What is happening to my Mondo grass?

Since it looks good behind tree and near wall, I'd guess that part of your problem is a combination of sunburn and drying out. You can provide some shade and moisture retention by putting down an inch or so of chopped pine needle mulch between the clumps.

What made you add the sand? Sand does not help with water retention so I'm thinking too dry and too much direct sunlight up front in that bed. It typically does well in shade to part shade conditions.

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What made you add the sand? Sand does not help with water retention so I'm thinking too dry and too much direct sunlight up front in that bed. It typically does well in shade to part shade conditions.

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trying to add some more soil/fill for the area to bring the height up. Had a bag laying around that I had for my tropicals mix so I decided to get rid of it.

While the front area does get more sun, it's still fairly shaded by that lemon tree.

water the shite out of it
mulch heavily between the tufts
water it again