Miserable with regard to grassy area, so to speak (7)
I believe the answer is:
forlorn
'miserable' is the definition.
(forlorn means miserable or hopeless)
'to speak' is the wordplay.
'to' becomes 'for'.
'speak' becomes 'lorn' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'for'+'lorn'='FORLORN'
'with regard to grassy area so' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for forlorn that I've seen before include "Pitifully sad or abandoned" , "Pitifully sad and lonely" , "Bereft" , "Left alone and unhappy" , "Woebegone, dejected" .)