Last fertilization of 2011

I got a little eager for winter this fall and forgot (i.e. got lazy and let time slip by) to fertilize according to schedule. Following the guide, I should have fertilized the newly seeded areas about 8-10 weeks after germination which would have been around early November - whoops, here it is 3 weeks later. I fertilized the whole lawn with 1.5 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. after the last mowing of the season (which is the appropriate time if I hadn't seeded) using the same fertilizer I used in the previous fertilization. I also decided to fertilize the backyard with .75 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. which I hadn't fertilized at all since germination. Sorry, no pictures (wish I had taken some!).

(Note: this is a back-post, posted on 2/26/12, details subject to error)

Grass project update

Just an update on the grass project from earlier this fall (seems like a long time ago!). The grass has been filling in nicely; even the backyard is looking better. The disease or whatever it is seems to be at bay and I don't notice any more of it, although it is still present in some areas.

Here are some photos of the front yard:

And the backyard:

Still rather bare in some areas

But looking better in others

This area is the worst

Overall I'm pretty happy, especially with the front yard. I'm excited to see what it looks like come spring. I'm not sure what I'll do about the bare spots in the backyard - all I know is that there's nothing I can do now, so I'll worry about it next year :)

Black spot disease

This poor rose bush has been through a lot this year... from being transported in the mail, planted, becoming infested with bristly rose slugs (and having flour thrown all over it), and now this:

Black spot disease

Black spot disease

I trimmed off every leaf/stem that had it, which ended up being most of them, unfortunately. I hope it makes it (I feel like I say that about every one of our plants...).