Some of the newer Tall fescue types have improved cold tolerance , and have the other qualities your looking for. Find out what type local pro's are using (sod farms, landscapers etc) and that should give an idea which type seed to buy. I think your window to start seeding - starts in late August, but I don't live in that area , so maybe someone on the board from that area can chime in.

I will be very interested to see if anyone can suggest anything that can meet all those needs. Perhaps you can plant in sections with different plants for ground cover and an area of grass for play, if you have a spot with enough sun for grass..

Please don’t plant Zenith Zoysia using sheet mulching. This will lower its cold tolerance because the roots won’t get to grow properly. A better method than sheet mulching (by sheet mulching I think you mean using cardboard or newspaper?) is to bring in truckloads of compost to improve your soil and make it deeper so there is ample room for the roots of Zenith Zoysia.

Second option is to consider drought tolerant and shade tolerant plants that are hardy in your area – maybe a lot of shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers and simply a nice thick layer of bark mulch where the kids and dogs run.

There is likely an expert in your area that is familiar with your regional soil conditions and can help you solve your problems. Check with your local garden center and your county cooperative extension agent.

If you have trees, then the soil isn't that bad.

If the area gets some sun, then a local shade grass mix would be where I would start. Creeping thyme requires more sun, though it will be good if the soil is very thin. I've had it volunteer in my yard in places the bedrock is close to the surface.

Avoid zoysia. It will be brown/dead looking for much of the year.

Hello, thanks for your comments and suggestions! Zoysia is out. Creeping thyme sounds like it may need to find a home not in the main yard area. Does anyone have thoughts on GREEN CARPET RUPTUREWORT?

I'd try grass before anything exotic. Usually in this area, mowing is necessary to control woody weeds, so it isn't a task to avoid. For heavily wooded areas, the native ferns make a good groundcover.

Pictures would help.

I would not be experimenting on a large area. Look around and see what neighbors are doing for like areas. Unless there is something really wrong with it, it's usually better to coordinate what's growing along the property lines with what the neighbors have.

A half acre is a LOT of real estate to attempt to cover with anything other than a seeded GC.......like some sort of grasses (most other types of groundcovers are only available as plugs). And expensive!!

Would also need to consider the appropriateness of even a turf/lawn grass, as few are going to tolerate much shade. How wooded is 'wooded'? Plus, there is the usual seeding lawn concerns of keeping the seed moist until germination.

Have you considered using just bark or wood chips as a groundcover in part of the area?

FWIW, the rupturewort is one of my favored GC's. And is available by seed. But I'm not sure how appropriate it would be for this application. Maybe just a portion. Photos would help.

I would suggest a mix in various proportion of the following: Clover, Crabgrass, Dandelion, Violet, Purslane, Creeping Charlie, and Bull Thistle. Should prove hardy and drought resistant.

Photos please

Sorry if the pictures aren't the greatest... It's the best I could do. I tried to show different areas and also what the soil looks like. We've had about 3 solid weeks of rain here. I'm not sure what kind of grass it is that's here, it's thick and grows in random patches. Thanks!

Well you have more than ample sun and grass is going to grow there whether you do anything or not or like it or not. The pictures look the like the lot was used as some kind of base yard that saw a lot of heavy activity that just wore the grass and weeds down. Those nice green circular patches look like what you get after a cow or horse made a deposit.

All you really need to do is clean the surface of debris and any large rocks to get a smoother under surface, fertilize and mow whatever comes up. You can push things in one direction with over seeding, but if you want fuller control of what your meadow/lawn is made of, everything there now has to die.

Please, please save the ferns at the forest edge.

@Christopher thank you for your continued advice! I actually don't mind having a wild yard. Weeds really don't bother me... Have always been a little confused why others hate them so much. I really am just looking for some grass/ground cover that will make my lawn more pleasant to walk on, as well as not looking like trucks have driven over it (not sure why it's like this... We've been here 3 years.) I'm glad to hear that grass may have a chance to grow! Also... Would never get rid of the ferns or my Berry bushes !

@mad... Yes I've come to realize that grass is the best option. Now to figure out what type...

@yarddvark... I actually don't have neighbors. Or at least not that I can see. Us and one other family own a mountain so we are pretty much free to do what we want!

@gardengal... Thank you for the advice! Yes, 1/2 acre is a lot. I think that is why we haven't tried to tackle it before now. We've been pretty focused on the house and have left the mess of a yard. I'm not a fan of wood chips but luckily I'm on maternity leave so I have time to keep the lawn nice and watered

@Ted... Those are awesome picks. Question about crabgrass... Does that appear to be what is currently growing? Why do people hate it so much? The few patches I have are great! And I will look into violets because I've seen a few posts about them

@raee... Yes! I actually have come to this conclusion as well! Except I think I may mix closer into the grass seed because I don't want a big brown mud pit in the winter

Thank you everyone!!

Wow all that shale! Is it there naturally or was it dumped? It sort of looks like a place where excavated material was dumped.

The grass that you have a close up of looks to me like creeping bentgrass. It is popular for use on putting greens because it can tolerate close mowing, but not so much in lawns. I know that it keeps trying to invade mine, it sprawls & grows in those spreading patches, turns brown early, & it is very difficult to get rid of.

@raee... It's there naturally :/ we're in what's called the slate belt. Which made digging all of our fence posts real fun, hah.

And thank you for clueing me in on the bentgrass. If only it would take over the whole yard, because I like it. Although I didn't realize it turns brown early

If there is a close farm supply or coop near you, a 50lb bag of a pasture seed mix may be all you need. They will know what will grow on your slate. Hopefully you will get the same basic suggestions from the cooperative extension agent. Also check out Eco-Lawn which is a mix of very fine bladed creeping fescues made for up north. That is on the Prairie Moon site, one of many places to find it.

Getting back to your question about rupturewort, Autumn. I planted a small clump of it in a sunny area of my yard a couple of years ago just to see what it would do. It hasn't spread much at all, and at times it's rather unattractive. I had hoped that it might be a good turf substitute, but so far, I'm not impressed.

Would ajuga like that stony soil? It does spread, grows low, has pretty flowers in spring -- but I have no idea about tolerance to traffic. Bluestone Perennials says it can take it. I have an area of mixed waterperry veronica and Serbian bellflower that grows as a fairly dense mat (but bulbs can grow through it) and tolerates walking on (I walk through to get to another part of the flower bed), but I don't know if it would tolerate a lot of regular traffic.... Oh, how about Pennsylvania Sedge?

The creeping bentgrass does brown, and starts looking kind of tatty, which is why I don't want it in my suburban lawn. I think golf courses mow it like every other day and fertilize heavily to keep it looking nice (of course they want it very short).

Having seen the soil, I would be getting all the organic material that I could to pile on top and stir in. In my town, which collects leaves from the curbside, I ask for and get a small truckload dumped in my driveway. I also get chipped wood from tree trimmers, used coffee grounds from the nearby coffee shop, bag and stir in my grass clippings, shred my newspaper, and so forth. I wonder what free resources you might have.

I reseeded my lawn last fall in a part sun area with Gardens Alive 'Turf Alive 3' grass seed, and it is doing really well. I don't fertilize or water and so far it is exceeding my hopes -- I was afraid that their description of it was more hype than reality, but it is growing in thick and lovely. I'll be sowing more this month in an area where I used a local nursery's seed blend and have gotten patches of die off, and spots that haven't filled in. Gardens Alive has a couple of other seed blends -- I would contact them and see what they recommend for your soil.

Ajuga might work. You could try a little of it and see what happens.

Oookay! So quick update... my coop extension got back to me and said that a grass mix would be best for what I need. They recommended this-

40-50% Fine Fescue

40-50% Kentucky Blue Grass

10-20% Perennial Ryegrass

I have been looking at so many different types of mixes, types of grass, ect that my head is spinning. I cannot find a mix that has these percentages. I am thinking that I will order them individually and mix them myself. I am also considering mixing in some microclover and dwarf chamomile. I am also thinking of doing some Pennsylvania Sedge in the dense shade under the tree line.

New question... Does the type of specific grass make a huge difference? For example, I am seeing a lot of talk about Bewitched and Midnight KBG... does this truly make a big difference or is it more for people who want a "show" lawn? Is this going to result in a high maintenance lawn? I don't see us regularly fertilizing or doing daily watering, which is one reason I was looking into groundcovers.

Or how about clover?

Clover is softer and more sustainable than grass. It fixes the soil, attracts beneficial pollinators and wildlife, and requires no water, fertilizer, herbicide or mowing! Plus, it’s edible!

I've always had the impression that bluegrass does require more attention, (which is why I seeded with turf type tall fescue) but that is for the folks who want a pretty, even, grass lawn. Maybe those specific varieties are more disease resistant, or have some other attribute -- I believe they are also deeper green which people like.

"I don't see us regularly fertilizing or doing daily watering, which is one reason I was looking into groundcovers." In most cases a mowed lawn is going to be the lowest maintenance way to cover an area IF there is sufficient sun to grow grass, and IF the ground is level & smooth enough to mow. Groundcovers are best used in sloped areas where it is difficult or impossible to mow, in shady areas where grass won't grow, or where there are innumerable obstacles -- like rocks -- that can't be removed. Where there are lots of trees/woods, it's generally a good idea to "collect" their trunks into the groundcover area so as to avoid having to mow around each individual trunk. This makes sense especially because that's where the too-much-shade-to-grow-grass is located. Where surface rocks can be cleaned out of the area, where there is sun and where it is level, that usually warrants lawn if one wishes or needs to use the area for walking or activities. While you might not wish to fertilize regularly, if you want plants that look good -- whether groundcover or lawn -- you must give them what they want. Usually, after plants have become established, they need less fertilizer and water. In the beginning, you must provide it if you want plants to become established. Otherwise, they may fail and the not-so-handsome look will continue as it is.

After seeing the pictures, I would suggest that you make a distinct division between the lawn and groundcover areas, by creating a "bed line" between the two. Since there are woods, they warrant having groundcover. Since there is sunny, flat land, it warrants having turf (after being cleaned of surface debris.) It does not look good to place the bed line such that trees are on or near the line. It looks much better to place them fairly well into the groundcover area, as in the example.

However, you'd want to create the line with the whole yard area in mind, so that it is fluid and makes artistic and practical sense. I'm only showing an example based on a piece of the yard.

Since you ALREADY HAVE ferns growing at the woods edge, it is the OBVIOUS choice for what you would use as groundcover. (If you added a different groundcover, the look would be messier.) You KNOW fern grows well there, you already HAVE IT (a source) and it LOOKS GOOD. There is no reason to look any further. All you need to do is create the line, kill weeds in the groundcover area, mulch it, and over a period of time, transplant starts of fern in the groundcover/mulch area ... and then keep the area weeded while the ferns are getting going.

If you start (exclusive of soil preparation) the lawn in the early fall, you'll have an easier time of getting it going, since nature will do much of the care.