The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right? It's true that lawn grasses come in many different shades of green. Look at the lawns down your street this summer and I bet you'll see a patchwork of colors varying from yard to yard. Some of this can be attributed to differences in fertilization, watering or even different species, but in most cases the best looking, darkest colored lawns are the ones that were seeded with elite turfgrass varieties. Many people think if their lawn isn't green enough all you need to do is pile on more fertilizer. But while over-fertilization might get you a deep green lawn, it might also destroy it if applied too heavily. Not only do you risk fertilizer burn, but over-applying fertilizer wastes time and money over the life of the lawn and adds to various environmental problems from fertilizer runoff.*

The Smart Way: Darker Green Through Genetics

It is important to understand that not all lawn seeds are equal even within the same species. Take Kentucky bluegrass for example. At any one time there may be hundreds of Kentucky bluegrass varieties on the market each with their own unique rating for things like color, density, traffic tolerance, etc. And though many repeated fertilizer applications might temporarily turn a poor quality lawn dark green, to get the absolute best looking lawn you should seed with elite varieties which have been developed for excellent genetic color in mind.

Elite Turfgrass Varieties in All Our Lawn Blends

By definition, genetic color is the natural color of the grass variety when it is actively growing and not under stress. On the other hand, color induced from heavy fertilization is an attempt to hide poorer quality grass that likely suffers from other subpar attributes as well. Nature's Seed only stocks the highest rated and best performing "golf-grade" quality varieties. Rather than being limited to a single producer, we search the national turfgrass ratings each year and handpick the best developed varieties you need for a fabulous lawn. Our attention to researching elite varieties with both high-performance and dark genetic color means that you don't have to, ensuring your yard will be one of the darkest "patches" on the block.

* If you are not happy with the color of your existing lawn and don't want to rip it out and start over, beginning an overseeding program with our lawn seed blends will start to improve your lawn's color. By overseeding with elite varieties, over time you can begin to convert your poor quality lawn to a darker, denser, healthier lawn.