Remember when I bought these new plants?
Well, it was actually the Fuschia that was first to go. Poor Wilma didn’t make it.
We thought that I had killed the mint good and dead, but then it sprang up from its own ashes. It turns out that mint is the perfect plant for someone like me, because it’s impossible to kill.
The sickly Basil is growing fine as long as I keep it watered, and it’s getting to be a bit of a problem because it just gets taller and taller. A friend of mine has a rabbit. I think I may present her with a mint-and-basil bouquet.
Outdoors, my yard is still struggling. A year ago my mother de-weeded that yard carefully, which resulted in the yard also being entirely stripped bare. Then we re-seeded it with grass and some clover.
The grass came in well, and in spring was high enough to be cut. But somehow, since then, it has… disappeared. Parts that were green and lush in spring are suddenly bare again, and being filled in with weeds. All the weeds my mother painstakingly pulled out are reappearing, and my grass has vanished.
I don’t even know what the weeds are.
seriously, what is this, and how do I get rid of it??
I thought they were dandelions, but on closer inspection I could see that they are not. The leaves aren’t jagged enough. So what is this that is taking over my yard? Where is the grass?
The clover is faring better so I re-seeded some more clover in the bare patches. It’s taking in places, but mostly, the yard is still filled with bald spots.
Is it possible to do a comb-over on a yard?
If By Yes 
we have to pull the clover out here… i’ve never known anyone to seed it:) it is pretty and goes like crazy i guess:)
i think the only way to make grass grow is to clear out the weeds (again) and a couple inches of dirt from the yard, get some good soil and sod it… you could try some weed and feed, and a topsoil and peat moss mix and a bag of grass seed. weed and feed isn’t good for little ones i don’t think though, so OWL would have to stay off of it for a while.
there are other things you could do though. you could do pea gravel, or bark chips, and just have a few plants in raised beds. something like that would be good, but look up some good shade plants, my favourite shade plants are hostas. Hostas are very strong plants and can grow as big as you let them, not high but wide. herbs usually do alright in the shade, and some tall ornamental grasses…. but in the shady, kind of damp looking area your yard look like, i think grass might not be the best thing, weeds will always take over i would think.
I love clover! Can’t imagine pulling it out. It’s so pretty and so good for the soil. My mother suggested it, and it has definitely taken better than anything else we have planted there!
I remember you recommending hostas before. My mother likes them.
Nah, they still look like dandelion leaves to me. The young leaves tend to be less jagged. Lawns are fickle mistresses, though. Very tricky to get one to look anything like a lawn and less like … err, a desert wasteland. If you had a rabbit, s/he would probably love your lawn – grass, dandelion leaves and clover: yum!
For the basil, I’d take some off the top when you’re cooking. Great with Italian stuff or in a salad. 🙂 Mint are notoriously difficult to kill – even when you want to! – so you should be in with a chance there.
Really? Even though there are definite dandelion plants nearby that are actually smaller?
i thought this is what first-year dandelion leaves look like. could be wrong though…
Maybe, I have never studied the wiley ways of the dandelion with thoroughness. But the full-fledged dandelions seem to have smaller leaves!
I agree, they are dandelion leaves, just young ones. Clover’s good because it’s a nitrogen fixer which helps with soil nutrition. To me it looks like your lawn doesn’t get a lot of sunlight and that can keep some types of grasses from growing. If you can find grass that grows well in shaded and sheltered spots, that would be helpful. If all else fails, plant the mint outdoors and you can have a mint lawn. Seriously, mint will grow ANYWHERE (other than in the woods) and it will take over. Mine is just insane this year.
I’ve thought about it. I’m hesitant to plant invasive plants outside, but a minty lawn would be awesome.
I have an ant problem, too. Would they eat my lawn?
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