HOA can be brutal. Yes, you'll have to pull up the grass by the roots - over and over and over again - to control it. For now, spade up the area and pull out the roots as much as you can. If you get it all up to your satisfaction, lay down several layers of black plastic/landscape cloth. Cover with mulch so it looks pretty for HOA. In the summer, when the grass is actively growing, spray it with Round-up (DON'T let any of the Round-up get on the stuff you want to keep). The grass will turn brown and die in a few days. Keep digging it up, Round-upping break-throughs. After a few seasons, the hedges will grow larger, the errant blades of grass will be less, and 6" of mulch will be enough. (very pretty house, BTW)

I think you'll get more input on the discussion side of the forum - the gallery doesn't see much action. You could just restart the thread there, or post there with a link to the thread here. KarinL

kevingalaxy, I believe mowing higher is only beneficial during the summer season. And the reason, imo, is because this does not promote vertical growth because about 1/3 of the blade is in the shade from photosynthesis. About the roots growing... If anything, experts have taught us that root growth is optimum during the spring and fall for cool season grasses. However, in the excessive summer heat, root growth is seized(forgot source). So I don't think roots will follow the water down or to a degree that indicates significance. And besides, roots should already be deep if you followed the deep and infrequent watering during spring/fall. I believe auteck stated in the summer one would need frequent watering... as in spreading out 1.5inch per week on a 0.5inch per basis. I am still debating this but 0.5inch is close to being deep if you have sandy soil. Maybe auteck can fill us in on proper techniques for KBG? [Hopeful] =]

The picture of the up close leaf with the dark brown spots with concentric yellow circles around it looks like blight to me. The other pics of the yellow leaves without this could just be because they are older leaves, or a nitrogen deficiency, especially in a container. Test your fertility. As far as the white spots go, I'm really not sure about that one. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come in here to see that one.