I have a large (3500 sq. ft) yard (photo 1) in Davis, CA (plant hardiness 9b) with two main grass types:
1) A pleasant common grass (need ID) (photo 2)
2) An unpleasant spreading grass (need ID. Torpedo? An undesirable Bermuda varietal?), pictured here is a ~3ft stolon, though I’ve seen some closer to 10ft (photo 3)
The pleasant grass covers about 1/3 of the lawn but is patchy and inconsistent. Another 1/3 goes to the spreading grass, which is extremely challenging to dig out, and makes the soil very hard to till and work.
We recently relocated some large planter beds, leaving another 1/3 of the lawn as exposed dirt (photo 1) with lots of intermingled spreading grass, which is somewhat dormant now in the winter.
I’m looking for suggestions for what to plant in the exposed dirt, how to deal with the spreading grass, and if there’s any hope in trying to achieve a uniform lawn. I have lots of spare time to work on the lawn, and can till / work the entire thing if needed. Davis gets a bit of rain during the winter months, has a nice warm shoulder season, then bakes in the summer. The yard soil has some clay characteristics, with large sections where no grasses have taken hold. I am not married to the idea of grass; any soft ground cover that provides a barrier above the soil and/or mud would be great.
Thanks for the help!
by OregonLifeStyles