making a lawn out of a tree-y backyeard
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Anonymous
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backyard is lovely and foresty, but we have kids who are getting big enough that they need some grassy area to play in and we have ZERO grass b/c of the volume of trees.
so, i've had tree people come out to clear a certain amount of the trees (not all), and they're willing to grind the stumps - what does this look like in the end? will it be flat and we put topsoil on it and then plant grass? or are they flat grass-less circles on the lawn that are tripping hazards? |
Anonymous
| If you just want to plant grass, having the stump ground is probably ok. Just watch to make sure they really grind down below the ground (not just even with it). If it's not very deep, you'll have to do a lot of watering as the grass gets established. If you wanted to plant something else (flowers, bushes, etc), you'd really need to actually remove the stump, which is a LOT of work. |
Anonymous
| All I can say is DON'T do it. A foresty backyard sounds way more fun for kids than a grassy patch. If you need it for sports, walk to the nearest park or field. My grandparents (both sets) had forested backyards and I remember them as way more fun than my parents' lawn (which is now basically a tiny farm, though that is another story.) |
Anonymous
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We just had 4 trees ground to stumps around Easter. They look like mulch mounds/holes. They are flat. We might have raked them flat. I am OK with this, since we have a wooded back yard and it's not like grass grows. I was really glad we had the stumps ground. It was the first time we paid for that. (I think we have to cut down a tree or two every year)
My neighbor had all their trees cut down in order to get grass to grow. We kept our trees. Yes no grass grows under our maple tree by early July, but it's a great climbing tree. Also, based on the age of your kids, yards are overrated. I am amazed on how little we are home and how rarely the kids "play" in the front grass yard. Unless you are staying home all day with the kids, skip it. The yard maintenance sucks up your weekend time. |
Anonymous
| Agree with pps. Kids play a lot less on grass than you would imagine. |
Anonymous
| As long as you have about 4 hours of sun you can get some grass to grow. For the stumps, grind below the ground and then fill in with top-soil. It will settle over time and you will likely need to top-cover the first year. |
Anonymous
| You can also do ground covers that flourishes in the shade. It doesn't have to be grass, does it. |
Anonymous
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Why on earth would anyone with such beautiful trees want to mow them down?
Do you know anything about trees and their benefits, OP? Please take the time to educate yourself. |
Anonymous
+ 1. Wouldn't trade our tree-y backyard for anything. |
Anonymous
+1 gazillion. There should be a law against flippant tearing down trees. |
Anonymous
| -1. I moved into a lot with well over 20 trees in the backyard. I have had 11 removed and still have plenty of trees back there. It is so open now and gets light. It was dark and claustrophobic when the tree cover allowed no light in and the weed growth was insane. My kids play in our yard so much more now that we get sunlight back there. |
Anonymous
| Our yard is like yours and we've had good success with the shade grass seed that Merrifield sells. Like PPs said, they should grind the stumps to a few inches below the ground. They'll likely leave the wood chips behind, which I would move to mulch another area. Then put down some soil, grass seed, and hay. Be sure to keep the area watered. This is a great time of year to get grass established. |
Anonymous
| OP,don't take out all of the trees. That said if they remove the stumps and surface roots it will be fine but it takes a while to get a good lawn because the soil will be less fertile. Try taking out the south trees to get more bang for your buck in terms of light. |