Trying to post a picture for a better sense of what is going on in the yard.

a few other pics -- I'll try to take more this weekend

Great plan. As you mow between now and next fall you will learn the ups and downs of your yard. Literally. There will be bumps and holes in there. Keep that in mind for a possible leveling project before you do the final seeding next fall.

Becky is right about keeping the weeds mowed. Houzz isn't allowing me to upload a picture, but I will show you what a mowed weed "lawn" looks like when things are working.

This is the pic. That is all weeds - a mix of horse herb and King Ranch bluestem. Waaaay back by the front door you can see a darker shade of green. That is the remaining St Augustine.

If you plan to renovate next August and if you use a pre-emergent in the spring, make sure you use a kind or a dose so that the pre-emergent has worn off by August.

Thank you both for your helpful advice! The front yard does get sun, even though it does not look like it in the pics I posted. There are, however, TONS of big trees all over the property, so shade is a concern. I will plan to mow this weekend if it is not raining, and see what it looks like when I cut whatever is there down to a more lawn-like size. If I could even have a yard full of weeds that looks as good as your yard, dcall, I would happily take that!! I agree that I may need to look at ground cover too, rather than grass, but I have not thought that far ahead. I like the idea of native grasses, but want there to be a little grassy area for my daughter and the dogs to run around.

Excellent feedback. Now we know you're not shooting for yard of the month. You just want to keep the mud out of the house.

Shade can be an issue. Tall trees are not always good trees. People often plant a fast growing tree not thinking 20 years down the road. For example in my picture there's a telephone pole, crape myrtle, two mesquite trees, and another crape myrtle further in the distance. I've had the two (ugly) mesquite trees removed to allow the more attractive crape myrtle to flourish. There's a pear tree in the middle of the yard which would be gone if it did not produce tons of pears every summer. This is to say, evaluate your trees to see if they need to be thinned, reshaped, or removed.

If you find that your soil is too bumpy to mow, you will need to level it. If it is pretty bad (hard to tell from the picture), then you would need a landscaper to come in with a tractor and a box blade. You're on quite a slope so I would have them look at the drainage in back to ensure you don't flood your basement. On flat land this is a 1-morning job, but for your lot it might take a full day.

Depending on the activity level of your dogs, you might not be able to grow grass. Too often people come here asking what grass they need for their two, 1-year old labs in a shady lawn. Well, there isn't any shade grass for active puppies. I usually suggest 2 inches of chipped tree mulch. I haven't heard back from anyone, but that's the kind of mulch they use in our local dog park. They do it 15 inches deep.

Thanks for the latest advice. I have a 12 year old kid and a 14 year old dog and a puppy, so it spans the gamut! I would love a very pretty lawn, but do not have time to spend hours tweaking my soil, etc. I admire people who do it, but I have so much other work to do in this house that it will never happen. I also am not able to afford a landscaper, at least for now.

I was at the house this weekend. It rained all Saturday., but today the sun came out and the front yard was in some full sun and quite a bit of dappled sun starting at ~10:30am and it was still that way when I left at 2pm.

I will try to mow the next time I'm there to see what is actually going on. I had my contractor chain saw down a TON of bamboo that was planted as a screen from the driveway/road and was actually popping up in the front yard/lawn. NO ONE took care of this house for YEARS, so it's pretty bad....

Is there any reason to try and overseed the yard before the end of fall or would that be hopeless and a waste of money?

is it too late to plant perennial grasses in my area ?? I've looked in 2 separate places and one gives my Zone as 5 and one lists it as 6. I'm just looking to try and get any jump I can for the spring.

Thanks again!!

Someone else will have to help you with your fall/winter climate regarding seeding. I believe it is too late to get grass up and growing during the fall but other options are available for winter seeding.

Regarding bamboo: chainsawing it out is not permanent. The permanent fix is to cut the roots off under the underground runners. The runners are just under the surface, so they are easy to find. Once you disconnect those from the little roots underneath, the plant will die. Considering how tough the bamboo plant is, they are simple to kill once you know how.

It is too late to plant grass this fall. Before planting grass you need to kill the weeds. Even if you had no weeds, it is still too late to plant grass this fall.