generally.. i consider grass the most invasive weed on the face of the earth ... its grow just about everywhere .. so when grass fails.. you might be hard pressed to find something that wont fail ...

but you have such a diversity of other plants.. in the general area ... i am surprised the grass wont grow .. whats that all about.. lol ...

so it might help us.. to figure out why this happens ...

is the walkway salted in winter?>???

if there a road there or a hellstrip ...??? .. i think i see something like that in the second pic .....

can you give us anymore information...???

ken

ps: and why havent weeds taken over????

I think what happens is the heat from the sidewalk pushes into the lawn and kills off the grass. It then turns to all crab grass, I pulled the crab grass out a few weeks ago. Same thing happens on the other side of my house that faces south, this area faces east.

add a different variety of grass??

Maybe put in something that LIKES being hot and baked. A rose or two (well-behaved, not a rambler or the like)? That would not upset the semi-formal/farmyard kind of feel of the front yard too much.

If you think it is the heat, you may want to try some variety of Bermuda grass, which can be more heat tolerant than other species. What zone do you live in?

if you dont water enough for grass ... how will you change the watering.. if you put in other things???

no matter what you put in.. it will need watering.. until fully established ...

i agree that amount of lawn is just about useless .... perhaps it ought to go ...

does show get shoveled on that spot ... one down side to filling the area with plants.. is they might not appreciate the snow load.. if any ...

i dont think you answers the salt question ...

to be clear.. we have to define the variables... and address how to handle them.. before we get to the last part... which is.. what to plant there ...

you could... kill all the grass this fall .. and cover it with mulch ... and it ought to be all ready to go in spring ....

btw.. whats that tree on the right side ... hope its not one of the water sucking ones ...

ken

I think your landscaping is beautiful and would be highlighted more if there were pretty grass in that bare area. If it were me, I’d hire a landscaping company to come turn over the bare spots and treat it. Then lay some fresh sod. It’s not a big area so it shouldn’t be too expensive.
We use a salt like de-Icer here during our Michigan winters and never have an issue with our grass that lines the walkway. There are a range of de-icers out there so consider changing up your product.

OP is in zone 6 CT - bermuda grass is a no-go :-)

Personally, I'd attempt to replace the lawn first if it was my garden. And the idea of sodding is a good one. Heat should not be much of an issue for a cool season grass - the types most suitable for a CT lawn - as long as the soil prep and watering was well executed.

I also like flora's idea of perhaps some pavers for access and then filling in with other plantings/groundcover.

That area is not affected by salt. That tree to the right is a dogwood. There could be a snow load there in the winter but the snow doesn’t last long around here anymore. I am in zone six in Connecticut. If I don’t plant anything too close to the edge where the sidewalk is and just put some mulch in there I think I would be OK. I probably need to amend the soil at the point near the edge by the sidewalk. My partner likes the grass in that area but I just want to get rid of it and put some smaller shrubs and perennials in there.

Tell your partner "The more you grow, the less you mow". It worked on my husband!

I have random areas along my sidewalk that die off in summer.. after trying for many years to keep it alive... I dug down a bit under the top layer and realized there’s an outcropping of gravel from the sidewalk in those areas... so basically those areas dry out and don’t hold water.... so this fall I’m going to try and swap in some dirt in this areas without causing issues for the sidewalk.

Stone or concrete pavers.

Are you sure the neighbors arn't using your front yard as a pee stop for their dogs?

What a sweet little spot.

Nevermore makes a good point. There's nothing better than having a good look to see what's causing an issue.

You might find that the soil is very thin there. Or could there be something leaching from the concrete? But that's not normally a problem to grass.

One thing grass is not keen on is shade, but I don't think that shade is the problem. The remainder of the grass is happy.

My gardening philosophy is to tear out what isn't working and plant more of what thrives. With that in mind I suggest you add a few more of those variated low-growing plants (euonymous?). That area is too small to easily mow so go ahead and get rid of it.

' ... I pulled the crab grass out a few weeks ago.'

I totally forgot you had said this above. I thought nothing much wanted to grow next to the path.

Is it the heat, though? I don't think so.

Maybe growing up in the Deep South changes my perception of "heat," but I just have real doubts that a concrete sidewalk would generate that kind of heat. Asphalt bakes like the sun, and I'm sure there is grass growing next to asphalt around you. Concrete is cooler. And, Connecticut certainly is cooler! I agree with above that you need to look for something else besides concrete that is causing the problem. Nevermore makes a great suggestion--soil by the sidewalk could actually be very shallow. The dog pee point is also realistic.

If you can get sod to take, I think grass is an ideal choice there aesthetically to set off the other plantings.

the snow doesn’t last long around here anymore.

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understood.. but understand.. that plants other than grass.. might get crushed or damaged.. from shoveled snow ... one option is to use die to the ground perennials.. or annuals ....

its just a variable to consider ...

ken

I say just take a long screw driver or thin rod and jam it down into those areas to feel if you hit gravel quickly or not. Easy way to test.