Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

Atlanta, GA on Jul 01, 2012

Decorated mailbox for the 4th!

I love any opportunity to put out my little flags! It is funny, but we are in such a heat wave and yet the sun is not out bright this AM??? Pardon my shaggy grass, but it is not going to get cut until after we have rain! This is that wonderful Zoysia Emerald Green that never gets any taller than what is in this photo! We love it. I do plan to give it a drink of water tonight. Notice how the flowers in the row behind the mailbox are hurting!

6 Comments

Chrissi Murfreesboro, TN

Very nice, Your grass looks great, we haven't had any rain here in TN i several weeks & our grass is brown & crunchy. Did you sow your grass or was it put down as sod? I'd love to have grass like that in my yard but can't afford to sod it.

on Jul 01, 2012 · Like 0
Jeanette S Atlanta, GA

We put down sod. We could not afford it either. But we cheated! I bought about 10 pieces at Home Depot (when they used to carry this) and brought it home. Hoed up the fescue around the mailbox and put the sod right down on that GA clay (this was a test). Well hubby came up with a bettter idea. He spray the mailbox side of the yard with Roundup, waited a week and resprayed. Then 10 days later we raked away the dead grass as much as we could get up, spred out bags of top soil we had ...»
bought and laid sod on top. The secret is to water it. I would get out every night and move hoses since it was too hot to water during the day. Zoysia does not come in in GA until about June so it is pretty hot by then. You do not have to do it all at once. The photo is not clear, but we put sod only to about 20' from the road and most of the rest is a large pine island so we have a place to put the leaves to biodegrade. Zoysia is about 10% higher than other sods, but it is worth it. We only mow about 4-5 times a year. Twice so far this year...I will not allow it to be mowed until we get a good rain.

on Jul 01, 2012 · Like 0
Jeanette S Atlanta, GA

Chrissi, I failed to mention that we put in our grass over a period of 3 years or so. We did not buy all or all the supplies at once. We put it down ourselves. Your yard has already been shaped so there is not a lot of work to be done. You can till it up if you wish but DO NOT till will live grase in it because all you are doing is re-planting the grass you do no want! If it looks strange for a few years, your neighbors can just get over it or offer money and labor! HA! Sometimes ...»
when raising a family, spending thousands at once for a new lawn is not an option. You can also strip in the sod and it will run about a foot a year! Just make sure the strips are beneath the level of the open spots...not sitting on top of the ground....or you will have ridges! Of course you have to watch it and put in more dirt if rain washes it away. But if you start small and experiment, you can get it done. Believe me, it is well worth the effort. When you get Zoysia, do not believe others and cut it low! Lots of people want a golf Tee look...I do not! I want natural look and ease of care! We are retired and believe me, we do not want to mow grass every week in the 106 temp we had Saturday1

on Jul 02, 2012 · Like 0
P R Live Oak, FL

I love your grass. Would it grow in north Florida? Yout mailbox looks really cute. Glad you shared it with us.

on Jul 02, 2012 · Like 0
Jeanette S Atlanta, GA

My sister lives in Biloxi, MS on about the same latitude as N. FL and some of her neighbors have it...in fact, a lot of it is grown in FL. Zoysiz LOVES hot weather. Here in Atlanta, it is not fully green until mid to late June. If you mow it tall (highest setting on mower) is weathers heat very well. I plan to water tonight if we do not get rain today. I will water each zone 10 minutes!

on Jul 02, 2012 · Like 0
Jeanette S Atlanta, GA

Tip: Zoysia Emerald is different than the others...Zoysiz Meyer has to be mowed every week...my friend has it! Be careful which one you get. If in doubt, but 1 piece, put it down and watch it! You can buy 20 pieces a weekend and put it down over time.

on Jul 02, 2012 · Like 0