The day I finally noticed how dead my grass was from the fence shadows

I spent three years looking at my backyard thinking the grass just grows patchy in certain spots. Turns out the six-foot privacy fence I put up was blocking sun from about 4 feet of yard along the whole back edge. I only figured it out last month when I pulled up an old photo from 2021 showing the grass was fine before the fence went in. The change happened so slow I just got used to it. I measured it out and that dead strip is roughly 120 square feet of wasted space. Now I'm ripping it all out and putting down decomposed granite with some shade plants along that fence line. Has anyone else had a fence kill their lawn over a couple years without them noticing?

3 comments

3 Comments

gibson.avery18d ago

Have you considered that the fence might actually be killing the grass by trapping moisture too? I've seen it happen with a couple of properties near me where the fence creates a damp microclimate along the base, and that can lead to fungus or rot in the grass roots, not just lack of sunlight. The discoloration from too much shade and too much moisture can look the same, especially over time. You might want to check if the soil there is staying wet longer than the rest of the yard before you put down the decomposed granite, because that could affect how well the shade plants handle it. Just something to think about before you start ripping everything out.

karen_sanchez4918d agoMost Upvoted

@gibson.avery you make a REALLY good point about the moisture issue, honestly I've seen that EXACT thing happen with a neighbor's fence line where the grass turned yellow and everyone blamed the shade but it was actually staying soggy. That damp microclimate thing is no joke, it can mess with roots way more than people realize. I think you're smart to check the soil moisture before doing anything permanent with decomposed granite because if that area is staying wet, some shade plants might actually rot too. It's just one of those things you don't think about until you've dealt with it, so I appreciate you bringing it up.

thomas_torres18d ago

That line about "someone blamed the shade but it was actually staying soggy" hit home hard. I had a buddy in Phoenix who spent two whole summers trying different grass types and watering schedules under his block wall fence, thinking it was just too shady. After all that, he dug down and found the soil was basically clay soup from the sprinkler runoff hitting the wall and pooling. He ended up putting in a French drain along the fence line, and now that strip is actually growing fine with just some ordinary tall fescue mix. It's crazy how the obvious answer isn't always the right one.