The neighbor who taught me about shade in 20 minutes
Last spring I was out back trying to save a patch of grass that kept dying along the fence line. My neighbor Bob saw me scratching my head and walked over with a cup of coffee. He pointed out that the maple tree in his yard was casting a moving shadow pattern that shifted with the sun, and no amount of watering would fix that. We spent 20 minutes tracing where the shade hit at different times of day, and he suggested I plant a shade tolerant ground cover instead of fighting it. That little conversation saved me from buying sod that would have been toast by August. Has anyone else had success giving up on grass in tricky spots?
That shade tracing trick is GENIUS. I read something similar about watching your yard through the seasons before planting anything, but nobody ever broke it down that simple. Bob sounds like the kind of neighbor everyone needs.