Taking your lawn from its current average level to a higher professional-looking state is only a matter of using a few tricks and tips. Remember what they say about little things making a huge difference?
Well, it applies here too. All you need to do to make your lawn look sleek and formal may simply be to sharpen the edges of your yard or eradicate tiny weeds around your terrace
However, one sure way to completely up your lawn’s game is by creating stripes on your lawn as you mow. Don’t you feel your heart stir when you see the immaculate stripes on golf fields and in stadiums?
It will interest you to know that this flawless lawn design is quite easy to recreate. You will learn exactly how to create these stripes here.
Introduction to Lawn Striping
If you’ve ever been curious about how the neat pattern you see at stadiums is created, then today is your lucky day. Contrary to most people’s impression, these patterns are not difficult to achieve at all. They are, in fact, very easy to make
What gives most of these lawns the striped look is the way the grass has been mowed. Usually, the mower goes across the lawn in opposite directions, thus flattening the turf in opposing directions as well.
Therefore, depending on where you’re standing, certain stripes appear darker while others appear lighter. Simply put, lawn stripes are achieved by flattening adjacent sections of your lawn in opposing directions.
So, What Equipment Do You Need?
Apart from your lawnmower, the only other thing you’ll be needing is a heavy object that will press the grasses down towards the direction you’re mowing. Usually, a roller is what is used.
Some mowers come with a rear roller. Once the mower clips the grass blades, the rear roller rolls over them thus pressing them down to make them flat. This way, the blades can reflect sunlight and produce the desired striped effect. If you don’t have any lawn mower yet, here are list of the best lawn mowers that leaves stripes (UK only).
However, if you don’t own any roller mower, what you can do is get and use a roller separately. Note that using a separate mower makes the job more difficult and time-consuming. Better still, you can simply attach any heavy flattening object to the rear of your lawnmower such that it’ll function pretty much the same way as the roller mower.
Lawn Striping Technique
Now that you have your mower and roller ready, it’s time to start creating your stripes. First, mow a straight line from one end of your lawn to the other using the patio or drive as your guide.
Once you finish making this line, turn your mower around and proceed to mow just beside the line in the opposite direction. When mowing, you’re not to look right in from of you but to fix your gaze 10ft ahead.
Doing this will aid you to ensure that the line remains straight. The beauty of a striped lawn is its flawless straight lines. Once your lines are not straight, your lawn will not look as impressive as it should after the cut.
Lawn Striping Advanced Techniques
Did you know that lawn striping can be done in different patterns? If no, then now you do. The lawn striping technique we explained to you above is the simplest and most basic technique. For those who would like to create the more complex striping designs like a checkerboard, read this section.
The checkerboard striping design is quite popular. It is a little bit more technical than the basic technique. However, it isn’t all that difficult to master. Besides, the extra appeal it offers more than makes up for the extra effort needed for achieving the pattern
Start your checkerboard design by creating the simple stripe pattern described earlier. Once that is done, mow over the existing stripes vertically and you’ll see the design form. Complete the vertical cut across your whole lawn and you’re done.
Do not hesitate to experiment with other designs. There are many more ways you can stripe your lawn to make it endlessly attractive.
Additional Tips for Creating The Best-Looking Stripes
1. Avoid Cutting Your Turf Too Short: For your lawn to become well-striped after the cut, your grass blades need to be long enough. This way, they can easily blend and reflect sunlight adequately.
However, if the turf is too short, the stripes won’t come out clearly and beautifully enough. Therefore, always ensure that you don’t mow your lawn too low.
2. Go for a Roller Mower: For the sake of ease and effectiveness, it is better that you purchase a split roller mower. This mower is known to give the best lawn stripe results. Plus, it offers convenience and saves time.
3. The Healthier Your Lawn, the Better: The full beauty of your striped lawn will become even more obvious if your lawn is healthy and lush. It is advised that you never let your grasses grow too tall before cutting them.
It is better to chop off grass in small portions than take large sections off at once. You should never chop off anything exceeding ⅓ of grass length at once.
4. Cut With a sharp blade: Dull blades leave grasses looking unhealthy and unattractive. To avoid this, make sure to examine your blade and sharpen it if it is blunt.
5. Use the Right mower: Though it is preferable to use a roller mower when mowing stripes if what you can afford is a regular mower it can still work. However, the machine has to be of top quality.
Otherwise, it may produce an undesirable end cut. Mowing stripes on your lawn is more tasking than simply mowing regularly. If you invest in a good quality mower, you will be saving yourself some stress. If your lawn is large, then a self-driven mower is a wise investment.
6. Tidy Your Lawn After Mowing: Do not spoil the perfection of your newly striped lawn by abandoning turf clippings on it. These grass pieces will eventually dry up and become yellow. If you leave them on your lawn, they’ll disfigure it and all your hard work will be for nothing.
Conclusion
Add these tips to your archive of lawn mowing best practices. You can even try any stripping pattern out the next time you mow, and your lawn will be the envy of your neighbours and visitors.