We’ve all seen the baseball diamonds that have unfathomable stripes. So here are some tips on how to help you stripe your own lawn to achieve some big league looks.
Do It Yourself
We all want them, the beautiful stripes on your lawn that’ll make your grass look like the baseball diamond. It’s something that sometimes can seem impossible or daunting, but apply some simple methods to your lawn and you can achieve some pretty stellar stripes.
How Does Striping Work
The way your seeing different shades is simply how the sunlight is reflecting off the grass. Blades that are bent away from you look light-colored, while blades bent towards you look darker. Often when you mow you have likely experienced this already, but turning that into a consistent pattern is just taking that a step further. The best way to achieve the stripes with the mower you already have is to attach a striping kit. These are easily available online in several forms.
Pick A Pattern
Before you crank up the mower, it is probably a smart thing to decide on a plan of attack. How will the stripes look on your lawn and in which direction will they look the best? How will they appear from the road? You’re not stuck to this pattern forever, but a good way to start is by doing straight striped lines, diagonal lines, or if you are feeling ambitious, you can try checkered patterns.
Watch Where You’re Mowing
Some people have taken it to the next level and have striped waves into their lawn. Unless you are purposely trying to accomplish that, it is best to be as steady and straight as possible. I have found the best way to get along a straight line is to start with a sidewalk or some point of reference. Then from there, you always want to be starting out by looking at your destination. Pick out a tree at the end or a sign and watch it the whole way while glancing at your mowing edge. This will help you achieve straighter lines. When you get to the end of your row, turn around and do the same exact thing in the other direction. This begins your pattern of stripes. I always suggest mowing a perimeter first to give you a buffer stripe at each end to use to turn around.
Make Your Stripes More Intense
If you really want to take this thing to the next level and are bound and determined to have the best stripes in the city, you can do two things. First, look into purchasing a reel mower. Yes, a reel mower, not a “real” mower. These mowers cut the grass and lay it down in a very pronounced way. They create intense stripes. YouTube it and find out for yourself. But, if you don’t want to make the investment, you could always rent a lawn roller. You can rollover all of your previously mowed stripes to get the grass bent over even more. This will make the light refraction more intense to achieve darker and lighter stripes.
