Post-Construction Yard Restoration Part 1

The construction is done, and has been for over a month (except the existing window that we are repairing--it has been completed up to the window glazing putty, which has to cure for about a week before the window can be primed and painted). The project turned out beautifully! But in its wake, it left destruction in the yard. Trenches had been dug across the lawn and through a declining bed of roses that came with the
house. I didn't care about losing the roses. We have to much fog for roses to grow well without lots of chemical assistance and these were planted under a tree to boot. Other areas went without water for most of the 8 months and had turned into concrete-like cracked dirt.

So we have two restoration projects going. I'll tell, in this post, about the lawn in the area close to the house where the electrical trench was dug and watering was severely withdrawn. I think I wrote about the seed mixture we used. Clover, yarrow, and creeping red fescue were suggested as a drought tolerant mixture. (Posts in early June, if you are interested in looking back).



First we scalped what little grass was left, then we covered the part with the most existing grass with paper.





















We covered the whole thing with compost we had loaded up at the Last Chance Mercantile,







and then we seeded, watered twice daily, and waited...





It took awhile to be more than a dusting of geen seedlings. I think longer than a traditional grass lawn. The clover came up first, then the grass seed, and finally, the yarrow.














Now it is ready to mow, I think. It is getting long enough that I think if I wait much longer it will be too much of a shock. As it is, the clover is going to get most of its leaves chopped off by the mower. But the yarrow is still low and dandelion-like in its shape and the grass seems a good height for a first mowing.