You guys are great! Thanks for the replies. I just ran across this site, and am now addicted! This has been a year long process, and I have been wondering what the heck (and why the heck) I am doing every step of the way. For the past 4 years I have been doing everything I could think of to create an adequate yard. By adequate, I would settle for somewhat green. We are in the seattle area so this seems like it would be an easy task. Our yard had a pretty good slope to it, and I could not get water into the ground at all (tried multiple aerations, thatching, use of product to treat what I considered to be hydrophobic soil (very hard, yet powdery at times, and water would just bead up on it and roll off)). So finally I decided it was time for a retaining wall (primarily to level some of the yard), so the 150ft long by 4 ft high wall went up. That managed to bury a portion of the current yard. As the dump trucks were driving across the yard to dump fill dirt, they didn't even leave impressions, so that led me to think that the ground needed loosened up some way. That is what led me down the road of incorporating some better soil and tilling in. The fact that I was going to till led me to the point of "might as well install a sprinkler system while I am at it", so, that is on the agenda before throwing the seed down. The yard is extremely high traffic by the neighborhood kids. All day football or baseball games is pretty typical. That is what led to trying to level some of the yard. We have a large yard, and love the fact that it can bring the kids together. My goal is a green yard that does not turn to dried out straw in the summer. Now of course, I look at pictures of the yard before I started everything and think, hmm, that wasn't so bad! Below are some pics from last summer that might give you a better idea of what I am working with. Bottom line is that I have had a great time working out there (yes, frustrating at times), and have realized I have a love for yard/gardens, and can't wait to learn more and more (thus the new addiction to this site.) Here is a link that might be useful: Yard Pictures

Sorry if I offended you. I don't pretend to be a landscape expert, that's why I'm here asking questions. My husband's issue with St Augustine has to do with the look and feel of it, he really doesn't like it. The water is not the primary issue, but is a factor. St Augustine is just not an option he is willing to consider. He doesn't like it. Period. I was hesitant about zoysia as it's a type of St Augustine, but we've seen some varieties he likes, so will likely go that route. Now, I haven't seen the flortam of which you speak, so we'll check that out. The St Augustines I've seen are not really a 'run around and play in' sort of grass like the turfs, which IMO is the only reason FOR grass. As I stated, I know St Aug and Bermuda require the same amount of water to LOOK green, the issue is that Bermuda can go dormant w/o water in a drought, the St Aug doesn't make it. We have both and in the past, the St Aug died off, the bermuda came back with some rain. (This year we HAVE watered a lot due to new grass/new plantings, but will cut back next year) Our trees are doing excellent and have all along. When I need to water in the summer,I use the a/c run off. 4000gal is quite a lot of water, IMO, in a drought prone area. It's not the cost that's an issue, but a desire not to deplete the aquifer. Our normal use is closer to 3000gal/month, but with all the new plantings have been closer to 5000g recently. I'm aiming to get back to 4000 by next year. Now, we like grass, which is a water hog, so we accept we'll use more than if we hardscaped - except for the grass, we're mostly xeriscaping, but we want to minimize the impact if possible. Again, I'm sorry if I offended you, lou. My intent was not to attack your, or anyone's, expertise, but to get information. Back to another question - how long after using roundup should I be laying sod? DO I need to wait a certain time period? Thanks for the help!

1. Having my neighborhood go up in flames 2. Having my neighborhood washed away in a flood 3. Having my neighborhood be swallowed up in the next quake, #1 No fires if you stay away from the hill's where there are lots of old dead tree's #2 Floods - Just stay away from those few areas #3 Will yea Earth Quakes are defiantly scary! Can't do much about that. I would recommend a one story ground level house. As you can see I have a two story Cape Cod style home. I'm always worried we will get shook off our foundation. Earthquake insurance it is too expensive with huge deductibles! Everything does grow good here though. Weather is nice most the year. LetÂs see sod laying tips. When I lay sod I straighten the sod edges and corners as I go and make sure no grass gets stuck between the sod edges. This will avoid dead grass and brown and yellow stripes between the sod pieces that can make fungus and just makes for a bad start. I spray the ground with water and put down a little fertilizer as I lay the sod. I always use my square so I get nice square edges when I cut sod. Sometimes I donÂt even till the ground. Sod will live on the patio if you water it. I do it all the time. DonÂt over water your new lawn. Get out there and lift up the sod and see how wet it is. If you over water your new lawn you will get chlorosis and fungus like I have now from too much rain. If I need to replace a small spot I use a plate or bucket for a stencil and cut out the bad piece. Then I use the plate or bucket to cut a new piece of sod from extra sod that I keep on the patio or garden. If you are going to put in French drains or remove and replace tree's itÂs better to do it first. I did it all backwards. I have a spot were an old tree and its roots were removed and it keeps sinking along with the trenches were I put the drains. If you put drains. It is good to attach your rain gutter down spouts to them. Also if you dig your ditch for your sprinklers try to keep the top soil separate from any clay soil that may be down lower and put the soil back in the whole the same way you took it out. The grass grows better on the top soil than the clay. ThatÂs about all I can think of for now other than I like Blue Grass because it self fills. But. If you have shade you will need to over seed now and then were it thins out. I left a link below to other garden pics. I like to grow fruit trees as well. I get all my info for the roses and fruit tree's here on GardenWeb. Take care Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Pics

Depending on what you are using to kill the grass it could be a long time. The information on the package should tell you everything you need to know about wait times and how it affects other plant material. A couple years ago I had a very weedy area and hired a guy to clean it out for me so I could plant bluegrass there. He killed everything with Roundup and said I only had to wait two weeks. So I waited three weeks, planted the grass and it did fine. He said that the roundup breaks down in the soil in about 14 days. Having said that, I'm sure there are alot of people who would disagree and say that it can last much longer. I've also had some experiences with weed and grass killers that seem to last for about a year or two. So you need to be very cautious with poisons. Corn gluten meal is an organic pre-emergent that will prevent weed seeds from germinating in the soil for about a year. It won't prevent the grasses that spread by rhyzomes though so you would want to just use it to prevent weeds popping up from seeds that are spread by birds or the wind. Corn gluten is available at feed stores and at some garden stores. One thing about your heavy clay, it is normally very high in nutirents and although it's hard to garden in, it is good for the plants. Besides adding the compost, try also adding zeolite. It's a natural, organic material that will enrich the soils and make it less hospitable to weeds. Weeds seem to prefer to grow in areas where nothing else can. They prefer poor soil. So by enriching your beds weeds are less likely to take hold. When you do get some nice new things planted be sure to mulch well. This will deter weeds, but it also makes any weeds that do manage to pop up much easier to pull. Compost loosens the soil, mulch helps keep it moist. One other thing I would suggest is to introduce earthworms into that bed. Earthworms have their own kind of magic they do on your soil, by tilling it with their burrows and fertilizing with their castings. They will also eat dead plant material and dry leaves that fall into the bed. Composted cow manure is a good amendment to add when you have earthworms too. Cow is good because the rumination process kills most weed seeds. Domesticated rabbit manure is good because they only eat processed rabbit feed and it has no seeds. I use a 4" cedar mulch in my rose garden and the weeds and grass actually grow between the soil and the mulch layer. Their roots are in the mulch so when I pull them out they come right up. I can shake off the mulch and toss the weed. I know you're frustrated with your azalea bed, but you have such an opportunity right in front of your nose. You don't have to throw out those azaleas you know. If you pot them up, soak them for a few days in water with fish emulsion and hang onto them until you are ready to replant you could certainly put them back into the amended bed where I'm sure they would flourish. Keep in mind that most the other things you're talking about putting in there won't look like much in the winter. The good thing about the azaleas is that they fill out and stay green year round. Cheryl