For those of you who think a brown lawn signifies the ultimate landscape defeat, here's a simple solution to keep your yard looking great all winter: Overseed your warm-season lawn each fall with ryegrass to ensure that the grass is always greener on your side of the fence.

Where It Works
You can overseed with ryegrass anywhere in the South that summer grass goes dormant in the winter. It's effective with Bermuda and St. Augustine but not as good with centipede and Zoysia, which can be thinned out by the competition. For the Upper, Middle, and Lower South, Doug Fender from the Lawn Institute recommends annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). For a bright color and neat look, Ronnie Stapp from Pennington Seed suggests perennial ryegrass blends (L. perenne), such as Super Star or Shining Star. "While perennial ryegrass won't survive Southern summers," Ronnie says, "it doesn't burn out as early in spring as the annual kind."

The Method
With the first cool nights of fall or when the soil temperature drops below 70 degrees, cut your lawn as close as your mower allows. "Treat it like you're putting in a new lawn," says Doug. "You want the seeds to come into contact with the soil for the best results." Next, calculate how big your lawn is, and put the right amount of seeds into a hand-seeder. Use about 6 pounds of seeds for a 1,000-square-foot lawn. This may seem like a lot, but ryegrass doesn't spread by runners; so it should be applied thickly. For those on a budget, annual ryegrass tends to be cheaper than perennial.

Start in a corner of your yard, and walk in a gridlike pattern, spreading seeds as you go. It's important to let the seed spray overlap so that the coverage is complete. Set out an overhead sprinkler, or turn on an irrigation system. The grass must have water to germinate; then it should grow quickly. If you don't see results within two weeks, try seeding your lawn again, making sure the seeds stay consistently moist.

With the first warm days of spring, expect your lush, green ryegrass to fade. Fortunately, this will coincide perfectly with your summer lawn's emergence, providing you with grass that really is always greener.

Secrets for Overseeding with Ryegrass

• Sow at the right temperature, with the first cool nights of fall, or when the soil temperature drops below 70 degrees.
• Use ryegrass to cover Bermuda and St. Augustine lawns but not Zoysia and centipede, which can be thinned by the competition from ryegrass.
• Keep your lawn consistently moist after you sow the seeds for a better germination rate.
• Help your lawn transition back to summer grass by killing your overseeded ryegrass as soon as the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees or when forsythias begin blooming. To do this, simply stop watering your ryegrass for a few weeks, and then cut your lawn to between 1/2 and 1 inch.

This article is from the November 2004 issue of Southern Living.