" That leaves fescue and your only grass possibility unless you want to take down the trees." that sounds simple. ill look into getting fescue seed. "Now is a bad time to plant new grass but a lot of people do it. Those are the people who complain in July that they have a full crabgrass lawn. That's what happens if you seed new grass in the spring. You get all the summer weeds. If you want to nurse this lawn through the summer, then late August is the best time to seed the fescue." okay. ill nurse this lawn through the summer and seed fescue in august. so nursing means trying to keep on top of the weeds (really, the lawn isnt that large, so i think this is doable) and watering whatever i have that is green deeply and infrequently. correct? ill plan on that. ill pull out those weeds in the strip as well and try to keep it bare over the summer till august. im not in any rush. i just want to do my best to try to have the yard looking better than what it looks like now.

I had the same problem. Looks like the area just behind the wall is back filled with crushed stone or quarry process for the sake of drainage. There is not enough soil there to sustain grass growth. What you have to do is dig a 6 inch wide and 4 inch deep shallow trench adjacent to the wall and fill with good quality top soil mixed with compost. Then compact it nicely with a hand tamper. Reseed with the same grass seed you have for the remaining lawn. In four weeks this problem will be history. I suggest you do this in the fall.

1. Before doing anything get a good, reliable soil test to see what that soils pH is and what the levels of Phosphorus, Potash, Calcium, and Magnesium are. Then dig in with these simple soil tests, Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what else about that soil needs help. Possibly, once you know more about the soil and can make knowledgeable decisions about what to do about the soil to make that into a good and healthy soil, then you can decide if tilling, which can help with leveling, or total removal of the present sod (often not necessary) and replacesment with some kind of soil and then laying sod or seeding, or whatever.

"As for landscape cloth, most people think of it as a barrier to keep things from growing through from underneath, however it's real purpose is to keep weed seeds from rooting into the soil from above." However, most applications of landscape fabric are covered with a mulch. And weed seeds will germinate quite readily in most mulches, which will tend to break down in time to a soil-like texture anyway unless routinely refreshed. And even rock mulches will collect plant debris (unless blown off weekly) that will also provide a base for weed seeds to germinate. So the landscape fabric is really only a very temporary deterrent to weeds appearing. A decently thick layer of mulch will accomplish the same thing and without the potential for weed roots to grow through and get tangled in the cloth/fabric, so far easier to remove If you search these forums and elsewhere online, you will find countless negative reports about the use of landscape fabric. It all boils down to the essential concept that it is more trouble than it is worth and does not effectively stop weed development. Most professionals that do routine landscape maintenance tend to avoid it like the plague. I too have been landscaping professionally for several decades and I only use it as a underlayment for a hardscape installation........and not always then.