Shade Lawns

We all love beautiful lawns and isn’t it usually the older homes that have those luscious yards that have every type of plant life it seems and a lot of sun in some spots then in others has cooling shade.  Is it good to Shade Lawns though? How much extra effort is put into that area of the lawn?  Actually, the maintenance is not that much different than you might think.

We all know that plants need sunlight to grow, we know that we all would love our yards to have a lot of foliage to make it more inviting and beautiful, and we all know that the shade helps keep the house cool in the heat.  If you know of someone who has a wonderful yard with Shade Lawns, do they have lawn underneath the shade? Have you ever noticed what is growing in that area of their yard?  Most people probably have patches of grass in the shaded areas, but there are more other types of plants that prefer the shade that have been planted, look great so therefore takes your eyes of the ground and you don’t notice the grass that might be there. 

There are a great deal of plants that prefer the shade from ivys, ferns to shrubs.  Have you ever noticed grass growing in a forest? Probably not, but you did see trees, bushes, wild flowers and ferns.  The forest is lovely, but we don’t want a forest in our yard.  Grass itself seems a relatively simple plant so why is growing it in the shade so difficult sometimes? The grass needs a certain amount of sunlight to grow.  There are ways you can get grass to grow and maintain the growth.

Trim the foiliage that hangs above and around the area that lawn in wanted to let more light in.  Choose a shade tolerant seed for your area to plant, remember to take into consideration the amount of light that there is.  Grass varieties include St. Augustine to fescues.  When mowing, leave the grass approximately 1/3 higher than the more sunnier parts of your lawn.  Water deeply, water less often than other areas of the lawn but do not over water nor allow water to stand in the shaded area as this can attract disease.  Keep other plant materials of the lawn so that the grass can absorb as much sunlight as possible.

In addition, keep foot traffic in the Shade Lawn to a minimum or none at all if possible.  Creating a path of stepping stones or cobblestone would diminish the harm of foot traffic to the grass.  If you choose to create a path, make sure that water will not stand near the grass as good drainage in this area is very important.  Take care when fertilizing as this can be over or under done due to the different kind of growth and soil.  You may also choose to have your soil tested to determine what type of fertilization is necessary. 

The Shade Lawns and What You Need To Do to keep them as healthy and thick as possible isn’t difficult or hard, just somewhat different than the more sunnier parts of your lawn.  With some thought and a little work, your lawn can be beautiful even in the shade.