the easiest way to get a lawn is to use sod.. just place the sheets.. about 20" x 40 " pieces in place like tiles and the roots will leave the sod to find a home in your prepaired dirt.. Gordon

I would second the sod suggestion. Besides my garden at home, I help take care of a big church yard here in Park Slope ... we tried for two seasons to grow grass from seed, even tilling, adding topsoil, and doing all the prep ... it didn't work. We even had a nursery do it once ... it lasted a sparce season and never came back. Anyhow, that was my experience. And of course, a lot of Park Slopers brick in their backyard, leaving planting area around the perimiter.

One thing you could do is build a raised area along some of the perimiter. (Maybe using the broken concrete and rock to make a short retaining wall - then you won't have to move it far or haul it off?!) Hosta is common, but wonderful in these shady Park Slope gardens, and it comes back crazy stronger every year. (Soon you'll have more Hosta than you know what to do with.) Maybe start with that and some annuals? A lot of us really like Lowe's for plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Last Season

Hi, Christina,

I second BrooklynPhill's raised bed suggestion for your flowerbed - gives you the advantage of being able to make a great soil mix, and you may be able to smother some of those weeds that way, too. Plus you won't have to take out quite so many rocks ;)

Best,
Jen

Thanks! Does anyone know the apx cost for sod? If anyone can refer me to a company in the area (preferably a company that only provides the sod, and we can put it down ourselves) , that would be great.
Thanks again!

Chris, I saw some at Home Depot a few days ago. Looked healthy. You can probably call them for a price.

Best,
Jen

Wonderful - Thanks!
In case anyone wants the know: I just called Home Depot and their sod is $3.29 per sheet, and each sheet is 5' X 1 1/2'.

I had a very similar experience: had concrete in backyard broken up and hauled off, leaving rubble-strewn, impacted dirt.

I cleared as much rubble as I could by hand. Then, over several weeks, I went through the yard with a spade, turning the earth and removing more big rocks, buried slabs of concrete, etc. You could maybe rent a rototiller and do it faster, bt regardless I recommend turning the soil to loosen it, if it is as rocky and packed as you make it sound.

A tip: Save the bigger, prettier rocks and slabs. I had enough to mark off three planting beds -- two of them raised and bordered by stacked concrete slabs (actually gives a pretty grey stone effect) another at ground level and marked by pretty large natural rocks.

Then came adding soil. Dunno how bad yours is but if nothings growing well it would be a good idea to bring in topsoil and, especially, organic matter like compost. At least a couple inches worth is a good idea, and you want to work all this in with your spade or tiller. In order to get the soil through my house, I ordered it by the 40-lb. bag. I suggest this whether you do sod or seed. I used a ratio of 3 bags topsoil to one of composted manure.

Now, I grew my grass from seed and didn't have the problems others describe here. Granted, it's patchy, but I don't care -- this is not a manicured suburban lawn. I got the "no-mow" shade mix from Prairie Nursery and recommend it, but other such belnds are commercially available. It has a nice, shaggy but not wild look.

If you do sod, emphatically suggest you do so now -- before the hot summer months, which is the worst time -- or in fall. That said, I've seen people do it in summer. Keep in mind a sod lawn can go bad just like a seed one. In any case, you'll need to do some soil prep even for sod -- the roots need to make contact and you can't just lay it on brick-like, impacted soil. But, you can probably hire a landscaper to do the prep as well if you want.

as someone who went the whole 9 yards on prepping and tilling my soil and growing from seed and is now looking at doing it over again ~8 years later i suggest a> keep a lawn only if that is a big priority (parties, play area, love to wriggle toes in lawn, etc) b> take your time and do it right - a rush tilling job with damp soil does not pay off, nor does laying sod (or seed) on compacted clay.

if anyone wants to look into a split rental of a rototiller (or cooperative purchase of some sort) let me know. i need to find the time to re-do my yard this season real soon but am dragging on going to the effort of making a haul out to bay ridge/l.i for a day-rental and needing to go back and return.... esp since i don't own a car.

Hi, guys!

To confirm what ChrisA said, a NY Times article just this week outlines the woes of a Brooklynite trying to have a lawn in his row house backyard.

You have to register to read NYT articles, but it's free and they don't bomb you with emails unless you subscribe to various topics.

The guy specifically mentions his neighbor's nice new sodded yard that went ratty and patchy all too soon.

How about those ground covers they call "Stepables"? They're green, no upkeep, some are fragrant, and they have various "levels", from walk on once in a while to daily herds of wild elephants can't kill it.

A combination of ground cover, a curving path of HD pavers, and some planting beds made from your broken concrete and a few bags of good soil sounds both charming and less expensive.

Well, good luck and have fun creating your oasis!

Here is a link that might be useful: Giving up on grass article

I think whether a lawn in Bklyn is a good idea is a matter of expectations. The guy in the NYT article, no offense, clearly went in with ridiculous ones -- expecting an "emerald green," lush, neat suburban carpet. That's not going to happen. On the other hand, if you just look at the grass as a groundcover and don't mind it being a bit patchy, it's perfectly doable, and I'm not the only one I know who's pulled it off. (Nor am I an especially crafty gardener.)

I think groundcovers, pavers, etc, can be lovely too, but if you want to try grass I strongly recommend the no-mow mix -- it's a blend generally of fine fescues that grow out and flop over gently. You mow occasionally or not at all -- after all, part of the reason I live in the city is that I don't want to spend hours every weekend battling a lawn into golf-green submission.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

In the 2 weeks that I've been trying to figure out what to do with my yard, I threw a $10 bag of grass seed down just to see what happens. Well, I checked yesterday, and it's coming up nicely, even with all the rocks and pebbles around :)

So, I think I'm going to make one or two planting beds, add a few containers, and call it a day :) I'll add some pictures to my page this weekend.

Thanks!!