Table of Contents
Introduction
If you love your garden and want to invest your time and effort, then you know you can’t do that without a lawn stripe. To make your garden look good, lawn stripes need to be done and don’t require extra effort. If the lawn stripes are wrongly done, they will ruin the design of your lawn. The lawn stripe design is regarded as a special skill because not everybody can achieve it, and it doesn’t come as a surprise that there are competitions organized to determine who has the best lawn stripe skills.
This article would help you better understand what lawn stripes competitions are and the criteria to help you have the best lawn stripes to please the judges. We would also be looking at the judges’ factors while judging your lawn stripes and what the competition is also about. For people who are new to lawn competitions, it cant be quite difficult at the beginning because you don’t know the proper way to approach the task at hand. Without prior experience, the task can be quite difficult. Once you are familiar with the competition rules, you should find it quite easy and fun.
Lawn stripes competitions: How they work
Just like every completion around, there are rules to follow beyond just getting your lawn properly striped. It would help if you considered the criteria because those are some of the things the judges will note. Some of the criteria include the grass’s color, the grass’s health, and its water retention capacity. In lawn stripe competitions, you need to pay proper attention to every surface area of your grass because one unhealthy part can have an overall negative effect on your final result.
In some cases, there are different rules and regulations that competitors are to follow during the competition. It would help if you were familiar with all the rules and regulations because they ensure no one gets an added advantage. Breaking the rules and regulations of the competition can lead to disqualification or point deduction. Most people regard gardening as a hobby or fun activity, so there has to be equality all the time. In every sport or competition, the term “steroids” is common. There are things you should avoid applying to your lawns in lawn stripes competition, and sometimes they can include fertilizers or anything artificial. If you pay close attention to the rules and regulations, then you should have no problem. Everything in the rules and regulations would act as a guide to the competition, and you can also find all the information you need.
If you decide to join a lawn stripe competition, then the first question that would probably come to your mind is, how do you create a perfect garden that would help you win the competition? It might not be easy to pick the exact method to follow because you can’t be certain what the judges would be looking for or what kind of lawn they expect to see. But the main criteria are neatness and clarity, but if you can get this done specially, that should add some bonus points. You can have a special design in mind or something unique, but all this won’t matter if your lawn is not tidy.
How to make lawn stripes
If you look at lawn stripes randomly, you might think they are simple to create. Lawn stripes seem easy to create from just looking, but if you don’t know the procedures and technique to follow, it is not easy. From a distance, if you take a first-time look at the grass and stripes, the first thing that comes to mind is that the grass was cut at different heights. But that is far from the case and is wrong. In reality, the stripes are caused by the direction in which the lawn’s grass is facing. The reflection of light has a huge role to play in the beauty of your lawn. If the grass is in the opposite direction from you, then it would look lighter. But, when the grass of the lawn is facing your direction, the situation is different. When the grass is in your direction, it tends to be darker. The color difference depends on the height you are looking at it from. The lower you get, the more you glaring the difference in the grass direction becomes.
To achieve this amazing view, you will need to cut your lawn in opposite directions, but you must also pay attention to getting the grass low. The main advantage of doing this is that you will have a different view from both angles of the stripes, and if you are someone who is into an optical illusion, this can also be a great opportunity for you.
The difficult part about this technique is getting the right lawnmower for the job. The right mower would help you get the perfect height while also pushing the grass forward. If you cut the grass below the expected height, you won’t be able to get the perfect balance in your stripes. One safe and common way people carry out this task is to use a separate mowing machine because most mowing machines already have a specific height to operate. No matter what you do, there is only one stable fact: you would need to mow in alternate directions while maintaining the same length. It is also best you maintain the same size across each row for a better and neater appearance. If you are finding it difficult to start your zero turn mower, then you can check How to Start a Zero Turn Mower.
Additional patters
Most people are not always happy with the simple things like common/regular stripes, but not to worry, there are different stripes that you could add to your lawns. But the problem with these different patterns is that they are not simple to make. Some extra stripes you could do include zig-zag or diagonal stripes. All you need to do is take some different measurements. There is also the option of making extra stripes just like the original one, but they have to be parallel.
For people who have trees or other large objects which can not be moved on their gardens, the best and efficient way is to make a circular border around the object, or there is also the option of creating a partition with grass through the outer part of your lawn to make everything look equal and attractive. Depending on how confident you are in your mowing skills, there is also the option of creating stripes or curved rows instead of the usually structured lines.
Lawn stripes can be easily corrected or adjusted once you make a mistake because it is known that they are easy to create. People who benefit from lawn stripes are easy to create, and those who might have obstacles like trees, houses, or other unmovable objects on their lawns. You should avoid using a reel mower because it tends to cut away extra grass when you repeat a particular stripe.
How to prepare your garden the right way
Before you start mowing your garden to create your intended stripes, the first thing you need to do is to prepare your garden for the intended task properly. We know mowing and creating stripes can be regarded as a simple task, but it would be a problem when you have an over-trimmed lawn or damaged parts in your grass. Trying to cover over-trimmed or damaged sections on your lawn can be difficult and sometimes impossible, so that is why you need to prepare your lawn for the task properly. Proper preparation would help you understand the task you have at hand and what to expect.
The first thing you need to do in the preparation of your lawn would be removing any obstacle or material that can be moved like weed, moss, flowers, and any plant or grass that doesn’t fit in with the larger grass you intend to mow. Stones, rocks, or anything that could damage your mower during mowing should be removed because if your mower gets damage during mowing, then you would most likely have uneven length on your lawn.
Once you are done clearing, it would be nice to make a clear plan of how you want the stripes to be and where. Having a plan of how you will mow helps you better understand the work at hand, and you tend to avoid mistakes more. For those who are not good at drawing, then you can use measurements. To use measurements is another way of having a plan or idea of what you want to do. You would need to measure the width of both your mower and garden.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explained to you what a lawn stripe competition is and how to qualify/win one. Usually, it is mainly a hobby rather than a skill when it comes to lawn mowing. In most cases, there is no financial benefit for the winners of this kind of competition. If you are looking for financial gain, then this is probably not the best choice for you. What most winners benefit from most lawn stripe competition is the pride and recognition your lawn would gain. If you need a track saw to bring down trees or any wood that might be an obstacle in your lawn, you can check out What is the Best Track Saw System?‘.