Lawn renovation to start the new season

Ready for hosting outdoor summer grilling

What a way to start off the growing season. Old grass, weeds, crabgrass, and dead spots (from the dogs peeing in the same place) had been gradually taking its toll on the front yard. We knew that spring would be the best time for a project like this, so the last week of April (typically a vacation week in Italy as April 25 and May 1 are national holidays) was spent getting down and dirty.

An order for 50 (16x60-inch) sod rolls was to be delivered on April 27th, but we didn't start tearing out the old lawn until a few days before. Using a flat-edged digging shovel, the MotH did the brunt of the work, shearing segments of lawn about a square yard at a time. Grass roots are more tenacious than I could've imagined. We also tried using a pitchfork to dig up clumps, but that resulted in more work to shake off the dirt. Hours were spent tapping chunks of grass with a trowel to get out as much dirt as possible.

After 2 long days, the major part of the yard is cleared and raked smooth. The last section was left temporarily for the dachshund to have someplace to do his business...

Delivery day. Weighing in at about 20 pounds each, MotH carried each roll up (they were deposited on a pallet just outside the garage). There were 37 instead of the 50 rolls ordered. Fortunately, after laying all of them down, MotH calculated that we only needed 2 more. Instead of making a fuss, it was agreed that we would pick up the rolls ourselves (and also the potting soil that they had forgotten), and be reimbursed for any rolls that we did not need.

Sod rolls: 50 x 7.50€
Potting soil (45 liters) for lawn use: 2 x 7.50€
Delivery: 55€
Total: 445 euros
Credit: 82.50€

A nice bonus of redoing the lawn: expanding the flower section even if by a few inches. Next project: digging up and repositioning bulbs, dividing the poppies and what the heck, maybe even clearing everything out and redesigning the whole flower bed.