Going to the Dark-side

Our yard is shady; we have a very small lot with 5 shady trees. They are beautiful trees. In the front yard we have 2 sugar maples and an Ash and in the back 2 sweet gum trees. The ash in the front is not very healthy although it looks better now that it has been trimmed it I still a sick tree I am not sure I can be saved, but we keep trying. The lawn suffers for the sake of the trees. I love trees and birds. So the trees are staying but the grass is going. Well the truth is it is not growing. We can grow dandelions and crabgrass.
A friend felt our pain and loaned us a book about grass. Our nicest neighbor even fertilized our front yard for us but no luck with the grass. We do have more grass than when we first moved in, but that would not have been too hard. The book on grass has lots of info on when to plant and when to pour this chemical on the grass and then that chemical and then these chemicals oh and have your soil chemicals analyzed. All of this must be done at the right time…. I just don’t care about my grass that much and I hate the idea of all those chemicals. Who knows what all those things do to the people who walk on the grass, the wildlife, the pets, the insects, and what ends up in our drinking water, and later ends up in our food? Icky!
So I took a look at my back yard all we do with that is mow. It is green. I like green. We have pretty little purple flowers some are violets some are Johnny jump-ups we have clover and we even have moss all of this is mixed in with the grass. Plus we have very few dandelions in the back yard. So what is different about the front yard? Well the season before we moved in here the sewer or something was worked on in the front yard. The entire yard was ripped up. Then grass seed was sowed. Just grass would be my guess so the weeds on the wind took over. There is no clover or violets or Johnny jump-ups in the front yard. So I am going to plant clover and grass. I have read a few articles that say this is a great way to get a green lawn plus the clover and the grass work together balancing the soil so you don’t need fertilizers.
I would rather look at clover than the mud pit that is now my yard. At this point I would rather look at the dandelions than the mud pit. My neighbor is going to hate this. He is a grass lover -he even cut down his trees. My other neighbors all buy the stuff you put in the thrower and sprinkle on your yard at all the right times. This has always disturbed me for the previously mentioned icky things. I must make this work I have to show them that natural is beautiful and easy. May the force be with you.