I was thinking the same thing. You can't get rid of bermudagrass without killing the St. Augustine. The good news is the St. Augustine stolons grow a half inch a day in the summer. So killing the yard and starting over wouldn't take long. You say the front yard is nearly perfect so in the perfect areas use some of your yard as a nursery and plug the back. The front will recover quickly and the back will soon be looking as good as the front. The key is using the top labeled amount which could range from 3 to 5 ounces per gallon. Then to use it as soon as you can then in about 2 weeks. You should have pretty much wiped out the back lawn. I would then cut the grass as low as possible then plug all you can. Keep it well moist and then wait. I would think by the end of next year you should have a solid back yard. Good luck.

The only things growing right now are....1)some evergreen green bushes directly against the front of the house. 2)a butterfly bush right side of the house out front. I guess that would be southeast directionally, however it doesnt seem to be doing well but I'm a novice so I dont really know what "doing well" is. 3)and some sort of tree that turns bright red in the fall...it's located directly against the house's front-left side, southwest I think. That looks good to me, no brown spots or shedding leaves.

Hey, thank you, Jen, it's amazing how a few words of reassurance can warm the heart! I do hope it all works. I'd love to have hostas, but unfortunately that's the neighborhood deer favorite, I think they would eat a garden catalog PICTURE of a hosta if they got the chance. I do have a spot for ferns, waplummer, and I'll look up Christmas fern. I don't know a lot about ferns, I should probably learn to make better use of them, thank you for the suggestion. I have a lot of planting to do this spring. Guess I better get off the computer and get outside! Thanks so much. Happy gardening.

Which variety for shade? Not Floratam. Or you could put in Floratam in the sunnier areas and anything else in the shady areas and let them seek their own balance with the sun and shade. Level first? Yes. If you can get it perfectly level first, you'll be happier. Kill weeds first? Yes. Spray with Round Up and start watering lightly 2x-3x daily for a week. Water just enough to keep the surface moist, NOT soggy. That will sprout lots of weed seeds. After a week spray the RU again. Then you're ready for sand/sod. Mowing high and infrequently will take out the bermuda. I would sometimes let the grass go 2-3 weeks before mowing especially in the summer heat.