Thanks for the compliment. Rent the sod cutter to remove the fishing net and the dead grass, then rent a tiller to break the hard clay and to get rid of left over bricks, caulking guns, left over concrete, stones, rocks, lumber, empty soda cans, etc... Then carefully re-grade your yard with a commercial grade rake (about 36 inches wide). But, before you re-grade your yard, take the opportunity to check you soil PH and add lime now rather than later. You can also add some compost or chicken manure. Stay away from Cow manure unless you don't mind lots of weeds. You can get find Compost at the City of Raleigh if you have a way to haul it back to your house for $20 = 2 1/2 cubic yards, more than enough for your project. You can also get Leaf Mulch from the City of Raleigh for $17 (2 1/2 cubic yards) That's a lot of mulch. It's great for your plants and you don't get any diseased wood that could damage your plants. Do a search on google: City of Raleigh yard waste (I think) If you are going to do all that, then go with a Bluegrass, but Southern Seeds only sells 50lb bags - that's too much for your 1,000 sf lawn. Talk to your neighbors and see if they want to use bluegrass to overseed their fescue lawns; which I highly recommend. As far as the utility lines, no worries there. They're deep in the ground to about 12 inches or more per code. The only one you might run into is the cable, which they will re-wire if you break it. They're suppose to bury it 12 inched deep as well, but they normaly don't follow the code because it's not critical like your gas pipes and electrical lines. If you decide not to till, let me know so I can give you other options.

It rather looks like a mimosa seedling. They're pretty invasive trees, though we have a few that we love because they offer perfect shade for sitting under during the summer and when the leaves drop off in the winter, we get the sun. We also have a whole lot more that we don't love that grow all over the place. I find seedlings in my gardens & outdoor pots all the time.

okay so maybe they are fungus gnats, i really looked at them close and they look like tiny mosquitoes. and they don't really fly around too much, just along the dirt and leaves. i really do think that they bite but maybe its just something else, i know that whatever it is that bites me is also very small. but actually might be smaller. i read that the fungus gnat is not only attracted to over watered dirt, but also decomposing material. one of my plants i know for a fact has a lot of wood rot on the root structure. that plant also seems to be the most infested. also it is very very very humid here so they might be finding enough moisture just from that. i am going to continue to try and let my plants dry out as much as possible, and i am throwing away the insecticide because it doesn't effect them and it is kind of harsh on some of my softer tissued plants. i might get rid of the tree that is decomposing, its a wild cherry tree i dug up last year to try and turn into a bonsai but i think its pretty much a lost cause. as for the rest of my plants. i am not only going to try and make sure my plants dry out but i am also going to try and replant all of my plants in soil that is inorganic so that the gnats have nothing to feed on, all of the soil i have now has a lot of wood in the mix. most of it is miracle grow and i think that the dirt was infected when i bought it. so i just need to spend a little more money and get a better quality soil. and just for the record all of the miracle grow soil that i have bought i have mixed in grit so that it is better draining but i don't think that is going to be enough. hopefully i can get rid of these damn bugs!!!

We were at Martha's on the same day! I was getting one of their Almond Verbena shrubs (smells so good!). Yes, the two bottlebrush shrubs are the same. Little John is considered a dwarf even though it can get to about 6' tall. I've been growing one from a 1 gallon container for about 4 years now and it's just under 3'x3' now. Mine is in a semi-protected spot against our fence and has never suffered any damage in the winter.