Chookie wrote:

OTOH if you decde that it's just too shady for grass, you could just roundup
the lot and replace it with bark chips and a hardy groundcover, tussock
grasses and maybe a pond or something in the middle.

Something like that is my preferred option, but I'm having steep
resistance from the SO {:-(.


It could be that the
surrounding trees are sucking all the moisture out of your soil and it's not
worth the battle..

It is possible. they get top dressed twice yearly and fertilised and a good
soak when needed (we can use the tank anytime), but still they are looking
like lawn invading light mulch.