A striped lawn is something most homeowners want to own. There is something about striped lawns that make them so adorable. Imagine passing through a striped garden. What comes into your mind? According to gardening experts and psychologists, such lawns invoke the feeling of tranquility, peace, perfection, and order. So this explains the feeling of excitement that comes to you when you pass through a striped garden. If you have ever wondered about how to stripe a lawn, keep the following in mind.
Are you wondering how to stripe a lawn? Worry no more because you have come to the right place. One may think that striping a garden requires magical skills. The truth is that it is easy once you understand and follow the correct steps. Stripes form when one strip of grass blades is turned in such a way that they face one direction. The other strip of grass must face the opposite direction. It is the simple secret behind those beautiful stripes you have been admiring. Now it is time to bring this magic into your garden.
As an astute gardener, the following pro tips should assist you to design that dream lawn you have been visualizing. It is now time to transform your mediocre garden into a professionally-looking garden befitting your style and class. As you embark on this, ensure that you have a keen attention to detail. As far as striping a lawn is concerned, small details can make a huge difference. For instance, you must ensure that the edges of your garden are tidy and look very sharp. You also must ensure that no weed finds its way into your lawn.
Table of Contents
How to stripe a lawn
Things that you will require
Contrary to what you think you might need, striping a yard does not require you to have complicated tools or equipment. The only important thing here is having a tool to help you change the direction of the blades of grass in one direction. A dedicated rear roller is a perfect tool for striping.
When you are mowing your lawn, the blades cut the grass as usual as the roller flattens the blades of the grass in one direction. It is the flattening of blades in one direction that brings the striping effect. A stand-alone roller can also do the work. All you need to do is to flatten the grass blades to face in one direction. You can borrow or rent if you don’t have one. If that is not possible, walk into any garden store and you will find plenty of separate rollers on sale. The problem with a stand-alone roller is that it consumes a lot of time because you have to go over your lawn at least twice.
Some people prefer a homemade flattener. It is not complicated because all you have to do is to look for some flat tool and attach it to the back of your mower. So as you cut grass, the flatten does its work simultaneously. However, you need to be creative and innovative to achieve this.
The technique of striping a garden
Once you have your mower and a flattener, creating those beautiful stripes shouldn’t be a problem. Anyone can do it because no special skills are needed.
The first thing you need to do is to mow the lawn in a straight line. If you don’t have something like a patio to give you guidance in your first line, try something like a string. Place one stick on one end and the second stick on the other end. Tie the string between the two sticks to achieve a straight line. Now mower by following the straight line. You might not be able to create good stripes if your lines are crooked.
The trick to mowing a straight line is to look ahead about 8-10 feet ahead to keep you focused on the straight line. If you keep your eyes fixed a couple of feet ahead, you will find that you have missed the line. It is also helpful to have someone stand at the far end to monitor your mowing.
If you don’t have a flattener attached to the lawnmower, you will have to start flattening the blades and make them face in one direction. Once you reach the far end, flatten the grass blades to face the opposite direction.
As you can see, striping a garden is not a difficult thing so long as you have a working mower and flattener. The flattener can be attached to the lawnmower. It can be used independently once you have completed the mowing.
What you need to know about lawn striping
Stripping is so simple, anyone can do it
You might think striping a lawn is a complex adventure reserved for experts. With a simple flattener, anyone can stripe a lawn. All you need is to bend glass blades in one direction in one line. After you have completed it, flatten the grass blades of the second row in the opposite direction. Repeat this process until you complete the lawn. You need a simple add-on to your lawnmower. If that is not possible, a stand-alone flattener can do the work.
You can achieve more stripe styles if you are creative
Apart from the simple vertical strips, you can stripe your garden in many other patterns and styles. Instead of doing it vertically/horizontally, you can do it diagonally. You can also stripe your lawn to produce a checkered style. It is also not difficult. All you need to do is to stripe your yard using the above process. The only difference is that you will be doing it vertically. Once you have completed it, start striping again from the horizontal directions so that the strips produce right angles. In other words, you can begin by striping from the East to the West. You can then repeat the process from North to South.
Conclusion
Striping a lawn has been shown to improve the quality of grass. When you mow your lawn only in one direction, there is a possibility that ruts and grooves may grow. It can cause your yard to look uneven. However, with striping, your grass gets the opportunity to grow uniformly. Mowing and rolling grass in opposite directions prevent patches of grass from forming. Also, stripping doesn’t allow you to cut the grass too short. Sometimes cutting the grass too short can destroy their roots and interfere with their growth and health.
