Overseed your yard with a grass that looks great, and your cats will love!

Miles loves noshing on rye grass that I've overseeded with in the fall.

Warm season grasses like bermuda, zoysia, centipede or wire grass look great in the summer but go dormant during the fall and winter and turn brown as a result. Many homeowners welcome the break in yard chores as winter sets in and are fine looking at a brown lawn for a few months. If instead you would prefer to have some green in your warm season lawn during the winter, consider overseeding with annual rye grass.

Annual rye germinates quickly and requires minimal contact with soil to get going. That means that you can just use your spreader to distribute seed on top of the existing lawn. No aerating, de-thatching or soil preparation needed. Water is important for germination though. I try to time my fall overseeding with a rainy period. If there's not enough rain, you can run your sprinkler a couple of times a day for 5-7 minutes per zone or you can hand-water if you have a small yard. Rye germinates in about a week and grows fast! Rye also has deep roots that can penetrate through heavy soils like clay so it's good as a soil conditioner.

Rye has a brilliant green color that lasts all winter. For me, the only downside of a winter rye grass lawn is that it requires occasional mowing since it grows during the cooler months and grows faster than most other grasses. Rye will start to die back in June as the weather heats up and your warm-season grass comes in. It will completely disappear by July / August here in central North Carolina. It's a great natural fertilizer as it decomposes.

And of course, my cats love rye grass! Rye is typically included in "cat grass" blends and is easier to digest for cats who love to nosh on greenery. All of my animals also love laying and rolling in the thick grass as well. In short, if you want to keep some green in your lawn during winter and don't mind mowing a few times, consider overseeding with rye in the fall. Thanks for reading!

Here's my rye grass lawn in late November that I established on top of warm season wire grass. The brilliant green color never gets old!