grass is always greener

in our case, this is true. we are having pizza and one of best fires ever tonight because it got really chilly here today. despite the wind, pb has maintained a brilliant fire. had to credit him with that. so while eating, sipping some wine and talking about our monday, we somehow ended up on the subject of our grass. now mind you, we only have about a 6 x 12 foot area of grass in our back yard. and when we moved here, it was lovely. for about a month. and then it died. and ever since, we have watered and encouraged, but nothing but brown weeds and dirt have grown. the front yard is perfect because it gets full sun all day. the back is mostly in the shade. we talked with our landscape guy about sodding it but this was pretty pricey even though the area is small. the price is determined by his cost and how much he has to buy, despite the small amount we might need. i get that. sooooo, we are trying to figure out another option. zoysia is the recommended grass for this climate and a shady area according to our guy. we have been looking on the internet. pb has his idea about how he would like to plant some grass seed. hmmmm. good thing it's not a friday or saturday night, or any weekday summer night. we have been known to stay up late and solve all sorts of problems and make incredible plans under the right conditions. but tonight, just looking for some input or suggestions from anybody with knowledge in this area.