Two years ago I relandscaped an area of my lawn (in Northern Indiana)
that did not have grass. I added top soil from a local hardware. The
soil looks really dark and loose.

Now two years later I am still having trouble keeping grass in the
area. A few places the grass seems to be well rooted and healthy but a
vast majority of the area is so loose that the grass comes up in clumps
when ever I run a rake over it. Is this called erosion?

I notice however that other parts of my lawn where I planted grass and
*didn't* put in top soil the grass seems to grow better. I thought I
was doing a good thing by adding "top" soil but I am afraid I have
created a hostile environment to the grass seed.

Can I add something to my soil to make it more hospitable for the
grass? Or can I plant a special kind of grass that will root deeper.

The only other things to note are that it is on a very small incline
(barely perceptable) and it is mostly shaded.


Thanks for your help,
Dannie