Stop tilling your soil. It seems soft at first but your results are typical. If you own the tiller, sell it so you are not tempted to till ever again. If you have something green growing now, keep it. Even if it is not your first choice of turf, at least it is keeping the sun off of the soil. You need roots in the ground to start improving things. Those green things that you have now need to be mowed at your mower's highest setting. This will help keep more moisture in your soil. When you water, and you NEED to water, water for at least one hour in each watering zone. After decades of experimenting with different sprinklers, I have settled on a sweep type sprinkler for the best coverage and least loss and most time efficient. Some communities actually discourage the sweep type but I believe they are at least 10x better than the second best. The best time for you to water is in the evening after the sun goes down. I used to think that encouraged lawn disease, but I have been doing it for three years now and it works great. Think St Augustine. St Aug can easily be the dominant grass in your garden if you treat it right. In order to grow a St Augustine lawn you will have to commit to watering it. You will have to water it once a week and NEVER let it dry out. When St Aug dries out, it dies. On the other hand when bermuda dries out, it goes dormant and will return fast with the first moisture. So if you do not, or can not, commit to watering, then bermuda will be the result. Start watering once a week NOW. Water it for at least one hour. If the water runs off, stop watering immediately and come back in 15 minutes to finish. It should soak in better after it rests for a few minutes. It is sort of like moistening a sponge. At first the water rolls off but soon soaks in. You need to get the entire hour's worth of water down close to all at once. The worst thing is to water every day for 10 minutes. That will breed weeds like crazy. Regarding your trees: at the base of the tree, can you see where the roots flare out away from the trunk? That root flare should be exposed about 1 inch above the ground. If you cannot see that root flare, then you may as well cut the trees down. They are on their way to dying. The only way to recover is to wash that soil away from the trunk and expose the roots. Then you will have to build a barrier around the tree to keep the dirt off the root flare. That part of the trunk right above the root flare absolutely HAS to be exposed or a fungus will girdle your tree. If you can see the root flare, then mulch around your trees. I like the shredded cedar mulch at Lowe's. Earth's Finest is the brand. They are a division of a very good composting company up in Dallas. Pile the mulch up under the entire canopy of the trees but keep it away from the trunks. Pile it about 2 inches deep and keep it that deep from now on. The mulch will retain moisture and keep it more even around the tree roots. Be sure the trees get deep water once a month. A ficus in your area should grow to exotic proportions. If you decide to get a soil test done, forget about sending it to TAMU. Instead send (or drive) it to the Texas Plant and Soil Lab in Edinburg. They are the only soil test lab I am aware of with certified results that actually help people. Their standard soil test will test much more than a TAMU test and only cost a few bucks more. You have a national treasure with that test lab in your back yard. If you are going to have a test done, use them. Once you visit with them, you'll know why I like them. Unlike the universities, the TPSL has to have repeat customers. They know what they are doing and can perform miracles with you.

NewGirlinNorCal....... I love my junipers planted on the slope in back of my house. The previous owner planted four different kinds of shrubs that go all the way across the property and cover the whole slope. I am so grateful for those plants. That slope is pure rock. She must have needed a jackhammer to dig the holes for the plants. They also hold the slope in place. Of course they have been there since the mid-60s, so they are mature and, to my eye, healthy plants. I wouldn't even think of trying to plant a rose up there. There's a place for junipers, but I agree to use them for just a hedge where the space could be used for roses ... be gone with them ! careytearose......... You go, girl ! Please share photos as you create your new version of paradise. Smiles, Lyn

I don't know if I have a great answer, but I will tell you what I do and what the consensus is from the things I have read. If you are just planting a small amount of crimson clover, you can drop the seed into the bermuda by hand or small spreader and then scrape it pretty good with a rake or similar to make the seed sink down and come in contact with dirt. The bermuda needs to be mowed as short as possible before seeding. Don't seed until it will get water. and I would probably wait until the end of September or first couple of weeks of October if the bermuda is thick. If you are planting a lot, some type of harrow will be good to get the seed in contact with the soil. Mine grows very well in my bermuda, but I only have a few small areas of bermuda since my lawn is more than an acre of old pasture and since I have never encouraged bermuda since we built the house. Also, my bermuda is usually is poor shape in September since I don't water it. In some places people plant it in late winter. The experts here think around October 1 is best. It can be earlier if you know it will get enough water, and later if you are in an area (such as the middle of the city) where you will not get a hard freeze in the first few weeks from planting.

Yes MamaGoose that is a wonderful thought provoking image. You and LL have been rung through the mill. I also had a few issues with medications for Joe. This is when I started to keep a detailed journal. Some thing that could not just be heard from me but written so the doctors and nurses would see I was keeping details and when he was told to take this or that med is showed up in his food journal as barfing his guts out. Stop the meds he was better. And even though these meds were supposed to keep him from getting sick they did not work that way. I was also very frustrated on the way they were taking care of him in the hospital. His skin was horrible and his toe nails were awful. No one even bothered to look at his feet but me. Interesting the first thing the home health nurse looked at was his feet and she was pleased I had cared for them She said it is common in hospital to neglect the feet. And when they brought him food they did not open the container even after notes taped to the tray and written on his board in the room. I would get there and everything closed up. He could not open the containers so he would go hungry. He was too out of it to ask. I had to spoon feed him for a couple weeks after we got home. Sometimes he fell back to sleep eating half a cup of custard. LBD sounds like a horrible disease. Spiders coming from the ceiling is more than enough to make a person go over the edge. Feeling so bad for your and and Hubby. MG and LL. We did get some sun. We canceled the dentist appointment yesterday AM. too much snow and emergency weather alerts saying stay off the roads. I think we got 5 or 6 inches of snow but at some point in the night there was a bit of rain so it laid down an ice slick under the snow. This morning we woke to sun and about 13 degrees. We did breakfast then out to put the snow plow on the ranger. Joe had about half of it done then I went out to help him do the rest. I know he wanted to do it all by himself but it is good for me to refresh my brain on how it goes on and comes off. Then I went off to the post office and Joe plowed the driveway. LOL He even plowed a swath across the back yard for the kitties to travel on their adventures.