A yard in St. Peters, Missouri, is shaded by two big trees and a fence. The shady area would either receive sparse sun in the morning or none at all, creating a bare, mud-prone area on the lawn. Their dog, a sheltie named Reba, is a notorious speed demon and herder. (Reba even tried herding her owner as she was installing!) Because the lawn was so prone to mud, the homeowner found that Reba was tearing up the lawn and tracking mud inside. To add another obstacle, the ground in the area was also very lumpy and uneven due to digging moles, making proper prep work a necessity.

Because prep work was so vital to the success of this install, it took up a bulk of the total installation time. They began by digging out the mounds in the grass and redistributing the soil to make the ground even. They used a garden weasel (the machine, of course!) to till the ground. Before installing the turf, they seeded the newly tilled ground. They then laid out the turf—a large roll and a pro roll in total—in strips, before stretching and anchoring them to the ground. They watered the ground after laying the turf and spread dirt and seed along the edges to eliminate any tripping hazard and jump-start grass growth.

One of the significant obstacles along the way was the shape of the area along the fence. They were very careful to cut out the turf to the exact shape of the fence and surrounding area. Many yards have irregularly shaped areas like this, and it’s as simple as cutting the turf with scissors or garden shears—just make sure to measure twice and cut once, like your shop teacher taught you.

A month later, grass is growing where it wasn’t before and Reba seems pleased as she continues to use the yard for her dog purposes. Even before grass began to grow through, the homeowner was so happy with how the turf looked that she made plans to cover more of her yard with Natura turf. Now Reba and her owner can enjoy a tidy, green yard even though her lawn is stuck in the shade.