certified for play area use, as seemingly it can have wire and other metal bits in it otherwise. Resist the temptation to put landscape cloth under the mulch - it doesn't really stop perennial weeds from growing up, and certainly doesn't stop them from seeding - instead you gat roots entangled through it. It moves under the force of kids playing, and tears easily after sun exposure. If you just want to kill off the grass before you lay down the chips, you can spray with an herbicide or vinegar (straight out of the jug, household vinegar, with a dash of soap to make it stick), although the one will probably be systemic and kill the roots of persistant weeds, while the vinegar will kill only what it touches. You could also lay down 4-6 sheets, overlapping them, of black-ink newspaper, dampening it well. If you keep the edges covered, it will stay moist, will smother the grass, and will stop most persistant weeds from coming through, eventually breaking down and disappearing into the soil. You will still have to weed out those plants that come with the wind and birds, and shoes, but you would have had to anyway. Get them small, and it's easy. Hard scape, with either pavers or flag stone, is a possibility. You could either mortar them in - more difficult but more permanent - or put sand in between the stones, leaving pockets where you could plant. It's hard underfoot. Another possibility is rounded pea gravel as a play area surface. The latter will move underfoot and need periodic raking and replenishing - although, so will the mulch. It won't stick to clothing as much as the wood mulch. And it's certainly "softer" to fall on than flagstones. The Stepables could go around the edges of all three, or be used to cover an area of their own. You don't have to have just one surface, you could have a mixture, and as the kids get older, change what you have where. You can find that brand of plants everywhere, but they are just grouping and marketing them as that name - they didn't develop the plants, they're just growing them. If you can find a cheaper source, make use of it, just using their site for ideas. I would avoid the flowering thymes in the play area - while they are lovely, they may attract bees while in flower. I don't know your layout, but could you leave a smallish, lengthy, play area in grass, either in front or in back? There is one good reason why grass carpets play areas all over the country, it holds up to foot traffic, esp. a variety selected for toughness. While it won't stand up to the 100's of kids in a public play-area, so mulch is used, for what a smaller group of kids will do, it should hold up well, and while it would need cutting, and create grass stains, the kids may prefer the feel of it. A hand mower does just fine for small areas if you keep the grass short - they don't cope well with grass over 4". It would only take a few minutes a week to mow, and be a lot quieter and less smelly than a gas mower.

No grass will thrive in shade. However, by the looks of your photo, like you have grass that has been established there ... It's just been abused and it's also not quite the spring growth period yet. You could look at options to reduce the shade, eg raising the tree canopy a little bit to increase the sunlight (and air flow.). But I'm willing to bet your real enemy is soil compaction + turf stress both caused by the lacrosse abuse. Rye grass loves sun. It won't thrive in shade but that's ok. Your challenge is getting something to grow there that will prevent it from going completely barren; nothing will thrive with constant abuse. If you cover the area up, you risk "damaging" the soil by blocking sunlight and water. Plus, I would imagine it would be more likely that someone could trip or slip on whatever it is that you are putting down. Another option is to just let it be. In the fall, reseed the area with Turf Type Tall Fescue. That does better in shade than Rye Grass and Bluegrass. Another option is to buy some sod and roll it out after lacrosse is over. You wouldn't want to put sod down while they are practicing because it needs time to settle and dig in to the soil. You also would need to keep off it for a period of time and keep it well watered (and fed) to encourage this. Another option is to just give up on grass there and go a different route, eg groundcover, mulch or gravel. But where's the fun in that? Personally, I would go with my original idea. Regularly throw down Perenniel rye grass during lacrosse practice while separately growing some more desirable turf (eg bluegrass or turf type tall fescue) in some pots to plug in later.