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This yard was full of brush and trees. I have cut down most of the trees I want to remove and used a lawnmower to get rid of all the brush.

The ground is now covered in years of leaves, probably an inch or two deep. After I remove some of the smaller trees and grind down the stumps, how do I convert this leafy-ground into a grassy yard?

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kevinskio
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Grumblesaurus
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    Grass will not grow under tree cover. Depending on where you live, you might need to provide a very good set of reasons why you want to chop down an entire copse. "Because I want grass" would not get you far in the UK. Pretty much all trees except sycamore [which is considered a weed] need planning permission to take down. –  Aug 19 '22 at 06:43
  • @Tetsujin I know a farmer that took out a copse and the council took him to court. They lost as he had the paperwork to prove that is was originally farmland in use in WWII (proved by their own records...) red faces all around and they had to pay the costs. –  Aug 19 '22 at 07:35
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    If you want grass there, astroturf is your best bet. Not, in fact, a good solution, but the only grass that's going to "grow" under that much tree cover. Consider embracing other planting options that actually work under trees. – Ecnerwal Aug 19 '22 at 12:29
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    @ALL: "I have cut down most of the trees I want to remove" OP has already cleared the trees! –  Aug 19 '22 at 12:31
  • Seems to me this would be a much better fit on [gardening.se]. –  Aug 19 '22 at 12:32
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    @FreeMan - "all the trees I want to remove" so this appears to show **the trees they want to keep.** The leaf-covered, brush-mown description matches the question, so it does not appear to be a "before" picture. – Ecnerwal Aug 19 '22 at 12:50
  • Ah, fair point @Ecnerwal. Still, a better fit on [gardening.se], IMHO. –  Aug 19 '22 at 12:53
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    Use a shade-loving sedge instead of turfgrass. A US example is Carex pensylvanica, which is a 10-15cm tall grass lookalike that spreads fairly quickly. Very shade tolerant, but not native to the UK. No turfgrass will grow in that much shade and with that much competition from tree roots. – Jurp Aug 19 '22 at 17:29

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There are two main ways to get the grassy yard that you desire. Both will require a good amount of soil preparation. All the leaves and small branches need to be raked up and composted. Once you are down to bare ground you will need to till the soil, leveling and adding good bedding soil where the soil is not conducive to plant growth.

  1. Grass Seed

You can purchase bags of grass seed and a spreader device to cast the seed down over the prepared soil. Once the seed is down you cover the area with a mulch such as sawdust or other material specified for the purpose. The mulch layer holds dampness as you water the area, keeps the seed moist so that it will germinate and keeps it in place where you cast it.

  1. Rolled Grass Sod

Grass that is cut from the ground surface at a sod farm are formed into rolls and bundled onto pallets. You can purchase these and get them delivered to your lot. The sod is unrolled and placed on the prepared soil in an orderly manner starting at one side and working your way back to the other leaving a carpet of "instant" grass.

Both methods will require you to learn how to care for the seed/sod via watering and in some cases a moderate fertilization to get the grass to grow. The biggest challenges are hot sun that bakes the surfaces, excessive rain or flooding that can ruin either type of installation.

If the ground area is prone to having a lot of thistles, weeds and residual growth from old roots then it may be necessary to lay down a permeable yard fabric over the prepared surface before to inhibit that growth. If doing yard fabric it is typical that you would bring in top soil and spread a layer of that over the fabric so that the grass seed or sod have something to root into as it grows.

Michael Karas
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  • Adding that you can also "sprig" creeping grasses or plant plugs of any grass (http://ipm.ucanr.edu/TOOLS/TURF/SITEPREP/sprigs.html). I'm sure this differs regionally, but the sod farmers in our area (warm climate/grasses) disk the ground, add clumps of grass they want to spread, and disk again. – blakek Sep 27 '22 at 13:31
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Cut down all the trees, grass needs sun. the trees and the leaves are blocking it.

Basically the yard is full of trees, there's no room for more sun-loving plants like grass.

In places where you see grass and trees there is more space between the trees so that the grass gets some sunshine.

if you'vre remove enough of the tress grass will grow, mulch the leaves and scarify them into the top soil, and scatter some grass seed, if there's enough sun it will grow.

Jasen
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    Except then your house is getting a lot of direct sun, and you're blowing your air conditioning budget. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Aug 19 '22 at 04:53
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    ornamental grass is a waste of resources all round, eg: also water, but some people like it. go figure. – Jasen Aug 19 '22 at 04:55
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    YOu are facing an uphill battle here. Still too many trees, probably deciduous meaning a major leaf raking job every fall. Not only that, not enough sun for grass with all those trees. Here is my humble suggestion: If you want some grass, put it in the sunniest part maybe only 1/4 - 1/3 of the area, then get some ornamental plants native to your area. I've had really good luck with Escallonia, New Zealand flax, heather, spirea, rhododendrons (which like shady ares). Of course, depending upon where you are, these may or may not be good choices. Don't forget about irrigation too. – George Anderson Aug 19 '22 at 05:12
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    Rhododendron is never a good choice, unless you want to eventually cover the entire county. –  Aug 19 '22 at 06:41
  • This depends on where you live, and I don't know anything about cool-climate grass. In the southern US, grasses like Zoysia and centipede grow fine under fairly shaded areas. From the photo, it does seem quite dark so it's likely you'll need to strategically remove a few trees. You can certainly keep some trees and have a grassy area, though. – blakek Sep 27 '22 at 13:38