If others in your neighborhood grow Bermuda, and it seems to do well there, then yours should too. With lots of sun, tall fescue will also work, which I personally prefer over Bermuda. It's less invasive, stays green all year when healthy, and because it grows long puts down a deeper root system. It also looks really nice when "striped." It's been many years since I researched Bermuda, but my memory tells me that it's pretty difficult to grow from seed, albeit not as hard as Zoysia. Fescue is easy to sow, though I wouldn't do it until the fall. Your plan of cutting short, topdressing, sedding, topdressing sounds viable to me. I would add compost (I like Black Kow) to the topdressing as well. You should also press the seed into the soil. The flat side of a garden rake works fine for relatively small lawns, although you'll want to rent a roller for anything of real size. Good luck.

Looks like a Sedum which would love more light. Hard to say which species, but with more light, should have more compact growth (& a better chance at getting a positive ID on it--could even be an xGraptosedum).

I remember pinning this on Pinterest, too and doing an image search looking for the name. The closest I found was Eulalia grass: Miscanthus sinensis âÂÂGracillimusâÂÂ, but there seems to be lots of other Micanthus sinesis that are close. You might start there. Look also at 'Morning Light' on this page. Here is a link that might be useful: Micanthus sinesis

Those look like the female spikes of Carex pallescens, AKA Pale Sedge