What do you think of the striped lawn look?

[corn18]

I have always used a 21" push mower to mow my yard. It always left that stripe look, which has grown on me. Seems all my neighbors have lawn services that use giant zero turn mowers that also leave stripes. One service actually mows the yard twice to get the ballpark look.

My new Ego zero turn mower leaves no stripes. Doesn't even leave tire marks. I'm debating whether to DIY a striping kit for it to leave stripes.

So, do you like the stripes or not?

 

[Sojourner]

I think it looks fine on a baseball field, but definitely not on a residential lawn.

 

[euro]

I don't care for it either,, not even on a baseball field. I certainly think it is ridiculous to "double-mow" your lawn just to get some pattern. Alas, to each their own.

 

[steelyman]

This seems like a topic for a Seinfeld episode.

 

[Midpack]

I like it, but not from double mowing. When I mow I change direction each time, maybe 0º, then 45º the next time, then 90º, then 135º and so on. Gives the lawn a subtle striped look with zero extra mowing/effort. Better for the lawn anyway, avoids ruts and grain.

 

[JoeWras]

I cut my southern fescue as high as possible due to our summer heat. The high cut doesn't support the striped look very well.

 

[kgtest]

I have always used a 21" push mower to mow my yard. It always left that stripe look, which has grown on me. Seems all my neighbors have lawn services that use giant zero turn mowers that also leave stripes. One service actually mows the yard twice to get the ballpark look.

My new Ego zero turn mower leaves no stripes. Doesn't even leave tire marks. I'm debating whether to DIY a striping kit for it to leave stripes.

So, do you like the stripes or not?

My dad bought a little roller type device that he pulls behind his tractor to get the lines like you have in the picture. I think it looks very nice. But his lawn is a labor of love and he spends a lot of time caring for it. Me...i do crabgrass preventer, grub control, spring fertilizer and summer lawn food. Keep the rainbird sprinkler heads chirping on the automatically scheduled odd days, spray for weeds, pull dandelions, fill in bare spots with seed, overseed and just now with my hand me down 21" toro push mower. We switch the directions we mow, horizontal, vertical, criss cross.

 

[SnowballCamper]

This year is our first with no lawn to mow on our 1/3 acre lot. There is still a little bit of maintenance for the last few plants to take hold, and a hedge to plant. After that the only maintenance will be pruning and pressure washing the patio.

I'm ok with looking at other people's stripes

 

[COcheesehead]

You are supposed to vary the pattern. It’s better for the lawn.

 

[Aerides]

If I saw stripes on a residential lawn I would think they either pay a lawn guy too much or are way to into details and then I'd love to look inside the house.

Doesn't it all go away after a day or two, or the rain or a windy day, anyway?

 

[jollystomper]

I like it, but not from double mowing. When I mow I change direction each time, maybe 0º, then 45º the next time, then 90º, then 135º and so on. Gives the lawn a subtle striped look with zero extra mowing/effort. Better for the lawn anyway, avoids ruts and grain.

+1

I never mow in the same direction twice in a row. I go usually horizontal, vertical, left diagonal, right diagonal. Give a similar look with less effort and better variety for the health of the lawn.

 

[Sunset]

Better to rip out your lawn, and plant a new lawn using 2 varieties of grass to generate stripes of different shades, the stripes will last regardless of the height of the grass.

 

[GenXguy]

Older retired people often make a fuss about their lawns. I'm not retired and just do the bare minimum and mow the same way every time. It's not something I enjoy doing.

 

[euro]

Older retired people often make a fuss about their lawns. I'm not retired and just do the bare minimum and mow the same way every time. It's not something I enjoy doing.

I AM "older and retired" and I STILL would never bother with it. Alas, I do understand the pride some folks take in their lawns. A well-kept lawn is pretty to look at. Just not worth the effort to me, especially because we are in a wooded area and most lawns tend to suffer from too little sunlight, so they need extra, extra care.

 

[Walt34]

I've done it a few times and it looked nice but was more trouble than it was worth to me. Now I just alternate directions mowing.

 

[Gumby]

I usually have that look, because I mow in a different direction every time (up/down, side to side, and each diagonal), just so I don't get ruts. The faint trace of my last mow is usually still visible when I mow crosswise. I only ever do two directions during the same mow on special occasions - such as when I hosted Porchfest and when I hosted my retirement party.

Edit to add: I use a 20" push mower.

 

[Montecfo]

It falls into the category of trying too hard. Don't be that guy.

 

[W2R]

It falls into the category of trying too hard. Don't be that guy.

+1

In fact, IMO even just mowing your lawn yourself when you have accumulated enough money to retire, is trying too hard. There are much more enjoyable and safe ways for retirees to exercise.

 

[Dash man]

I hope my neighbor doesn’t read this. It’ll just give him another idea.

 

[Ronstar]

I have faux stripes from mowing directions, but I would need rollers to get real stripes. I like the stripes but I won’t go so far as to add rollers.

 

[Ronstar]

I have faux stripes from mowing directions, but I would need a rollers to get real stripes. I like the stripes but I won’t go so far as to add rollers.

 

[corn18]

I have to mow it myself to justify the money I spent on the Ego zero turn.

 

[Montecfo]

+1

In fact, IMO even just mowing your lawn yourself when you have accumulated enough money to retire, is trying too hard. There are much more enjoyable and safe ways for retirees to exercise.

I was with you at +1...kind of tailed off after.

But you are right. I'm away for a while. It will be tempting to let the dude I hired keep mowing ..but let's see what it looks like.

 

[Rambler]

I like it, but not from double mowing. When I mow I change direction each time, maybe 0º, then 45º the next time, then 90º, then 135º and so on. Gives the lawn a subtle striped look with zero extra mowing/effort. Better for the lawn anyway, avoids ruts and grain.

This

That said, we now live in the Phoenix area. The house we lived in for 3.5 years had artificial turf, and the house we are building will also have artificial turf. We wanted real grass. The dogs wanted real grass, but with as bad as the drought has been, we went with artificial turf. That said, I’m thinking of making a 6x10 patch just for the pups, in an area that won’t get too much sun all day. Mowing it will take about 2 minutes with a weed eater…but I won’t have any stripes.

 

[H2ODude]

I was expecting a funny picture of stripes created by applying fertilizer with gaps between application runs. Which my father did when I was a kid. Drop spreaders were about the only thing around then, I was very happy when the newer broadcast ones came out.

Anyway, stripes are OK, I'm not gonna do anything to create them. I vary my direction with about three or four different patterns just to avoid creating permanent patterns. Looks fine.

Yeah, we have one of those neighbors. Since we're all anonymous here I'll just say it. They have mental issues. We have very small lots, I can do my yard in 20 minutes easily. She'll spend 3-4 hours. In the fall, it's blow, cut, rake, and then get out a damn vacuum cleaner. While the leaves are still falling. This is a 4-5 hour production (with annoying noise) that gets repeated not just weekly, but multiple times. Had one incident where they paid to have the lake buffer cleared behind their house and topsoil spread over it; $50,000 fine to pay for environmental restoration, along with cameras to watch their belligerent asses.