Supina bluegrass might work if anything will. It depends on how shady the area is and if your dogs are peeing on it or not. Supina is the most shade tolerant of the cool season grasses and one of the most wear tolerant. They originally discovered it on cattle paths in the alps where were it ould survive the constant trampling. Its used in many soccer fields over there. The downsides are that the seed is very pricey, its a lighter shade of green (which some people dont like, i do) and it doesnt tolerate drought. It looks best mowed shorter than traditional bluegrasses. There are fine fescue grasses which are shade tolerant and drought tolerant but they dont wear well. You have to be able to keep trafic off of the area till the new grass is established or your not going to get great results.

Northern Sea Oats or Canada Wild Rye? However, I probably wouldn't put grass there. My parents use ferns for a similar purpose. Also, Rose of Sharon seems to have accidentally suckered into some shaded spots behind an evergreen hedge, and inexplicably survives. Lily of the Valley also likes shade and has pretty flowers. If you found something that was a nitrogen fixer, it could fertilize the Hydrangeas. Jersey tea is a somewhat shade tolerant nitrogen fixing shrub. (Ceanothus americanus). Might need more sun then you have. You could get a flowering or nitrogen-fixing vine to climb the fence. A vine could get sun from the top of the fence and the other side. (Be careful to check if the vine you pick is invasive in the area.) This post was edited by edlincoln on Tue, Aug 27, 13 at 10:12

Dear Doucanoe, Thank you very much for your inquiry. Grass in the shade is not easy as you have found out (if it was, it would be in all the domed stadiums around the world, including the Metrodome.) That being said, the keys here are choosing the right grass and then maximizing the sunshine and air circulation. There are only a couple of choices for best shade grass in your area. If you have irrigation, the best choice hands down is supina bluegrass. It even spreads in the shade. However it must have moisture and it is expensive as it is not grown in the US. It can cost up $40/lb, and if the seeding rate is 2.0lbs /1000 ft2, you can get expensive in a hurry. If you go this way, one alternative to cut costs is to buy perennial ryegrass as a companion crop and mix at 90/10 P. ryegrass to Supina. The supina will spread throughout the lawn as the ryegrass dies and you will have a nice lawn soon. If you do not have water, then you need to choose fine fescues for the area. These do quite well in low light and persist in dry soils without much fertility needs. The trick with all shade grasses is establishment. This is where thinking Âmaximizing sunshine time comes into play. Circle mid-September on your calendar as this is the time when we want to establish the grass, just before the tree leaves turn and fall off the trees. We want to use the late fall for growth and then the sun from early spring to get all the growth we can before the tree leaves comes out and rob the sunshine from the grass again. We center our fertilizer schedules on these time periods as well. This way we are not fertilizing a grass in the shade when it needs sunshine with the fertilizer to complete its growth cycle. Finally, if there are areas where you can prune a few branches and improve sunlight, this is a worth effort. Also, all efforts to clear underbrush and allow air circulation will be rewarded by better turf as well. Sunshine and air movement are the keys. Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more. Respectfully Trey Rogers The Yard Doctor

There are two that might work for you. First is the king of grass in Texas, and that's St Augustine. You can find it anywhere grass is sold. If the area never gets any sun you will have a relatively thin turf. Personally I would let it grow up to 12 inches high or higher in really deep shade. If it gets any sunlight at all it will be more and more dense based on the amount of sun. Watering should be done no more often than once per week in the hottest heat of summer. If you have a week or two with temps over 100, then go to watering once every 5 days. When you water apply a full inch every time. Measure that with tuna or cat food cans. Time how long it takes to fill the cans and water for that time every time. That time can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 8 hours, so every system is different. Where are you in SE Texas? The big St Aug grass farms are in the Wharton area. The other grass that will work is a variety of zoysia called Shadow Turf. It's a lot more expensive than St Aug and a lot more persnickety. If you have a bad month with that stuff, it will turn brown and take the rest of the season off. It will return green the following spring, but who wants to wait? If you simply look at it and never do anything on it, you can do will with Shadow Turf.