One thing to bear in mind is that exposing the soil to the sun also exposes weed seeds to the sun. If you get enough rain that the seeds sprout, there will be no shade to prevent them from taking root. You might scalp part of the lawn and leave part unmowed. Then write back in July to tell us what happened.

LOL Not that I can think of. I have seen reeeally nice fescue lawns just like really nice kbg ones but can't say I've seen any nice mixed ones. I sure hope someone will show you one or two or ten so I can see. While I hate mixtures, none of what I said at all means an attractive mix isn't possible. The problem is usually that the varities poorly selected. No thought goes into it, so you get silliness like rye and kbg in shade mixes. huh? Or, they are all different colors from light, dark, and everything in between. Or nothing in between LOL. And then there are the ones that have higher/faster growing varieties in with low/slow growing ones. You end up with 1) a shady mix that is half dead because rye and kbg cannot survive under shade. The only thing green is the shade tolerant variety that was in there, but it's all one lawn and therefore looks crappy. 2) patchy appearance from the vast difference in genetic colors. 3) uneven, spikey growth, and who wants to mow their lawn every 3 or 4 days to maintain turf appeaarance? How can any of those possibly turn out to be aesthetically pleasing? See what I mean? They're too often just thrown together. Scott's is the biggest offender. They have poured millions of dollars into seed research only to mass market junk. They have some good varieties of their own, but you won't find any in the blends and mixes. Then they had the nerve to purchase Turf-Seed, and that just really burns my butt. To do what with it??? I've preached all this for years, and it was the reason I got so deep into plant growth and studying kbg. I wanted to not only advise people not do it but also tell them why, as well suggest ways around it. I won't bore you anymore LOL, but I do want to suggest if you want an attractive mix, you'd do better selecting and mixing it yourself than relying on store shelves.

Fescue-rye mixes are quite common blends sold labeled as shade tolerant or cools season lawn grass nationwide. It is just a blend of inexpensive common type fescue and rye grasses.

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