By Ptarotuos
Tokyo,
Japan 
Hello again, and thanks to everyone who responsded to my questions about boar and also webcams. I agree with one respondee that privacy is paramount, but since we only visit weekends, and it is literally hundreds of metres up on the slopes of a volcano, privacy is not really a problem - security however, might be.
So my final question of the week (I'm heading up to Shadowlands - the name of our hosue - this weekend): I'm keen to get some kind of lawn going, especially for the kids to play, but unlike the UK, most varieties of grass here go brown in the winter, and green in the summer. As I have mentioned before, we have extremely rich mulch-based soil, mixed with all sorts of volcanic elements, plus the hot rainy season. Does anyone have any advice, please, for establishing a lawn under such conditions? Turf or seed, over-seeding (seeding a winter greening grass over the summer greening grass), would it be a good idea to flatten the surface a bit (though leave a run-off)? These are all questions I have no idea about, having spent my early life in the UK. Perhaps some of the American contributors might have similar experiences. Any advice gratefully received. Kind rgs, ptarotuos.
P.s. - apologies for the typos, these messages are usally written very late at night.
1 Oct, 2010
Answers
Here in the desert we usually use a winter grass overseeded in the fall on our permanent bermudagrass lawns. That might work for you, depending on how cold it gets there in the winter. Another possibility is to try one of the turf-type tall fescues--many will stay green year-round where the summer temps stay below 40 deg. C. They will need to be re-seeded every 2-3 years, since the clumps are somewhat short-lived. I also hear that some of the newer Zoysia hybrids have very short dormant seasons, too. Hope this helps.
2 Oct, 2010
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I've done a few green roof gardens, including some meadows, and they have drainage and watering issues, as you can imagine. What about seeking out a drought tolerant grass variety which will stand the summer heat,and allowing it to grow a little taller then normal mowng height, so that any dew forming will have a greater surface on which to gather, thus providing a little extra moisture. Incorporate a soil based compost into the lawn, or if it's already laid, top dress it with some soil which will settle into the surface and hold moisture a little better. Volcanic soil won't hold moisure in the same way a clay and loam based soil will (I know, I was brought up in New Zealand). Phil J
1 Oct, 2010