[kphu23]

Hey all! New here and absolutely new to gardening/landscaping!

I recently bought a house and the previous owner didn't care for the front/back yard at all so there is a lot of dead grass and compacted dirt patches all over.

I want to bring it all back to life so that I can enjoy some green grass but I am not sure what I need to do. I should probably hire a professional to do it but I really want to give it a try myself first.

Here's a few pictures of the yard and it's current condition.

 

[Ware]

Welcome to TLF! :thumbsup:

Honestly, I don't see anything there worth saving, and with only 2k square feet I think you would be happier in the long run if you wiped everything out with a few rounds of nonselective herbicide like glyphosate (RoundUp) and re-sodded with something awesome.

Do you have a budget?
Can you irrigate where you live?
What grasses are commonly grown in your area?

ETA: We will probably move this to the warm season subforum.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum.
First step is to determine what type of turf grows well in your location.
Walk your neighborhood and strike up a conversation with the owner of an attractive lawn and ask them what type of grass they have and what they do (water, fertilizing etc) to keep it so attractive.
and/or
Contact your local county agriculture extension (or university ag department) and ask them what type of turf is recommended for your exact location.
and/or
Drop by a local Big Box and ask what type of turf they are selling for sod.
or
Give a more specific location and maybe a member here is a neighbor and can give you a heads-up. (that'd be ideal)

Once you know the type of turf recommended for your local, repost in the corresponding topic thread: Cool season or Warm season and you'll get better specific advice on what to do.

For starters, do you have irrigation? Are there community restrictions on watering? If you don't have an irrigation system are you willing to put one in? How much time and $ are you willing to put into weekly/monthly maintenance of a lawn, maybe an alternative landscape would work better for your local and pocket.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Honestly, I don't see anything there worth saving...

I'd say that's pretty accurate assessment.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Also, do you have any shade issues as that may help determine what kind of grass will grow there if any at all.

 

[kphu23]

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions so far for this noob! I will try to answer the questions as best I can!

1) Not sure what kind of grass is commonly grown in the area but I will research with the methods you all suggested. A landscaper that came by did mention I had some crab grass growing.
2) I do have an irrigation system and there seems to be full coverage of both the front and back yard. No irrigation restrictions.
3) Don't really have a budget. I also don't know what the typical cost of this job would be but I'm willing to pay to get this looking right so I can enjoy my home.
4) I live in Oxnard, CA (Ventura county, SoCal)
5) I was considering a landscaping job that would turn some of the yard into a more usable area for a fire pit, lounge area, etc...
6) No shade issues whatsoever in the backyard. Slight shade issues in the front yard as I have a tree in the yard but from what I can see, the sun is able to reach most of the front yard throughout the day.

Looks like I have a lot more research to do!

 

[Ware]

5) I was considering a landscaping job that would turn some of the yard into a more usable area for a fire pit, lounge area, etc...

If this is something you plan to do soon, I would probably get that part like you want it first, then make any necessary irrigation modifications before laying new sod.