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Cool season perennials are sometimes a good answer. Depending on the climate zone in which they are planted, they may be uniformly green all year. In coastal areas overseeding with a perennial could interfere with the warm season grass coming out of dormancy.
"The trick is to make a uniform transition between cool season and warm season grasses to keep uniform color all year," Paul Albright added. "At times a turf-type perennial is the right choice. It's not just a balancing act. It's more like juggling."
A landscape contractor needs to understand the many options available when told to "Do something about that awful-looking brown lawn." It's possible to devise a plan that will give your client a green lawn or turf area while making best use of his landscaping budget.

Analyze the Soil
Before overseeding or renovating can be successful it's necessary to determine why the lawn deteriorated in the first place. Otherwise the new seeding could be killed before germination.
If, for example, the soil is depleted of nutrients, compacted, poorly aerated, or receives insufficient sunlight or air circulation, new seed is unlikely to prosper.
It could be that the original grass planted was the wrong type for the area's climate.

Overseeding
Whether you overseed a warm season grass, such as Bermuda, with a cool season annual for year-round color, or seek to improve a cool season grass with a better species, the overseeding method is the same.
Mow the dormant turf lower than normal to scalp the area. If the lawn is heavily thatched (thicker than about one-half inch) the next step is dethatch ing. A light thatch can be beneficial for holding and protecting the new seed and keeping moisture in during the critical first few weeks of germination and growth.
The soil will most likely need aeration to overcome the effects of compaction, to speed thatch breakdown, improve water absorption and percolation to the root level, and promote better seed-soil contact and fertilizer uptake.
Overseeding can then be done by broadcasting, hydroseeding, or using a mechanical slit seeder.
Broadcasting is the least effective method since seed-soil contact may be poor. Hydroseeding will ensure even coverage. For this purpose a thin (500 lb./acre), paper pulp slurry will improve seed contact with the soil. If a slit seeder is employed, reduce the recommended seeding rate to 50% and make two passes, one at 45 degrees to the other. This will lay a crosshatched seed pattern that will produce a fuller plant cover faster and avoid the "row" look of single-pass seeding..

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