Always wondered how some professional lawns have those beautiful patterns or clean stripes running across the lawn? We’ll we’re here to tell you how, so that you can have the best looking lawn in the neighbourhood.
Before we start, the grass and lawn must be in good shape to begin with, if it has patches or the grass blades do not look healthy, then the end result will be affected. Other than that, to strip a lawn is a piece of cake!
So how do stripes or patterns appear?
Stripes and patterns are visible on the lawn because light is reflecting off the grass blades. For the blades that are leaning towards you, they tend to look darker than those that are pointing in the opposite direction. To get this effect, you will require a lawn striping kit part that attaches to your mower this will prove the best results than just using your mower. If you are using just the mower, the effect will be quite faint. This stripe kit can range anywhere from $50 – $300. You could also make one yourself.
What pattern do you want?
Once that is all sorted you would want to plan out your pattern or stripe. For beginners it would be best to practice doing straight stripes to get the hang of it. Though if you are definitely keen on patterns from the get go it would be wise to quickly sketch the plan and direction and turns you must take. The most popular patterns are of course stripes, diamonds, checkerboards and circle patterns. The creativity is rather endless from basic patterns to complex shapes.
Now start your mower and let’s get to it. Make sure to start at one end of the yard to the other and make sure that your are mowing in a straight line unless your pattern says otherwise. The tip to mowing straight is to look ahead – about 2-3 metres. If you were to look only at the tip of the mower than you might realise that your line is crooked. Once you reach the end of the yard lift up the mower so it doesn’t create an unsightly turn on the lawn and then go back in the other direction. For a checkerboard look, instead of going in the opposite direction you would go on a right angle 90 degrees on the first few turns.
That’s the basics of getting your lawn striped. Though you may notice sometimes on the field they would tend to go over the strip again. This is how they get the professional and clean look. They don’t go over it with the mower however but with a specially designed lawn roller which starts at about $100. Though you could go over it with the mower if that is all you have. You would want to roll over the blades in the same direction. This further refines the pattern for a professional appeal.
This may seem all new to you but it is quite easy once you get a few lawn cutting session in. If not, you could always opt for an easier option and hire a local lawn mowing service to get the professional look done.
Further tips
- Make sure the grass and ground is not wet but also avoid mowing in extreme heat
- Recommended not to cut off more than a third of the grass at one time
- It is best to mow on a rather higher setting than low since low cut blades cannot bend as much
- Make sure your lawn is in tip tip shape by feeding it so that it is lush so that patterns can be made.
- It would be wise to mow the lawn with a sharp blade for a cleaner cut
- Make sure to empty and keep an eye on the grass clipping bag – though if some do fall it is fine as it serves as nutrients
- Like always make sure to wear protective goggles, gloves, earmuffs and proper shoes.
